Science and Health News

Scientists have made a promising step towards developing a new drug for treating acute myeloid leukaemia, a rare blood disorder. In a study published today in Nature, Cambridge researchers report a new approach to cancer treatment that targets enzymes which play a key role in translating DNA into proteins and which could lead to a new class of cancer drugs.

Researchers from the UPV, the UV and the AIKEN Foundation have designed the first totally transparent trifocal corneal inlay

Further studies underway to determine extent of clinical benefits

A comprehensive roadmap of muscle decline with age in mice reveals possible new targets for treatments, including the molecule Klotho.

In lab tests, researchers found that an optimized ankle exoskeleton system increased participants’ walking speed by about 40 percent compared with their regular speed. The researchers hope someday to help restore walking speed in older adults.

Genetically engineered animals provide important insights into the molecular basis of health and disease. Research has focused mainly on genetically modified mice, although other species, such as pigs, are more similar to human physiology. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now generated chickens and pigs in which target genes in desired organs can be efficiently altered.

A joint research carried out by MIPT scientists and Harvard researchers have presented retinal cells that can integrate into the retina. This is the first successful attempt to transplant ganglion cells (retinal neurons that are destroyed by glaucoma) derived from stem cells in a lab setting. Scientists tested the technology in mice and established that the cells successfully integrated and survived for a year. In the future, the researchers plan to create specialized cell banks, which will permit individual, tailored therapy for each patient. The paper was published in Molecular Therapy - Methods and Clinical Development.

Scientists have reconstructed ancient DNA from soil for the first time, in an advance that will significantly enhance the study of animal, plant and microorganism evolution.