VISTA checkpoint implicated in pancreatic cancer immunotherapy resistance

Posted Posted in Health

Researchers have identified a new potential immunotherapy target in pancreatic cancer, which so far has been notoriously resistant to treatment with immune checkpoint blockade drugs effective against a variety of other cancers. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center research team found overexpression of the immune checkpoint VISTA on immune cells, especially macrophages, that […]

Experimental antibody ‘cocktail’ protects animals from three deadly Ebola viruses

Posted Posted in Health

Scientists from academia, industry, and government have developed a combination of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that protected animals from all three Ebola viruses known to cause human disease. Their work is described in two companion studies published online in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. The mAb “cocktail,” called MBP134, is the first experimental treatment to protect […]

High intake of dietary fiber and whole grains associated with reduced risk of non-communicable diseases

Posted Posted in Health

People who eat higher levels of dietary fiber and whole grains have lower rates of non-communicable diseases compared with people who eat lesser amounts, while links for low glycaemic load and low glycaemic index diets are less clear. Observational studies and clinical trials conducted over nearly 40 years reveal the health benefits of eating at […]

Brain plasticity restored in adult mice through targeting specific nerve cell connections

Posted Posted in Health

Neuroscientists at Tufts University School of Medicine, in collaboration with colleagues at Yale University School of Medicine, have discovered a new molecular mechanism that is essential for maturation of brain function and may be used to restore plasticity in aged brains. Unlike previous research that broadly manipulated brain plasticity using approaches that affected the entire […]

healing methods

New materials could ‘drive wound healing’ by harnessing natural healing methods

Posted Posted in Health

Materials are widely used to help heal wounds: Collagen sponges help treat burns and pressure sores, and scaffold-like implants are used to repair bones. However, the process of tissue repair changes over time, so scientists are developing biomaterials that interact with tissues as healing takes place. Now, Dr. Ben Almquist and his team at Imperial […]

pain in the neck

Computers can be a real pain in the neck

Posted Posted in Health

It’s a posture so common we almost don’t notice it anymore: someone sitting at a computer jutting his or her head forward to look more closely at the screen. But this seemingly harmless position compresses the neck and can lead to fatigue, headaches, poor concentration, increased muscle tension and even injury to the vertebrae over […]