Gamm cautions against expecting too much, too soon. “It’s unreasonable to think that we are going to cure blindness in general, just like we’re not going to cure cancer with one magic bullet,” he says. “What we hope to do is make a meaningful change in a patient’s visual function, such that their activities of daily life are improved.”

Regenerative therapies for the eyes could help to save vision in people with glaucoma, macular degeneration and damaged corneas.

Findings from study believed to be largest of its kind contradict smaller studies showing treatment’s promise.

Regular doses of the hormone oxytocin do not appear to overcome deficits in social functioning among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings contradict earlier reports that indicated the hormone could alleviate the difficulties in social functioning characteristic of ASD. Oxytocin is associated with empathy and social bonding. The study was conducted by Linmarie Sikich, M.D., of Duke University, and colleagues. It appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Funding was provided by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

Toxic chemicals known as PFAS exist in almost 42,000 sites around the U.S., according to research released on Tuesday by the Environmental Working Group.

The research published in the American Water Works Association’s journal Water Science found tens of thousands of potential point sources for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination around the country. Researchers analyzed data collected between August 2016 and March 2021. They found numerous previously unknown PFAS sites in samples of water downstream from manufacturing facilities.

“We don’t as of yet have great information on how frequently these different sources are contributing to the PFAS contamination we’re finding in surface water and drinking water,” lead study author David Andrews told The Hill.

Researchers have identified a subpopulation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that boost the healing of bone fractures and show an ability to differentiate into various cell types.

Their findings are published in the journal Bone Reports in a paper titled, “Bone marrow CD73⁺ mesenchymal stem cells display increased stemness in vitro and promote fracture healing in vivo,” and led by researchers from the University of Tsukuba, in collaboration with the University of Bonn, Germany.

“MSCs are multipotent and considered to be of great potential for regenerative medicine,” the researchers wrote. “We could show recently (Breitbach, Kimura, et al. 2018) that a subpopulation of MSCs, as well as sinusoidal endothelial cells (sECs) in the bone marrow (BM) of CD73-EGFP reporter mice, could be labeled in vivo. We took advantage of this model to explore the plasticity and osteogenic potential of CD73-EGFP+ MSCs in vitro and their role in the regenerative response upon bone lesion in vivo.”

“Lower levels of DHA are associated with inflammation, cardiovascular and brain disorders, such as depression, which are all linked to migraine risk.”

Professor Nyholt said LPE(20:4) was a chemical compound that blocked the production of an anti-inflammatory molecule called anandamide.

Summary: Researchers have identified causal genetic links to three blood metabolite levels that increase migraine risks.

Source: Queensland University of Technology

Migraines are a pain in the head and in the hip pocket, but newly discovered genetic causes by QUT researchers could lead the way to new preventative drugs and therapies.

Genetic analyses findings were published in The American Journal of Human Genetics by Professor Dale Nyholt and his PhD candidates Hamzeh Tanha and Anita Sathyanarayanan, all from the QUT Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health.

Researchers in Iceland are growing over 100,000 genetically modified barley plants inside a greenhouse for a very unusual purpose: creating lab-grown meat, the BBC reports.

The altered barley gets harvested and purified to extract “growth factor” proteins, which, in turn, can be used to cultivate lab-grown meat — an innovation that could make the lab-grown meat industry rely even less on live animals in the future.

The company behind the greenhouse, ORF Genetics, is growing the biogenetically engineered barley over 22,000 square feet using high-tech hydroponic cultivation methods.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals cause adverse effects in animals. But limited scientific information exists on potential health problems in humans. Because people are typically exposed to multiple at the same time, assessing public health effects is difficult.

Many chemicals, both natural and man-made, may mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones, known as the endocrine system. Called endocrine disruptors, these chemicals are linked with developmental, reproductive, brain, immune, and other problems.

Endocrine disruptors are found in many everyday products, including some plastic bottles and containers, liners of metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides.

Some endocrine-disrupting chemicals are slow to break-down in the environment. That characteristic makes them potentially hazardous over time.

In a paper published in Scientific Reports, academics at the University of Surrey have discovered that biological cells generate an electric field voltage that appears outside and not just within, meaning each cell acts as a tiny electrode. Since this voltage impacts how cells interact with their environment, including the way cells stick to one another, this has significant potential implications for future medical treatments.

Since the 1790s, scientists have known that electricity plays a role in the function of life, with the discovery in the 1940s that every cell contains a voltage that controls many of its functions. This is particularly the case in muscle and nerve cells but has also been shown to play an important role in diseases such as cancer.

However, until now, this voltage has always been understood to be contained within the cell. Through intricate experiments with red blood cells, the Surrey-led research team has shown that the voltage appears outside the cell as well. This means that cells effectively act as tiny transmitters, electrically changing the environment around them. Similar results in other types of biological cells could play a significant role in determining new types of medical treatment.

However, the numbers used by the study were wrong. The authors largely underestimated the amount of vaccines delivered, giving a number 25 times smaller than the actual amount.

They initially said that the number of vaccines delivered was 32,379 — when it was actually 854,930.

As a result of this miscalculation, the study was withdrawn on September 24 with the researchers saying in a statement: Our reported incidence appeared vastly inflated by an incorrectly small denominator (i.e. number of doses administered over the time period of the study).

A preprint study first uploaded to MedRxiv that claimed a 1 in 1,000 risk of contracting myocarditis from a COVID-19 vaccination has been withdrawn due to miscalculations.

MedRxiv is a website that publishes studies that have yet to be peer-reviewed, according to Reuters.

The study was first published on September 16 and conducted by researchers at The University of Ottawa Heart Institute. It was widely used to promote the idea that the COVID-19 vaccine is unsafe for use.

A Northwestern University research team has developed a versatile composite fabric that can deactivate both biological threats, such as the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and chemical threats, such as those used in chemical warfare. A material that is effective against both classes of threats is rare.

The material also is reusable. It can be restored to its original state after the fabric has been exposed to threats by a simple bleach treatment. The promising fabric could be used in face masks and other protective clothing.

“Having a bifunctional material that has the ability to deactivate both chemical and biological toxic agents is crucial since the complexity to integrate multiple materials to do the job is high,” said Northwestern’s Omar Farha, an expert in metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, which is the basis for the technology.