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Scientists discover how muscle stem cells "flip a switch" to rebuild damaged muscle

Scientists at the University of California, Irvine's School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences have discovered how muscle stem cells "flip a switch" to rebuild damaged muscle – a finding that could help address muscle loss linked to aging, injury and widely used weight-loss medications.

27 Feb 2026

Engineered proteins track gene expression in living primate brains

Gene therapy has been successfully used to treat a number of diseases, including immune deficiencies, hereditary blindness, hemophilia and, recently, Huntington's disease, a fatal neurological disorder.

27 Feb 2026

Blood biomarker guides bladder-sparing treatment decisions for cancer patients

Circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA, can predict metastatic risk in patients who receive bladder-sparing treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, but it is not a good predictor of local recurrence within the bladder, according to new data presented today by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers.

27 Feb 2026

Tick-derived protein discovery can advance treatment for inflammatory diseases

When the immune system detects a harmful or foreign agent it triggers an inflammatory response small proteins called chemokines direct immune cells to the site of the injury or infection, resulting in the invader being inactivated.

27 Feb 2026

New structural insights pave way for hantavirus vaccines

Hantaviruses, transmitted from rodents to people, have a death rate approaching 40%. They're found around the world, and because there are no approved vaccines or treatments, they're among the pathogens of highest concern for future pandemics.

27 Feb 2026

PEX38 protein offers new target against tropical trypanosome diseases

The pathogens that cause tropical diseases rely on an essential protein that is absent from all other organism. This discovery opens the possibility for targeted treatment.

27 Feb 2026

Protein partnership enhances innate immune sensing of viral RNA

Study reveals how two proteins cooperate in a key early step of antiviral detection, as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo.

27 Feb 2026

Fe₃O₄@mPEG-Ag nanoparticles offer non-antibiotic strategy to combat drug-resistant bacteria

A collaborative study by Guangzhou Medical University and South China University of Technology, published in BME Frontiers, introduces Fe₃O₄@mPEG-Ag nanoparticles (NPs) as a groundbreaking non-antibiotic strategy to combat drug-resistant bacteria.

27 Feb 2026

Mendelian randomization study reveals opposing roles for IL6 and IL6R in long-term mortality

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on February 6, 2026, titled "Causal effects of inflammation on long-term mortality: a Mendelian randomization study."

27 Feb 2026

New pathway found connecting liver congestion to fibrosis and cancer

Researchers from The University of Osaka find that chronic liver congestion is linked to severe liver diseases through a specific signaling pathway in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells - key cells lining the liver's tiny blood vessels.

27 Feb 2026

Researchers discover critical vulnerability shared by pathogens causing tropical diseases

Researchers working with Professor Ralf Erdmann at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have discovered a critical vulnerability shared by the pathogens that cause African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis.

27 Feb 2026

Can peanut butter improve mobility after 65?

Research indicates that peanut butter can enhance muscle power in older adults, but its impact on overall physical function and gait speed is limited.

27 Feb 2026

New review explains how circular RNAs could unlock fat browning therapies

A Cell Death & Disease review synthesizes preclinical evidence that circular RNAs regulate adipose browning and metabolic pathways through microRNA interactions, protein binding, and organelle-linked stress mechanisms. It highlights their biomarker and therapeutic potential in obesity and type 2 diabetes while underscoring key translational challenges, including delivery specificity and human validation.

26 Feb 2026

Misdiagnosed Parkinson's patient regains life after NPH treatment

At age 66, Richard "Dick" Nash first suspected something might be wrong when he participated in a Dallas walk for juvenile diabetes in honor of his granddaughter.

26 Feb 2026

Serial liquid biopsies reveal evolution in advanced prostate cancer

A new study using serial liquid biopsies to track how metastatic prostate cancer evolves under treatment pressure showed that androgen receptor (AR) alterations consistently emerged and were linked to poorer outcomes across therapies.

26 Feb 2026

Antibiotics alter gut bacteria to aid brain healing

What if healing the brain after traumatic injury starts in the gut?

26 Feb 2026

Neem compound gedunin shows promise against pancreatic cancer

Ramadevi Subramani Reddy, Ph.D., remembers the neem tree from her childhood in India - a plant her grandmother used to treat everything from fevers to infections.

26 Feb 2026

Pomegranate’s hidden fiber-bound polyphenols significantly increase total antioxidant capacity

Researchers showed that pomegranate fruit extract contains substantial levels of non-extractable polyphenols bound within its fibre-rich matrix, significantly increasing its total measured antioxidant capacity. In human neuronal and astrocytic cell lines, the extract reduced hydrogen peroxide–induced oxidative stress, particularly in astrocytes, under in vitro conditions.

26 Feb 2026

Smoking triggers epigenetic damage linked to macular degeneration

Through a series of experiments supported by the National Institutes of Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) researchers say they have advanced understanding of how smoking damages the eye and contributes to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading worldwide cause of visual impairment and blindness among people 50 and older.

26 Feb 2026