Medical News Observer

Keep updated with latest medical research news

Unexpected consequences of expanded genetic code: its sensitivity to light

In 2014, scientists made a huge news splash when they reported the ability to grow bacteria with an expanded genetic code. Critics feared the rise of unnatural creatures; others appreciated the therapeutic potential of the development. Now researchers have found that the expanded code might have an unforeseen limitation. A study in the Journal of…
Understanding how brain’s biological clock stimulates thirst hours before sleep

The brain’s biological clock stimulates thirst in the hours before sleep, according to a study published in the journal Nature by McGill University researchers. The finding — along with the discovery of the molecular process behind it — provides the first insight into how the clock regulates a physiological function. And while the research was…
Tamoxifen and Aromatase Inhibitor therapies linked to reduced risk for contralateral breast cancer in community health

In patients with invasive breast cancer treated in a general community health care setting, Tamoxifen, Aromatase Inhibitor therapies linked to reduced risk for contralateral breast cancer in community and that risk progressively decreased as the duration of tamoxifen therapy increased, according to a new study published online by JAMA Oncology. About 5 percent of patients…
Controlling amyloid formation in cancer cells a possible target for drug discovery and development.

A study published by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine describes that certain proteins playing a role in cancer progression and metastasis are stored as amyloid bodies in dormant cancer cells. Once the amyloid bodies disaggregate, the cancer cells become active again. The findings were published in…
Binge eating new therapeutic targets discovered in animal experiments

A new therapeutic target for the treatment of compulsive binge eating has been identified by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM). The study, which is published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, reports the beneficial effects of the activation of a class of receptors, Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 (TAAR1), on compulsive, binge eating. TAAR1 discovered…
Researchers developed method of determining liver disease with blood tests

A new non-invasive method of predicting the risk of developing a severe form of liver disease could ensure patients receive early and potentially life-saving medical intervention before irreversible damage is done. Using information collected in a liver biopsy study, researchers at Cardiff University have developed a method of determining the onset of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)…
Researchers discover how selenium is incorporated into proteins

Humans need eight essential trace elements for good health, and one of them is selenium – a powerful antioxidant that is important for thyroid and brain function as well as metabolism. But trace elements can’t be used by the body until they are integrated into a protein molecule. Selenium is unique because it is folded…
Researcher’s study Zika virus course and transmission in primates

Though first documented 70 years ago, the Zika virus was poorly understood when it burst onto the scene in the Americas in 2015. In one of the first and largest studies of its kind, a research team lead by virologists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has characterized the progression of two strains of…
Nuclear protein EYA1 causes neuroblastoma to become more aggressive

Aggressive forms of neuroblastoma contain a specific protein in their cells’ nuclei that is not found in the nuclei of more benign forms of the cancer, and the discovery, made through research from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), could lead to new forms of targeted therapy. EYA1, a protein that contributes to ear…
Research show sleep pattern disruptions can lead to increased risk of suicides

Adapted from press release by University of Manchester The link between sleep problems and suicidal thoughts and behaviours is made starkly clear in new research from The University of Manchester, published in the BMJ Open. In this study, conducted by researchers from the University’s School of Health Sciences alongside the University of Oxford, 18 participants…