A varied diet rich in vegetables is known to be healthy for one's well-being. Excessive consumption of meat, especially red meat, can lead to chronic and cardiovascular diseases. That is also because what we eat shapes the gut microbiome. At the same time, excluding certain foods, such as dairy or animal products, is not necessarily a general solution to achieve microbial balance. But can we find out which food products determine differences in the gut microbiome? Starting from this question, a group of researchers analyzed

A new study from researchers at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, which published in Nature Medicine on January 6, estimates that 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease occur each year globally due to consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Introducing Annotatability - a powerful new framework to address a major challenge in biological research by examining how artificial neural networks learn to label genomic data. Genomic datasets often contain vast amounts of annotated samples, but many of these samples are annotated either incorrectly or ambiguously. Borrowing from recent advances in the fields of natural language processing and computer vision, the team used artificial neural networks (ANNs) in a non-conventional way:

Rice University bioengineers have developed a new construction kit for building custom sense-and-respond circuits in human cells. The research, published in the journal Science, represents a major breakthrough in the field of synthetic biology that could revolutionize therapies for complex conditions like autoimmune disease and cancer.

A new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham uncovers how a novel immunotherapy prevents squamous cell carcinoma, with benefits lasting five years after treatment. This therapy is the first to activate specific components of the adaptive immune system, particularly CD4+ T helper cells, which are not known to be involved in traditional cancer treatments. This work highlights the potential for similar immunotherapies to prevent other cancers throughout the body. Results are published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The standard medication levodopa does not always work against tremors in Parkinson's disease, especially in stressful situations. Propranolol, however, does work during stress, providing insight into the role of the stress system in tremors. MRI scans reveal that propranolol directly inhibits activity in the brain circuit that controls tremors. Doctors may consider this medication when levodopa is ineffective.

A drug recently approved to prevent migraine may start working right away, according to a study published in the December 23, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at the drug atogepant, which is a calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist taken by mouth.