Fat Cells in Our Skin Could Be Key to Fighting Acne, Scientists Discover

The cells in our skin that fabricate fatty acids could play an unappreciated role in acne breakouts. Recent experiments on human acne and mouse skin have found pimples and lesions are closely regulated by fat-producing fibroblasts.   Fibroblasts are the most common type of connective tissue cell we have in our bodies; they produce and … Read more

American Woman Appears to Be Entirely Cured of HIV After Unique Medical Treatment

Ten years ago, an unnamed American woman was diagnosed with HIV. Like the tens of thousands of people who test positive in the US each year, she faced a lifetime of anti-retroviral therapies to keep the virus from obliterating her immune system.   Today, that’s no longer the case. The patient is part of an … Read more

Personalised medicine: Australia aims to end childhood cancer deaths

An Australian plan to eliminate childhood cancer deaths using personalised medicine will be made available to all Australian children with the condition from 2023 Health 15 February 2022 By Alice Klein DNA sequencing helps offer a personalised approach to cancer Getty Images/iStockphoto An ambitious Australian programme to use personalised medicine to reduce the number of children … Read more

We Just Got Closer to Finding a Link Between Alzheimer’s And Circadian Rhythms

Long before Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed, once-trusty proteins start to knot together in the brain in a process that may be hastened by poor sleep. Now, scientists have uncovered a possible mechanism linking disruptions in circadian rhythms and the build-up of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, by studying the rhythmic operation of immune cells and … Read more

Robotic fish: Synthetic fish powered by human cardiac cells gives fresh insight into heart

Insights from a synthetic fish built from plastic and gelatine and powered by human cardiac cells might one day be useful for treating heart disease Technology 10 February 2022 By Alex Wilkins An artificial fish built from human heart cells could teach us how the organ functions. The human heart can pump without signals from … Read more

Scientists Made a ‘Fish’ From Human Cardiac Cells, And It Swims Like a Beating Heart

With its tail flipping rhythmically from side to side, this strange synthetic fish scoots around in its salt and glucose solution, using the same power as our beating hearts. This nifty miniaturized circulatory system, developed by scientists at Harvard and Emory universities, can keep swimming to the beat for more than 100 days.   The … Read more

Genetically altered brain cells in mice can be controlled with ultrasound

A new technique called sonogenetics uses ultrasound to switch on and off genetically altered brain cells. It has been successfully tested in mice, and could be a future tool for treating brain conditions such as Parkinson’s or epilepsy in humans Health 9 February 2022 By Clare Wilson Neurons (magenta) in a mouse brain Salk Institute … Read more

We Just Got a Major Clue on How CGRP Contributes to Migraine in Our Nerve Cells

In the last few years, the deeply frustrating medical area of chronic migraine prevention has been revolutionized thanks to the discovery that a protein called calcitonin gene-related peptide, or CGRP, plays a role in the condition.   While several drugs containing antibodies that block or bind the protein have now entered the market and are helping … Read more

New Treatment Helps Frogs Regenerate Limbs With Functioning Nerves in Just 18 Months

Our bodies connect us to the world. When people lose parts of their bodies to disease or traumatic injury, they often feel that they’ve lost a part of who they are, even experiencing a grief akin to losing a loved one.   Their sense of personal loss is justified because unlike salamanders or snarky comic … Read more

Cancer Drug Flushes Out Latent HIV, Exciting New Study Finds

A widely-used cancer drug that works on the immune system could push HIV out of hiding, potentially leaving the virus open to being attacked and eliminated, according to promising results from a small new study.   HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) almost needs no introduction: the virus is notorious for its ability to evade the immune … Read more