ScienceDaily: Top Health News

The secret to producing large batches of stem cells more efficiently may lie in the near-zero gravity conditions of space. Scientists have found that microgravity has the potential to contribute to life-saving advances on Earth by facilitating the rapid mass production of stem cells.

Immunotherapies called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells use genetically engineered versions of a patient's own immune cells to fight cancer. These treatments have energized cancer care, especially for people with certain types of blood cancers. Now, scientists have developed new CAR T cells that can do something their predecessors cannot: Make drugs.

Cancer deaths rose to 10 million and new cases jumped to over 23 million globally in 2019, according to a new scientific study.

COVID-19 vaccination of expectant mothers elicits levels of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 outer 'spike' protein at the time of delivery that don't vary dramatically with the timing of vaccination during pregnancy and thus don't justify delaying vaccination, according to a new study.

A healthy, comprehensive diet that lowers the body's inflammation reduces the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus, reveals a new study.

A new study shows that among patients with obesity, prior weight loss achieved with bariatric surgery was associated with a 60 percent lower risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19 infection.

Researchers have shown in mice models of Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies, that the intranasal administration of rifampicin and resveratrol in combination is safer and improves cognitive function more than rifampicin alone. The research results are expected to lead to the development of safe and effective nasal spray for the prevention of dementia.

Research to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of fully vaccinated patients with cancer who had breakthrough COVID-19 infections indicates they remained at high risk for hospitalization and death.

Researchers have found that individuals with a certain HLA type may be able to mount a killer T cell response to COVID-19, thanks to the T cells responding to a portion of the virus's spike protein that is also present in seasonal coronaviruses that cause the common cold. This work could help explain the different responses between populations, and could potentially be used as a way to develop a new type of vaccine against the disease.

Researchers have solved a decade-long mystery about a critical protein linked to Parkinson's disease that could help to fast-track treatments for the incurable disease. The research has produced a 'live action' view of the protein, called PINK1, in exquisite molecular detail. The discovery explains how the protein is activated in the cell, where it is responsible for initiating the removal and replacement of damaged mitochondria. When the protein is not working correctly, it can starve brain cells of energy, causing them to malfunction and -- in the long term -- die, as happens to dopamine-producing cells in Parkinson's disease. The discovery is the culmination of a project spanning eight years and provides the first detailed blueprint for the discovery and development of therapeutic agents that could help to slow or even stop the progression of Parkinson's disease.

Researchers have presented a method that allows the heavier hydrogen 'brother' deuterium to be introduced specifically into many different molecules. The deuterated compounds obtained in this way are more stable against degradation by certain enzymes. Drugs produced using this method can be effective for longer, meaning they have to be taken in lower doses or less frequently.

DNAzymes are precision biocatalysts that destroy unwanted RNA molecules. However, major obstacles to their use in medicine remain. Scientists have investigated with atomic resolution how DNAzymes work in real time.

A little wiggle room might be just what the doctor ordered. New research suggests that the peptides -- short chunks of protein -- used to treat Type 2 diabetes may be more effective if they're able to flexibly move back and forth between different shapes.

The benefits of good education and lifelong learning extend into old age. The initial findings of a long-term study show that certain degenerative processes are reduced in the brains of academics. Their brains are better able to compensate age-related cognitive and neural limitations.

Researchers have developed a new neural network computational model that helps unravel the brain's complexity.

Prion diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), are fast-moving, fatal dementia syndromes associated with the formation of aggregates of the prion protein, PrP. How these aggregates form within and kill brain cells has never been fully understood, but a new study suggests that the aggregates kill neurons by damaging their axons, the narrow nerve fibers through which they send signals to other neurons.