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  Originally published by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, on July 3, 2023 Credit: CC0 Public Domain International research led by QIMR Berghofer has found hundreds of new genes linked to a person's risk of developing glaucoma , including key genetic targets that could, for the first time, pave the way for treatments that prevent the retinal damage that causes blindness. The findings, from the largest-ever global genetic study of the degenerative eye disease , have been published in Nature Genetics . The research significantly advances our understanding of the genetics of glaucoma, building on a previous 2021 study to identify another 185 previously unknown genes linked to glaucoma risk, bringing the total number to 312 genes . Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally affecting more than 75 million people around the world, including 300,000 Australians. The disease causes pressure from fluid in the eye to build up causing damage

  Originally published by Rohini Subrahmanyam, PhD, on Apr 20, 2023 Researchers repurpose tiny bacterial injection systems to specifically inject a wide variety of proteins into human cells and living mice. S ophisticated, e ffective drugs to treat diseases and other conditions aren’t any good if they can’t reach the part of the body or the specific cells that they’re designed to target. However, scientists have found a new way to deliver tiny proteins into specific cells, using small syringelike structures naturally found on certain bacteria . The study, published in Nature on March 29, could lead to better drug-delivery systems in medicine. “Delivery remains a critical bottleneck in medicine,” said study coauthor and MIT researcher Joseph Kreitz . “Although many powerful new therapies have been developed over the past several decades, we will need a deep bench of options to get these therapies into the right cells in the body.” In the study, Kreitz, Broad Institute r

Originally published by Impact Journals LLC on July 13, 2023   Reprogramming small molecule cocktails restore NCC alterations in senescent cells. (A) Chemical structures of small molecules of basal cocktails used to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from mouse (left) or human (right) somatic cells. (B) Correlation heatmaps showing eGFP and mCherry colocalization in human senescent fibroblasts demonstrate the effects of 80 different combinations of small molecules (n=2). (C, D) Validation of six selected cocktails through independent experiments, showing colocalization (C) and representative images (D) of eGFP and mCherry signals. Scale bar, 50 μm. Data are mean ± SD. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ****p < 0.0001. One-way ANOVA-Bonferroni. Credit: Aging (2023). DOI: 10.18632/aging.204896 In a groundbreaking study, researchers have unlocked a new frontier in the fight against aging and age -related diseases . The study, conducted by a team of scientists at Harvard Medic

  Originally published on EurekAkert! On July, 11, 2023 The study, led by researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE, CSIC-UPF) , and the Museum of Natural Sciences in Barcelona , has succeeded in sequencing the complete genome of the Xerces Blue butterfly , the first butterfly to become extinct . Peer-Reviewed Publication: Spanish National Research Council ( CSIC ) Image of a female and a male Xerces Blues on Acmispon glaber or deerweed, the plant they ate. Credit: Credit to Martí Franch. The Xerces Blue butterfly ( Glaucopsyche xerces ) was native to the coastal dunes of San Francisco , in the United States. As the city grew, much of the butterfly’s habitat was destroyed and its population was relegated to Golden Gate National Park . Its wings were a deep iridescent blue, with characteristic white spots on the ventral side. The last surviving specimens of the species were found in 1941 , by entomologist W. Harry Lange. It is considered the first

Originally published by Justin Jackson , Medical Xpress, on July 6, 2023   Thinking about the time. Credit: Freeimages.com Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified proteomic changes associated with forms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) . In a paper, "Proteomics of brain, CSF, and blood identifies molecular signatures for distinguishing sporadic and genetic Alzheimer's disease ," published in Science Translational Medicine , the researchers identify specific and shared proteomic changes associated with sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) across brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and blood .

Originally published by Thamarasee Jeewandara , Phys.org, on June 29, 2023   Space platforms for astrobiology and astrochemistry research. Space exposure experiments require suitable platforms for providing levels of radiation and microgravity. Platform location dictates mission duration, radiation exposure, the potential for sample return and the necessity of in situ measurements. As the distance from Earth increases, different radiation environments become available at the cost of increasingly challenging sample return. Credit: npj Microgravity (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41526-023-00292-1 Although technically challenging, space experiments are a scientifically important aspect of astrobiology and astrochemistry investigations. The international space station (ISS) offers an excellent example of a long-term research platform orbiting the Earth, with highly successful advances to implement experiments in space, which has contributed to a wealth of scientific data in the past few decad

Originally published by NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute on June 30, 2023 Hydractinia's regeneration driving stem cells are stored in the lower trunk of the animal's body, far from the mouth. Credit: Darryl Leja, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) Insights into healing and aging were discovered by National Institutes of Health researchers and their collaborators, who studied how a tiny sea creature regenerates an entire new body from only its mouth . The researchers sequenced RNA from Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus , a small, tube-shaped animal that lives on the s hells of hermit crabs . Just as the Hydractinia were beginning to regenerate new bodies, the researchers detected a molecular signature associated with the biological process of aging, also known as senescence . According to the study published in Cell Reports , Hydractinia demonstrates that the fundamental biological processes of healing and aging are intertwined , providing