Opioid use disorder is associated with more than 350,000 deaths annually worldwide. Guided by the need for an increased understanding of critical neurobiological features of addiction, researchers have now found a unique molecular signature and genes in the orbitofrontal cortex associated with heroin-seeking behavior. A preclinical rodent model implicated a gene called Shisa7 as the key predictor. A new study in Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, provides valuable insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying heroin addiction and may have implications for the development of innovative strategies to combat the ongoing opioid epidemic.

Researchers at City of Hope have found that cell mutations are necessary but not always sufficient for tumors to form. Instead, they suggest that additional risk factors that promote tumor growth, like chronic inflammation, are a key trigger for tumor formation. The study findings, published this month in Cancer Discovery, answer a question that scientists have long asked: Are cell mutations alone — whether genetically inherited or acquired through lifestyle choices — enough to cause cancer?

A drug typically prescribed for arthritis halts brain-damaging seizures in mice that have a condition like epilepsy, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. If the drug proves viable for human patients, it would be the first to provide lasting relief from seizures even after they stopped taking it.

This research comes as many mosquito-borne viruses are spreading rapidly.  "Our challenge is to develop vaccines that are both safe and effective against not just one virus, but all these closely related flaviviruses..."