Scientists have identified an enzyme that may play a crucial role in Huntington’s disease, a rare and deadly disorder that destroys brain cells. The discovery of an important enzyme involved in Huntington’s disease could pave the way for future treatments to prevent the disease, the researchers say.

Over the past 25 years, psychologists have discovered that personalities cluster around five core traits, called the Big Five. Each person can be described as having varying levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, extroversion, and openness to experience. Contrary to popular belief, people are not limited to specific personality types. Typically,

Inner monologues are considered to be an imitation of overt speech. However, for a long time, the study of inner speech was difficult because people in studies expressed their thoughts in words, even if they were not actually thinking in words. Most thoughts actually happen in the background, without our

A gene encoding a program for collective behavior of worker bees has been identified. The press service of the German Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf reported that the process is controlled by the dsx gene, which is already known to science and plays a special role in bee DNA.

The superbug Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff, can cause dangerous intestinal infections. There are limited treatment options, and patients often face repeated infections, which can be fatal. Now, a new study shows that this dangerous bacterium can quickly develop resistance to antibiotics, although this resistance comes at a cost to

Russians are urged to see a doctor if they detect symptoms of the Coxsackie virus. Immunologists reported that the Coxsackie virus, known as intestinal flu, causes high fever, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhea. If they are detected, it is important to immediately see a doctor and get tested. The virus

Scientists have discovered a type of fungus that has never been seen in humans before. They say warmer temperatures may be making it evolve for the worse. The fungus, called Rhodosporidiobolus fluvialis, was found in clinical samples from two unrelated hospital patients. In experiments, the researchers found that the yeast

A difficult-to-treat form of ringworm can be sexually transmitted and has now been found in the United States. Ringworm, also known as tinea, is a skin infection caused by a variety of fungi. In this case, the culprit is a fungus called Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII (TMVII). It has previously

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Americans Victor Ambrose of the University of Massachusetts and Gary Ravkan of Harvard Medical School “for their discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.”

Fifteen years ago, scientists discovered a new species of deadly, drug-resistant fungus: Candida auris. It is now considered one of the most dangerous fungal pathogens on Earth. In an excerpt from What If Fungi Win? (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024), author Arturo Casadevall looks at the rise of this deadly

Since autumn 2023, about 23 thousand residents of the DRC have been infected with the virus from the “clade Ib” by the beginning of August 2024, which is significantly higher than official estimates. Epidemiologists from the UK, Japan, Singapore and the US have concluded that the new strain of monkeypox

Recent cases of a viral disease called Triple E have occurred in New York and New England. A mosquito-borne virus called Triple E recently killed a man in Ulster County, New York. Earlier this year, Triple E fatally infected a man in New Hampshire and has also sickened a number

In Novosibirsk, it was found that the extract of Leuzea suppresses the activity of coronavirus. As the researchers note, herbal preparations containing biologically active substances can be alternative or additional means of treating viral infections

Scientists report that a new tick-borne virus has been discovered in China that can be transmitted to humans and sometimes cause neurological diseases. Animal studies have shown that the virus can cause fatal infections by affecting the brain and other organs. Infection with the orthonairovirus (Wetland virus – WELV) can

Wild gorillas eat the same tree bark used by traditional healers that can inhibit the growth of E. coli in petri dishes, according to a new study. Scientists have found that wild gorillas in Gabon eat some of the same plants used by traditional healers in the region, and these

An analysis of samples collected during an expedition to the Arctic Ocean suggests that marine microbes could be a promising new source of antibiotics. Scientists have found that substances produced by Arctic Ocean microbes called actinobacteria can stop harmful bacteria from growing and causing disease.

Scientists have found that over the past 41,000 years, viral communities have varied significantly across cold and warm climate periods. Massive ice structures like glaciers act as natural freezers, archiving records of past climates and ecosystems — including viruses. A team of microbiologists and paleoclimatologists studying ancient microorganisms, including viruses,

CRISPR could soon be used to edit the DNA of human embryos. With this intervention, the DNA changes are also passed on to the patient’s future biological descendants. By 2018, at least two children had been born as a result of germline editing with embryos that had been genetically modified

Biologists have found that the cells of some organs in women’s bodies contain an active “paternal” X chromosome, while in other organs the “maternal” X chromosome will be active with a different set of mutations and epigenetic marks. This can cause serious differences in the work of the same genes

Russian and Swedish molecular biologists have discovered that Cape naked mole rats, exceptionally long-lived rodents, have lost some of the genes from the CD1 family, which are responsible for the recognition of various pathogenic bacteria by T cells, during their evolution. This indicates a major restructuring of the immune system

The MHRA has approved Casgevy to treat sickle cell disease (SCD) and transfusion-dependent beta thalassaemia. These are lifelong genetic disorders caused by mutations in the genes that code for haemoglobin, the protein red blood cells need to transport oxygen around the body. CRISPR could treat a common form of inherited

Preliminary data from a groundbreaking clinical trial suggests that CRISPR could be safely used in cancer therapy. In the first clinical trial of its kind, researchers used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to fine-tune the DNA of people’s immune cells in hopes of fighting cancer.

Scientists have discovered Fanzor proteins, which work like CRISPR but are smaller and easier to deliver to cells, and used them to edit human DNA. Researchers have discovered a new gene-editing system similar to CRISPR in complex organisms, demonstrating for the first time that DNA-modifying proteins exist in all kingdoms

Gene therapy has made headlines in recent years, in part because of rapid advances in biotechnology that allow doctors to perform such treatments. Broadly speaking, gene therapy is a technique used to treat or prevent disease by changing the content or expression of DNA in cells, often by replacing defective

Scientists have identified tens of thousands of mysterious “knots” in human DNA that may play a key role in controlling gene activity. The activity of 4-strand DNA in living cells has been revealed. Synthetic DNA with four extra letters has been created. DNA twists into strange shapes to fit into

There are about 170 billion cells in the brain, and as they go about their normal business, they produce a lot of waste. To stay healthy, the brain needs to flush out all that junk. But how exactly it does this has remained a mystery. Now, two teams of scientists

A protein called Reelin keeps appearing in the brain that fights aging and Alzheimer’s disease. A protein that helps shape the brain early in life also appears to protect the organ from Alzheimer’s and other diseases associated with aging. Japanese and European neuroscientists have found that injecting large amounts of

The study provides a detailed look at how drugs containing psilocybin temporarily enhance the brain’s ability to adapt and change, a capacity known as plasticity. According to Dr. Joshua Siegel, a researcher at the University of Washington and the study’s lead author, disruptions in brain networks are responsible for the

The American company Gilead Sciences, Inc. has conducted the first clinical trials of the last, third phase of its new drug for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) lenacapavir. And the medicine has shown absolute effectiveness: according to the manufacturer, this is the first medication in history that protects against HIV

Deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation have adopted a law on the handling of medical waste, which will make this area transparent and safe. Now all medical waste will be recorded and disposed of according to new rules depending on the hazard class. The bill also establishes