New research reveals how trace metals mothers are exposed to during pregnancy can shape their babies’ gut bacteria, metabolic pathways, and even antibiotic resistance, potentially influencing lifelong health. Study: Prenatal exposure to trace elements impacts mother-infant gut microbiome, metabolome and resistome during the first year of life. Image Credit: Anusorn Nakdee / Shutterstock In a recent study … Read more
Myopia, or nearsightedness, has reached epidemic levels worldwide, particularly in East and Southeast Asia. Orthokeratology, which involves wearing specially designed contact lenses overnight to reshape the cornea, has proven effective in slowing axial eye growth—a key factor in myopia progression. Yet not all children benefit equally. Traditional predictors like age or initial degree of myopia … Read more
Over 500 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes-a disease that contributes to major complications such as stroke, kidney failure, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. At the heart of this condition lies the dysfunction of pancreatic islets, the mini-organs called organoids responsible for regulating blood sugar, in both autoimmune type 1 diabetes and stress-induced type 2 diabetes. … Read more
In a comprehensive Genomic Press research article, scientists have uncovered remarkable insights into how the earliest brain connections shape infant emotional development, potentially offering new ways to identify children at risk for future behavioral and emotional challenges. The groundbreaking study, led by Dr. Yicheng Zhang and Dr. Mary L. Phillips at the University of Pittsburgh … Read more
Snowflake‘s strategic acquisition of Crunchy Data signals a major enhancement too its AI Data Cloud. This move integrates Crunchy Data’s open-source pgsql technology, also known as Postgres, directly into Snowflake’s platform, a notable upgrade for AI development. The integration aims to empower users with faster, more efficient operations on the AI Data Cloud, addressing … Read more
Groundbreaking research reveals how gut microbes and dietary soy can influence the outcome of cancer treatments, paving the way for a new frontier in personalized oncology. Study: Microbiome metabolism of dietary phytochemicals controls the anticancer activity of PI3K inhibitors. Image Credit: CI Photos / Shutterstock In a recent study published in the journal Cell, researchers demonstrated that phytochemicals … Read more
When cancer spreads from a primary tumor to new sites throughout the body, it undergoes changes that increase its genetic complexity. A new study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) provides fresh insights about how cancers evolve when they metastasize – insights that could aid in developing strategies … Read more
The “catastrophic” freeze on US funding for malaria has halted prevention programmes across Africa and also threatens to stall advances in genomic research, says Jane Carlton, director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. The US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) is one of numerous USAID-supported programmes to see its funding terminated under US President Donald Trump’s sweeping reforms this … Read more
Gene expression leading to alterations in the DNA caused by asbestos exposure may explain the development of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM), a rare and aggressive cancer. By analyzing public RNA-seq data through a comprehensive bioinformatics pipeline, scientists working with the Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO) have developed an in-depth view of the molecular mechanisms involved … Read more
In a first-of-its-kind genome-wide association study (GWAS) researchers have discovered two genes, RNF144B and ENPP1, that cause calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease in Americans of European and African descent. This crystalline arthritis is caused by calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystal deposition in joints. The findings of this novel study in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, … Read more