Researchers have discovered a mechanism for COVID-19 susceptibility using a newly created tool. The tool, GASPACHO, captures dynamic changes in gene expression along the innate immune response, allowing researchers to identify genes and molecular pathways associated with disease risk that have previously been too complex to detect or interpret. Using GASPACHO (GAuSsian Processes for Association mapping leveraging Cell HeterOgeneity), researchers […]

June is a very special month for homeless cats—it’s Adopt a Shelter Cat Month! Throughout the summer, we are working with our friends at ARM & HAMMER™ Cat Litter to help  cats in need find loving homes. Many of these cats have been overlooked, or perhaps misunderstood, and we want to show the world just how unique and lovable they […]

Researchers evaluated whether a common diabetes medication, metformin, can prevent long COVID. They found that metformin can reduce long COVID diagnoses by 40%. Further studies are needed to know if these findings apply to the general population. Long COVID is characterized by ongoing health problems that occur after a COVID-19 diagnosis, and which cannot be explained by other factors. Symptoms […]

The rate of hospital encounters for benzodiazepine-related toxicity rose by 67% for young adults (aged 19 to 24) and 44% for youth (aged 18 or below) in Ontario between 2013 and 2020, according to a new study from ICES and Unity Health Toronto. Though there was an overall decline of 7% in the provincial rate of benzodiazepine toxicity, this was […]

Oxidative stress – characterized by elevated levels of unstable molecules called reactive oxygen species– is associated with neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease. However, until recently it has not been possible to demonstrate a causal relationship between oxidative stress and disease states. A new study used "chemogenetics" to activate a recombinant yeast protein expressed in mouse tissues to manipulate levels of oxidative […]

Researchers at the University of Houston are working to make T-cell immunotherapy safer, developing a tool called CrossDome, which uses a combination of genetic and biochemical information to predict if T-cell immunotherapies might mistakenly attack healthy cells. T-cell based immunotherapies hold tremendous potential in the fight against cancer and infectious diseases, thanks to their capacity to specifically target diseased cells, […]

For years, research and therapies for allergic asthma have been focused largely on targeting the inflammatory cytokines in the body that react to allergens and cause overproduction of mucus, wheezing and difficulty breathing. Commonly prescribed drugs like omalizumab, dupilumab, mepolizumab and reslizumab lower or block the various cytokines and antibodies responsible for the asthmatic response, but they work after a […]

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan have discovered a set of related mutations that lead to intracranial aneurysms-;weakened blood vessels in the brain that can burst at any time. The mutations all appear to act on the same biological signaling pathway, and the researchers report the first ever pharmaceutical treatment in a mouse model, which […]

The chances of surviving massive blood loss from a traumatic injury such as a gunshot wound are around 50 percent. To survive, a patient needs two things to happen quickly: a large infusion of blood and coagulation at the wound to stop the bleeding. The problem is one of these solutions prevents the other. Introducing a large amount of blood […]

Carl G. Streed, MD, MPH, FACP, FAHA, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and the research lead for the GenderCare Center at Boston Medical Center (BMC), has received the 2023 Excellence in LGBTQ Health Award (Physician) from the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Board of Directors. This annual award honors physicians who […]