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Study links kynurenine pathway to adolescent depression

Depression is a mental health condition that affects 280 million people worldwide. It is twice as common in women than men and this pattern starts to develop during adolescence.

25 Mar 2025

Research identifies pressure-sensing protein behind gut motility

After every meal, the intestines perform an action called peristalsis - moving food through their hollow interiors with coordinated contractions and relaxations of the smooth muscle.

25 Mar 2025

Understanding the role of iron-dependent ferroptosis in immune suppression

Iron-dependent ferroptosis, a non-apoptotic cell death mechanism, is gaining attention for its role in immune suppression.

24 Mar 2025

Sperm viability boosted in IVF with glycan technology

The success of in vitro fertilization depends on many factors, one of which is sperm viability. A recent study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign documents a new way to select viable sperm and prolong their viability in the laboratory, reducing one source of variability during the process.

24 Mar 2025

New brain circuit involved in motion sickness could help improve metabolic health

Motion sickness is a very common condition that affects about 1 in 3 people, but the brain circuits involved are largely unknown. In the current study published in Nature Metabolism, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital describe a new brain circuit involved in motion sickness that also contributes to regulating body temperature and metabolic balance.

24 Mar 2025

Study links type 2 diabetes to weakened reward signals in the brain

The high comorbidity of type 2 diabetes (T2D) with psychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders points to a need for understanding what links these diseases.

24 Mar 2025

Scientists uncover role of m6A in prostate cancer progression

Scientists at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Toronto have revealed how a tiny chemical modification in RNA, known as m6A, plays a critical role in the progression of prostate cancer, including driving some of its most dangerous forms of the disease.

24 Mar 2025

Researchers develop TIM-3 decoy to enhance CAR-T therapy effectiveness for B-ALL tumors

B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL) is a life-threatening and highly aggressive form of blood cancer. It is the most common childhood cancer, making up 35% of pediatric cancer cases, but it can affect people of any age.

24 Mar 2025

Smell-based test taken at home could predict cognitive impairment in older adults

When it comes to early detection of cognitive impairment, a new study suggests that the nose knows. Researchers from Mass General Brigham developed olfactory tests-in which participants sniff odor labels that have been placed on a card-to assess people's ability to discriminate, identify and remember odors.

24 Mar 2025

New insights into how sleep reorganizes neuronal activity for better memory

Why is sleep so important for learning and memory? Neuroscientists from the Csicsvari group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) provided new insight into this essential function by monitoring neuronal activity in rat brains for up to 20 hours of sleep following spatial learning.

24 Mar 2025

Novel long-acting contraceptive implant can be delivered through tiny needles

Mass General Brigham and MIT investigators have developed a long-acting contraceptive implant that can be delivered through tiny needles to minimize patient discomfort and increase the likelihood of medication use.

24 Mar 2025

Ketogenic diet reverses obesity-linked biological aging by over 6 years

Obesity speeds up biological aging at the molecular level, but this study finds that a very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) can significantly reverse this effect.

24 Mar 2025

UZH researchers develop decoy molecules to restore immune defense

An immune system defect makes affected individuals vulnerable to severe viral diseases such as influenza or COVID-19. It is caused by the body's own antibodies, which inhibit important defense proteins known as type I interferons.

24 Mar 2025

New MIT method promises less painful drug injections with tiny crystals

MIT engineers have devised a new way to deliver certain drugs in higher doses with less pain, by injecting them as a suspension of tiny crystals.

24 Mar 2025

A pecan a day keeps bad cholesterol away

Daily consumption of 57g of pecans for 12 weeks improved cholesterol profiles and diet quality in adults at risk of cardiometabolic disease, without affecting vascular health. Replacing typical snacks with pecans led to higher intake of healthy fats and fiber, and reduced carbohydrate consumption.

24 Mar 2025

Red wine lowers bad cholesterol but doesn’t improve overall heart health

Moderate red wine consumption is linked to a small but significant reduction in LDL cholesterol, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of 33 studies. However, the study found no consistent effects on HDL, triglycerides, total cholesterol, or fibrinogen.

24 Mar 2025

What do Blue Zone diets have in common? Polyphenols that may slow aging

Scientists reviewed how polyphenol-rich diets in Blue Zones may help people live longer, healthier lives by targeting biological hallmarks of aging. They call for more research to measure polyphenol intake and test its effects on human longevity.

24 Mar 2025

Fish oil supplements beat oily fish at reducing harmful blood vesicles

Fish oil supplements, delivering higher EPA doses, significantly reduced the number and procoagulant activity of extracellular vesicles—unlike oily fish. This suggests EPA, not DHA, may drive cardiovascular benefits linked to EV function.

24 Mar 2025

Skipping exercise? Just sitting less may still improve your metabolic health

Older adults who limit their sedentary time have lower metabolic syndrome risk, regardless of how active they are or how healthy they eat. Even light movement can support better metabolic health when replacing prolonged sitting.

24 Mar 2025

Researchers develop tool to enhance NK cells against cancer

A team of researchers from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Pompeu Fabra University has developed a new tool that allows modifying these NK cells to make them immune to the tumor’s defense mechanism.

24 Mar 2025