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National Institutes of Health (NIH)

New therapeutic target identified for triple-negative breast cancer

Breast cancer is categorized into three major subtypes: hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative. Although there are targeted therapeutic approaches for the first two, there are limited options for triple negative-breast cancer patients. In a new study, researchers have...

Researchers funded to develop ultrasound imaging tools to study Alzheimer's disease

Interdisciplinary researchers at the Beckman Institute, including Molecular & Integrative Physiology Professor Dan Llano, received federal funding to develop ultrasound imaging methods for studying the neurovascular changes underlying Alzheimer's disease. Their low-cost, widely accessible...

COVID-19 virus spike protein flexibility improved by human cell's own modifications

When the coronavirus causing COVID-19 infects human cells, the cell’s protein-processing machinery makes modifications to the spike protein that render it more flexible and mobile, which could increase its ability to infect other cells and to evade antibodies, a new study from the University of...

Prasanth lab uncovers new insights into the role of Orc6 in the maintenance of genome integrity

New research from Supriya Prasanth’s lab at the University of Illinois provides tremendous insight into the role of the smallest subunit of the human ORC, Orc6. Although the ORC is conserved in all eukaryotes, Orc6 is the most evolutionarily diverged. In a recent study published in PNAS, the...

Small molecule transports iron in mice, human cells to treat some forms of anemia

A natural small molecule derived from a cypress tree can transport iron in live mice and human cells lacking the protein that normally does the job, easing a buildup of iron in the liver and restoring hemoglobin and red blood cell production, a new study found.

Recent research from Christian-Hinman lab provides foundation for new experimental designs to study epilepsy

Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, the most common form of focal epilepsy, often have seizures that start from one side of the hippocampus and not the other. Such patients may also experience complications such as cognitive impairment and reproductive endocrine disruption. Although it’s been...

New ultrasound tool measures blood flow, images microvasculature in the brain

Researchers at the Beckman Institute developed a technique for producing super-resolution ultrasound images of tissue microvasculature in just a fraction of the time previously needed. Their work could enable future research into the neurovascular mechanisms behind conditions like Alzheimer’s...

Study tracks COVID-19 infection dynamics in adults

A team led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign tracked the rise and fall of SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva and nasal cavities of people newly infected with the virus. The study was the first to follow acute COVID-19 infections over time through repeated sampling and to compare...

Study investigates the effects of DiNP on the colon

Phthalates are commonly used to make products—including artificial leather, footwear, plastic food packaging, and personal care products—more flexible or stable. In particular, di-isononyl phthalate is incorporated in vinyl clothing and construction materials. However, scientists do not completely...

MCB team identifies compound with potent antiseizure effects

Researchers studying epileptic seizures of the temporal lobe – the most common type of epilepsy – discovered a compound that reduces seizures in the hippocampus, a brain region where many such seizures originate. The compound, known as TC-2153, lessened the severity of seizures in mice. The...