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Category: biotech/medical – Page 42

Scientists move toward developing vaccine against pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus

Antibiotics are the old medicine cabinet standby for treating infections caused by multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, but as antimicrobial resistance continues to mount globally, scientists say there’s a need for new strategies.

While vaccines are a potential answer, achieving an effective way to immunize against multidrug-resistant S. aureus has led scientists down dozens of blind alleys. Ten that looked promising in in recent years failed miserably in human clinical trials.

Now, scientists in China are investigating a way to sidestep the myriad problems that plagued vaccine investigators in the past by choosing not to target a whole antigen. Instead, they say, it’s time to home in on a critical “surface loop” as a vaccine target. The infinitesimal loop is located on the S. aureus antigen known as MntC.

AI tool targets RNA structures to unravel secrets of the dark genome

We mapped the human genome decades ago, but most of it is still a black box. Now, UNSW scientists have developed a tool to peer inside and what they find could reshape how we think about disease.

Your genome is the genetic map of you, and we understand almost none of it.

Our handle on the bits of the genome that tell the body how to do things (“make eyes blue,” “build ,” “give this person sickle cell anemia”) is OK, but there are vast areas of the genome that don’t appear to do anything.

DNA From a Mysterious Extinct Hominin May Have Helped Ancient Americans Survive

A newly discovered Denisovan gene, hidden within human DNA, may have helped the first Americans adapt to their new world. Thousands of years ago, early humans braved a dangerous migration, traveling across vast stretches of ice over the Bering Strait to reach the unfamiliar lands of the Americas.

Cellular purging process may help injured cells revert to stem cell-like state more rapidly

When injured, cells have well-regulated responses to promote healing. These include a long-studied self-destruction process that cleans up dead and damaged cells as well as a more recently identified phenomenon that helps older cells revert to what appears to be a younger state to help grow back healthy tissue.

Now, a new study in mice led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Baylor College of Medicine reveals a previously unknown cellular purging process that may help injured cells revert to a stem cell-like state more rapidly. The investigators dubbed this newly discovered response cathartocytosis, taking from Greek root words that mean cellular cleansing.

Published online in the journal Cell Reports, the study used a mouse model of stomach injury to provide new insights into how cells heal, or fail to heal, in response to damage, such as from an infection or inflammatory disease.

Epitranscriptomic Regulation of Hepatitis B Virus by RNA 5-Methylcytosine: Functions, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Potential

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a major global health challenge, with over 296 million people chronically infected worldwide. Despite the availability of antiviral therapies, a functional cure is rarely achieved, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic strategies. RNA 5-methylcytosine (m5C) is a pivotal epitranscriptomic mark implicated in RNA stability, transport, and translation. Emerging evidence shows that m5C is conserved within HBV RNA and plays critical roles in the viral life cycle. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the molecular mechanisms governing m5C deposition and recognition, summarizes recent advances in m5C biology, and highlights the emerging role of epitranscriptomic m5C regulation in HBV infection.

Lancashire surgeons celebrate 1,000th robotic prostate surgery

Michal Smolski, his consultant urologist, said he was pleased to say “it all went as planned”

(Yes you can get this procedure simply by going to the UK. Trust me it’s cheaper than the USA)

A team of surgeons at a hospital trust are celebrating performing their 1,000th prostatectomy using robotic surgeries.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been using the Da Vinci Xi robotic system for complete or partial prostate removals since 2017.

Surgeons at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital conducted the milestone surgery on patient James Goggin.

Bone and Brain Research Fine-Tuning Long-Term Astronaut Health

Bone and brain research wrapped up the week aboard the International Space Station on Friday helping doctors keep astronauts healthy when living in weightlessness. The Expedition 73 crew also checked out spacesuit gear, conducted ultrasound eye scans, and photographed Earth landmarks.

Scientists Reverse Dementia-Like Memory Loss in Mice by Supercharging Brain Cells

By boosting the activity of cellular ‘power stations’ in the brains of mice with a dementia-like condition, an international team of researchers has reversed pathological memory loss.

Problems with energy-producing cellular structures called mitochondria have previously been linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Before now, it wasn’t clear if this was a cause or a consequence of these conditions.

“This work is the first to establish a cause-and-effect link between mitochondrial dysfunction and symptoms related to neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting that impaired mitochondrial activity could be at the origin of the onset of neuronal degeneration,” says Giovanni Marsicano, a neuroscientist from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM).

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