Science and Health News

A team of Rochester scientists has, for the first time, identified and isolated a stem cell population capable of skull formation and craniofacial bone repair in mice-achieving an important step toward using stem cells for bone reconstruction of the face and head in the future, according to a new paper in Nature Communications.

Electrodes in patients’ temporal lobes carry information that, when analyzed, enables scientists to predict what object patients are seeing

When UC Berkeley engineers say they are going to make you sweat, it is all in the name of science.

When a blunt-force blow injures the spinal cord, the body’s immune system can be both friend and foe. Sensing the injury, the immune system dispatches an inflammatory response composed of specialized cells called macrophages to dispose of dead tissue. However, together with the debris and blood from the initial injury, the macrophages also clear away healthy tissue, resulting in a larger lesion size at the injury site and additional spinal cord injury loss of function.

Cambridge, Mass. January 26th, 2016 — A landmark study, based on genetic analysis of nearly 65,000 people, has revealed that a person’s risk of schizophrenia is increased if they inherit specific variants in a gene related to «synaptic pruning» — the elimination of connections between neurons. The findings represent the first time that the origin of this devastating psychiatric disease has been causally linked to specific gene variants and a biological process.

Pope Francis on Thursday speaking to the members of the Italian Committee for Bioethics, underlined how the Church supports the efforts of civil society to promote, «the search for truth and goodness on complex human and ethical issues».

Jeffrey R. Millman, Ph. D. co-authored Long-term glycemic control using polymer-encapsulated human stem cell-derived beta cells in immune-competent mice published online in Nature Medicine. This new research demonstrates that by encapsulating stem cell-derived pancreatic cells in new biomaterial (TMTD alginate), the pancreatic cells can be protected against an attack by the immune system in mice for up to six months while continuing to be able to sense low blood sugar and produce insulin in response.

Researchers measured the intelligence of 700 family members who had at least one relative carrying the same genetic mutation on chromosome 16, which is known to predispose to autistic spectrum disorders. Even in study participants whose IQ was considered to be normal, the researchers found a substantial 25 points IQ drop induced by 16p11.2 gene deletions.