When students at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) found a dead mule deer on campus, they figured it had been killed by coyotes. Wildlife biologist Chris Wilmers rigged up a video camera to spy on the carcass at night. But the animal that crept out of the shadows to dine on the deer was no coyote – it…
Cats are very good at hiding their health problems, a survival instinct from their wild ancestors, when showing weakness made them easier prey. One health problem they hide is heart disease, meaning it can progress to become life-threatening before it’s noticed. About 10 to 15 percent of cats have some type of heart disease, according to John Rush, a veterinary cardiologist…
A multi-center randomized clinical trial evaluating a new artificial pancreas system — which automatically monitors and regulates blood glucose levels — has found that the new system was more effective than existing treatments at controlling blood glucose levels in people with type 1 diabetes. The study showed that the system improved participants’ blood glucose control throughout the day and overnight.…
Most cases of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a type of soft-tissue cancer (sarcoma), are caused by mutations in genes that can be effectively targeted with drugs that inhibit the activity of rogue cancer-promoting enzymes. But an estimated 10% to 20% of GISTs have no identifiable or targetable mutations. Now, investigators in a Boston-area cancer research collaboration have clarified mechanisms that…
The brain’s neural activity — long implicated in disorders ranging from dementia to epilepsy — also plays a role in human aging and life span, according to research led by scientists in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School (HMS). The study, published today in Nature, is based on findings from human brains, mice, and worms and suggests that excessive activity in…
UMass Medical School received a $365,000 grant to collaborate with the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review to examine the clinical and economic value of future therapies to treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Jerry Gurwitz, MD, the Dr. John Meyers Professor of Primary Care Medicine, professor of medicine, chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and executive director of the Meyers Primary Care…
A chemical that has improved surgeries for brain cancer by making tumor cells fluorescent may also help doctors safely diagnose the disease and monitor its response to treatment, according to a new study led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Brain cancer can be especially difficult to diagnose and to monitor after treatment because methods such as tissue biopsies…
More than 200 square meters of our bodies — including the digestive tract, lungs, and urinary tract — are lined with mucus. In recent years, scientists have found some evidence that mucus is not just a physical barrier that traps bacteria and viruses, but it can also disarm pathogens and prevent them from causing infections. A new study from MIT…
CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on creating transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases, and KSQ Therapeutics, a biotechnology company using CRISPR technology to enable the company’s powerful drug discovery engine to achieve higher probabilities of success in drug development, today announced a license agreement whereby CRISPR Therapeutics will gain access to KSQ intellectual property (IP) for editing certain novel…
A team of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) led by Steven Grinspoon, MD, has identified a novel therapeutic strategy to significantly improve a form of liver disease that affects many people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to a study to be published online in The Lancet HIV on October 10. There is currently no treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in…