Science and Health News

Approach Tested in NIH Trial Expected to Work Similarly for Other Allergens

Amid much speculation and research about how our genetics affect the way we age, a University of California, Berkeley, study now shows that individual differences in our DNA matter less as we get older and become prone to diseases of aging, such as diabetes and cancer.

Belgian investigators have improved the flavor of contemporary beer by identifying and engineering a gene that is responsible for much of the flavor of beer and some other alcoholic drinks.

With the aid of physics and a minuscule magnet, researchers have discovered a new structure of telomeric DNA. Telomeres are sometimes seen as the key to living longer. They protect genes from damage but get a bit shorter each time a cell divides. If they become too short, the cell dies. The new discovery will help us understand ageing and disease.

It has been known for a long time that human brain disorders such as neurological or psychiatric diseases run in families, suggesting some heritability. In line with this hypothesis, genetic risk factors for developing these illnesses have been identified.

Could eating salmon, cod, tuna, herring or sardines keep our brains healthy and our thinking agile in middle age? New research makes this connection.

A mutation in the small protein SHMOOSE is associated with Alzheimer’s risk and highlights a possible target for treatment.

Infections treated with specialty hospital care in early- and mid-life are associated with an increased subsequent risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, but not amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet, published in PLOS Medicine.