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Category: health – Page 2

Epistasis study uncovers genetic interactions linked to heart disease

Euan Ashley’s lab explores the intricate interactions of gene variants. Tiny “typos,” or genetic mutations, can sneak into segments of DNA. Many of these are harmless, but some can cause health problems. Two or more genes can team up and change the outcome of a physical or molecular trait. This phenomenon, known as epistasis, occurs through complex interactions between genes that are functionally related—such as those that support protein creation.

Identifying these group dynamics provides crucial clues to how genetic diseases manifest and should be treated. But they’re not easily detected and often fly under the radar.

To help root out these connections, Ashley, MB ChB, DPhil, professor of genetics and of biomedical data science, and a team of scientists, including co-corresponding author Bin Yu, Ph.D., a professor of statistics and of electrical engineering and computer sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed computational techniques to identify and understand the hidden ways epistasis influences inherited diseases.

How can we better invest in people’s prosperity, health, skills and jobs? Davos 2026

‘People’, whether it’s for the benefit they bring to growth or the challenge they pose to the balance sheet, always feature on the Annual Meeting’s agenda.

This year, geopolitics dominated the headlines, but a quieter conversation about the investment in people persisted, reflecting a shared recognition that human well-being and human capital is the key to economic resilience.

Scientists discover how to reactivate cancer’s molecular “kill switch”

(Farmington, Conn. – March 13, 2025) – Alternative RNA splicing is like a movie editor cutting and rearranging scenes from the same footage to create different versions of a film. By selecting which scenes to keep and which to leave out, the editor can produce a drama, a comedy, or even a thriller—all from the same raw material. Similarly, cells splice RNA in different ways to produce a variety of proteins from a single gene, fine-tuning their function based on need. However, when cancer rewrites the script, this process goes awry, fueling tumor growth and survival.

In a recent study reported in the Feb. 15 issue of Nature Communications, scientists from The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and UConn Health not only show how cancer hijacks this tightly regulated splicing and rearranging of RNA but also introduce a potential therapeutic strategy that could slow or even shrink aggressive and hard-to-treat tumors. This discovery could transform how we treat aggressive cancers like triple-negative breast cancer and certain brain tumors, where current treatment options are limited.

At the heart of this work, led by Olga Anczuków, an associate professor at JAX and co-program leader at the NCI-designated JAX Cancer Center, are tiny genetic elements called poison exons, nature’s own “off switch” for protein production. When these exons are included in an RNA message, they trigger its destruction before a protein can be made—preventing harmful cellular activity. In healthy cells, poison exons regulate the levels of key proteins, keeping the genetic machinery in check. But in cancer, this safety mechanism often fails.

Fecal transplant capsules show promising results in clinical trials for multiple types of cancer

Fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) can dramatically improve cancer treatment, suggest two groundbreaking studies published in the Nature Medicine journal. The first study shows that the toxic side effects of drugs to treat kidney cancer could be eliminated with FMT. The second study suggests FMT is effective in improving the response to immunotherapy in patients with lung cancer and melanoma.

The findings represent a giant step forward in using FMT capsules—developed at Lawson Research Institute (Lawson) of St. Joseph’s Health Care London and used in clinical trials at London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (LHSCRI) and Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM)—for safe and effective cancer treatment.

A Phase I clinical trial was conducted by scientists at LHSCRI and Lawson to determine if FMT is safe when combined with an immunotherapy drug to treat kidney cancer. The team found that customized FMT may help reduce toxic side effects from immunotherapy. The clinical trial involved 20 patients at the Verspeeten Family Cancer Centre at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).

Electronic informed consent in research on rare diseases sees strong participant interest

Research on rare diagnoses and the development of precision medicine depend on patients being able to share their health data in a secure and ethical manner. The research study, published in Scientific Reports, in which a digital platform was developed to collect electronic informed consent, shows that many participants want to contribute to research and appreciate the digital solution, but also that the technology needs further development.

A digital consent platform was tested at three centers in Sweden, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Lund. More than 2,200 individuals who had previously undergone whole-genome sequencing were invited to give consent electronically for research and data sharing.

For those who lacked an electronic identity verification system, or who preferred traditional methods, paper-based consent was also available. As a comparison, a national patient cohort within Undiagnosed Diseases Network Sweden (UDN Sweden) was studied, where recruitment took place in close collaboration with patient organizations.

New study reveals surprising side effects linked to driving electric vehicles: ‘It … has an immediate impact’

Next, the study’s authors will examine whether more ZEVs are associated with fewer asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

Their work adds to the extensive research on whether EVs are better for the planet long-term than their gas-powered counterparts. Despite imperfections such as mining, the findings are clear on that front. The USC team is showing that when it comes to the air we breathe and public health, the benefits of EVs are undeniable.

“These findings show that cleaner air isn’t just a theory—it’s already happening in communities across California,” declared Sandrah Eckel, the study’s lead author.

Researchers identify new blood markers that may detect early pancreatic cancer

NIH-funded, four-marker panel could one day help catch one of deadliest cancers at more treatable stages.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported investigators have developed a blood test to find pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The new test could improve survival rates from pancreatic cancer, which tends to be diagnosed at late stages when therapy is less likely to be effective. The findings were published in Clinical Cancer Research.

Overall, only about 1 in 10 pancreatic cancer patients survive more than five years from diagnosis. However, experts expect that when the cancer is found and treated at an earlier stage, survival would improve. While finding the cancer early is key, there are no current screening methods to do so.

Flavanols Break the Rules of Nutrition: Scientists Uncover the Surprising Way They Boost the Brain

The health benefits of dietary flavanols appear to come from their ability to trigger responses in the brain and the body’s stress systems. That slightly dry, tightening feeling some foods leave in the mouth is known as astringency, and it comes from naturally occurring plant compounds called pol

Using rare sugars to address alcoholism

While investigating the FGF21-oxytocin-dopamine system, a mechanism that regulates sugar appetite, a team of researchers at Kyoto University noticed reports suggesting that the protein FGF21 may regulate alcohol ingestion.

The team’s original aim had been to address sugar appetite in lifestyle-related diseases, but since alcohol is a fermented product of sugar, they speculated that perhaps the body contains a system that recognizes both alcohol and sugar as the same entity.

Alcohol consumption and intervention challenges Excessive alcohol consumption is a major global health issue, and effective countermeasures for prevention and treatment are limited. Patients with alcohol dependence generally have a low adherence to pharmaceuticals, and many avoid drug treatment because it deprives them of the pleasure of drinking.

A new flexible AI chip for smart wearables is thinner than a human hair

The promise of smart wearables is often talked up, and while there have been some impressive innovations, we are still not seeing their full potential. Among the things holding them back is that the chips that operate them are stiff, brittle, and power-hungry. To overcome these problems, researchers from Tsinghua University and Peking University in China have developed FLEXI, a new family of flexible chips. They are thinner than a human hair, flexible enough to be folded thousands of times, and incorporate AI.

A flexible solution

In a paper published in the journal Nature, the team details the design of their chip and how it can handle complex AI tasks, such as processing data from body sensors to identify health indicators, such as irregular heartbeats, in real time.

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