WashU Medicine receives 80 million to study exceptional longevity

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received an $80 million grant to continue research into the mysteries of exceptional longevity. The grant renews support for the Long Life Family Study, a long-running, international investigation of multiple generations of families with unusually high numbers of individuals who have lived much longer than … Read more

New blood test method improves accuracy of cancer detection

A new, error-corrected method for detecting cancer from blood samples is much more sensitive and accurate than prior methods and may be useful for monitoring disease status in patients following treatment, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Genome Center investigators. The method, based on whole-genome sequencing of DNA, also represents … Read more

Genetic fusion drives unexpectedly fast growth in chronic myeloid leukemia

A new study has unveiled when chronic myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, arises in life and how fast it grows. Researchers reveal explosive growth rates of cancerous cells years before diagnosis and variation in these rates of growth between patients. Such rapid growth rates had previously not … Read more

Bartonella, Babesia pathogens can be a cofactor in complex neurological illnesses

In a new case study, researchers from North Carolina State University found Bartonella henselae, Babesia odocoilei and Babesia divergens-like MO-1 DNA in brain tissue samples from a young child with seizures and suspected Rasmussen’s encephalitis. The findings further support the idea that these pathogens can be a cofactor in complex neurological illnesses. Bartonella are a group of vector-borne bacteria transmitted … Read more

Innovative method sheds light on the proteins behind gut health

A new Weizmann Institute study identified all of the proteins in a stool sample – those from the microbiome, the human body and food – revealing the hidden secrets of the intestines and their impact on human disease If the organs in our bodies could talk, the intestines might be the ones to divulge the … Read more