News by Subject Biology

Scientists at the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam have uncovered a possible explanation for the mental sluggishness that often accompanies illness.

For the first time, Australian scientists have shown that environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used to detect the presence of an endangered bird species simply by collecting a cupful of water from the pools where they drink.

Following a nearly 25-year search across three continents, parents of a pair of sisters -- who as children slowly became paralyzed from the waist down -- finally have a diagnosis, according to researchers at USC and TGen. Thanks to a chance viewing on French TV of a story about another physically disabled child who regained her mobility after being diagnosed at TGen, the parents of the two sisters contacted TGen, hoping to end their decades-long diagnostic odyssey.

In a surprising finding using the standard animal model of Down syndrome (DS), scientists were able to correct the learning and memory deficits associated with the condition -- the leading genetic cause of cognitive disability and the most frequently diagnosed chromosomal disorder in the US -- with drugs that target the body's response to cellular stresses.

Researchers identified non-coding regions of the human genome that control the development and function of four brain cell types and mapped genetic risk variants for psychiatric diseases. They found that risk variants for Alzheimer's disease were enriched in microglia-specific regulatory elements.

New research from Dr. Luis M. Schang and his group at the Baker Institute for Animal Health has identified a new mechanism that plays a role in controlling how the herpes virus alternates between dormant and active stages of infection.