Stuff that matters
More research must be done to investigate the role of air pollution on the epigenome in patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), in order to develop strategies that minimize the effects of these pollutants, according to a new article published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. ILDs […]
Whenever a germ gets into the human body, the immune system usually responds immediately to fight off the enemy attacker. One of our defense system’s most important strategies involves B lymphocytes, also known as B cells, which produce antibodies that target and neutralize pathogens. B cells play a central role in adaptive immunity and, together […]
Why do we age? What exactly is happening in our bodies? And can we do anything about it? Mankind has sought answers to these questions since time immemorial. While the pharmaceutical scientists Alexandra K. Kiemer and Jessica Hoppstädter from Saarland University are not claiming to have solved this ancient problem, they have uncovered processes within […]
Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) have discovered a mechanism controlling the development of a type of liver cancer. This study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), partly funded by the Spanish Association Against Cancer, has identified a protein that, when blocked, dramatically reduces the impact […]
To inhibit the specific activity of a protein affected by a mutation using high doses of a drug is the usual treatment for many cancers. Except for the first instance in which this strategy is effective, it leads to treatment resistance development by tumor cells through the appearance of secondary mutations, which enhance alternative growth […]
A new study reveals that the common asthma drug salbutamol may offer potential as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting 47 million people worldwide and its prevalence is expected to triple to more than 130 million cases by 2050. No effective treatments that cure the disease […]
In a Nature paper, CeMM researchers report on the epigenetic and transcriptional regulation in structural cells. They found widespread activity of immune genes, suggesting that structural cells are deeply involved in the body’s response to pathogens. Moreover, the study uncovered an epigenetic potential that pre-programs structural cells to engage in the immune response against pathogens. […]