A new study this week points to a potential transmission risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers found evidence in mice that an inherited form of the neurological disorder can be passed on via bone marrow donation. While such a danger has yet to be confirmed in humans and likely to be infrequent if it can happen, the…
Twenty-five years ago, a team of researchers excavated a cemetery in West Virginia hoping to find George Washington’s little brother. Five graves were unearthed, and after testing small bones retrieved from these burial sites, tentative identities have been assigned. A new DNA analysis has now certified three sets of…
Modern medicine has extended our lives and reduced suffering in all kinds of ways. Many of the impactful interventions we have available today have been around for a long time, like antibiotics, most painkillers, and various forms of cancer screening. But every once in a while, scientists come up with novel treatments…
Research published this week describes a promising start to using stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis. In a small Phase I trial, patients who had stem cells directly injected into their brain appeared to tolerate it well and experienced no serious adverse effects. The treatment may have also stopped or slowed the…
Parents are increasingly finding ways to keep their children unvaccinated as they enter kindergarten, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. The percentage of parents claiming vaccine exemptions for their children has increased nationwide this year, with many states rising over 5%.…
Shady stem cell clinics are still peddling false hope to people dealing with covid-19, new research this week suggests. The study found dozens of clinics selling stem cell treatments for covid-related issues, especially long covid. These therapies often cost thousands of dollars, but there’s no good evidence that they…
An experimental gene therapy that uses a modified herpes virus shows promise as a brain cancer treatment, according to new research. The Phase I study found evidence that the virus could safely induce an immune response that attacked the often-fatal cancer. It also seemed to extend the length of survival in those who…
A team of paleontologists studying the fossilized shell of a sea turtle from the Miocene Epoch found something surprising and perhaps impossible: preserved bone cells that they believe may contain ancient DNA, the molecule that holds the genetic information of living things.
Sir Ian Wilmut, the British scientist who led the team which cloned Dolly the sheep, has died, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland confirmed in a statement on Monday. He was 79 years old.
A team of scientists in Israel say they’ve accomplished an incredible feat of biology: The creation of a completely human-like embryo model without the need for a sperm or egg. The synthetic embryos were grown using stem cells instead and appeared to have the same structures and components of a typical human embryo up…
