AMHERST, Mass. – While we often think of diseases as caused by foreign bodies—bacteria or viruses—there are hundreds of diseases affecting humans that result from errors in cellular production of its proteins. A team of researchers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently leveraged the power of cutting-edge technology,...
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AMHERST, Mass. – There is a surprising dearth of research about how breast cancer cells can go dormant, spread and then resurface years or even decades later, according to a new review of in vitro breast cancer studies conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “[Our review found...
AMHERST, Mass. ⎯ An estimated 6.7 million American adults over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s disease. One of the major challenges with this condition is that there currently is no established, universally recognized method for predicting its onset, and emerging treatments are considered to be effective only in the...
Amherst, Mass. – A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first to show how proteins called “chaperones” are vital in ensuring that neurons can transmit signals to one another. When this neurotransmission breaks down, devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s along with many others,...
Worcester, Mass. – A study led by UMass Chan Medical School viral immunologists Liisa Selin, MD, PhD, and Anna Gil, PhD, discovered similarities in immune system dysfunction as a potential biomarker among people living with long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The research also introduced a novel treatment...
Umeå, Sweden – A specific gene may play a key role in new treatments that prevent muscle in the body from breaking down in serious muscle diseases, muscular dystrophies. This is shown in a new study at Umeå University. Protein expressed by the gene naturally prevents the muscles around the...
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Angelman syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the maternally-inherited UBE3A gene and characterized by poor muscle control, limited speech, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities. Though there isn’t a cure for the condition, new research at the UNC School of Medicine is setting the...
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — To grow and spread, tumors need new blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. One growth factor that causes angiogenesis has been identified – vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF – and drugs to inhibit VEGF are already in use. But not all tumors respond to the...
Pioneering research from scientists at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies shows that acinar cells in the pancreas form new cell types to mitigate injury but are then susceptible to cancerous mutations. This research, led by Kathy DelGiorno, assistant professor of...
Amsterdam, Netherlands – Everyone experiences aging in their own way, and factors such as genetics, lifestyle and environment play a role in this process. Some individuals reach the age of 90 or even 100 in good health, without medications or brain disease. But how do these individuals maintain their health...