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Ten years and 1,000 studies later, epigeneticists discover problems in their arsenal

Twenty years ago, following the initial sequencing of the human genome, geneticists started carrying out extensive genome-wide association studies to find genomic regions connected to human disease.

In addition to the DNA sequence, another stable level of molecular data created during development called epigenetic modifications also plays a role in disease risk.

Researchers have been examining these epigenetic changes for more than ten years to look for links to disease. More than a thousand of these epigenome-wide association studies have been published as of late.

Researchers discover a link between bacteria in the mouth and deadly brain abscesses

The inside of a person’s mouth can say a lot about their overall health. Studies have established links between poor oral health and conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and pneumonia. Now, a new study shows there’s a connection to the brain. Researchers in the U.K. found certain bacteria in the mouth may cause deadly brain abscesses.

The Next Step for AI in Biology Is to Predict How Proteins Behave in the Body

This shapeshifting controls the biological processes of living things—for example, opening the protein tunnels dotted along neurons or driving cancerous growth. But it also makes understanding protein behavior and developing drugs that interact with proteins a challenge.

While recent AI breakthroughs in the prediction (and even generation) of protein structures are a huge advance 50 years in the making, they still only offer snapshots of proteins. To capture whole biological processes—and identify which lead to diseases—we need predictions of protein structures in multiple “poses” and, more importantly, how each of these poses changes a cell’s inner functions. And if we’re to rely on AI to solve the challenge, we need more data.

Thanks to a new protein atlas published this month in Nature, we now have a great start.

Israeli scientists say substance prevents cancer’s spread in mice with 90% success

Israeli scientists are aiming to produce the world’s first preventative drug designed to stop tumors causing secondary cancer, and say the active ingredient has shown more than 90 percent effectiveness in mice.

The Bar Ilan University research team produced a peptide — a chain of amino acids — made to stop cancer cells from entering the blood and therefore halting them from moving around the body.

They have published peer-reviewed research showing that it successfully prevented metastasis in mice, meaning it prevented the spread of diseased cells that can cause secondary cancer.

Scientists make new discovery about reversing the ageing process

Researchers look at DNA of lab mice and ultimately reverse ageing process Related: Empowered Aging Scientists have made a new discovery about how to reverse the ageing process through looking at the way in which cells in DNA are organised. In a new study published in Cell, David Sinclair, who is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, and his team described how they looked at a genome, which is called epigenome, in mice to study the ageing process.

Holes in T cells

Certain T cells can secrete cytokines that are normally part of the innate immune system, as researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) and an international research team discovered. They have thus revealed several previously unknown properties of these immune cells that are relevant regarding both autoimmune diseases as well as fighting fungal infections. The study was published in Nature Immunology.

T cells belong to the adaptive immune system, which recognizes foreign antigens and specifically fights pathogens. Different T cells perform different functions in this process. So-called T helper cells secrete cytokines that attract other immune cells to the site of infection and trigger inflammation there. However, T helper cells can also counteract inflammation. Better understanding these mechanisms helps in the development of therapeutics against pathogens or autoimmune diseases.

“We found a cytokine in a subset of T helper cells, the Th17 cells, that was previously known to be part of the innate immune system,” explains study leader Christina Zielinski. She heads the Department of Infection Immunology at Leibniz-HKI and is a professor at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena. The cytokine, called IL-1α, is strongly pro-inflammatory. “It is a signal molecule for danger. Even the smallest amounts are enough to trigger fever,” Zielinski said. It is thought to be involved in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis in children.

Prosthetics, Telepathy & Robo-Implants: The Cyborg Revolution | Futurism & Robots Documentary (Ep 1)

We’ve all seen Cyborgs in Hollywood blockbusters. But it turns out these fictional beings aren’t so far-fetched. In fact, this program features a true-to-life cyborg, who at four months of age, was the youngest American to be outfitted with a myoelectric hand. And at one ground-breaking engineering.
facility, engineers are developing biotechnologies that can even further enhance high-tech like this by giving mechanical prosthetics something incredible: the physical sensation of touch!

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