Month: August 2025

How rogue jumping genes can spur Alzheimer’s, ALS:  Our genomes are peppered with DNA segments called retrotransposons that can move from place to place.  When unleashed, some can kill nerves and promote inflammation — a discovery that may inspire treatments for neurodegeneration.

Retrotransponsons tied to ALS, Alzheimer’s: Researchers are finding that retrotransposons, which make up over 40% of our genome and are usually inactive, can become reactivated with age or due to malfunctioning proteins like TDP-43 and tau, potentially triggering inflammation and nerve cell damage linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers are now testing HIV-style antiretroviral drugs to target the viral-like behavior of retrotransposons, with early results showing promise in slowing symptom progression.

Galloping Towards a Better Understanding of Cancer:  Skin cancers in horses and humans show genetic similarities, but the animals are less prone to some other cancers, offering a platform to compare disease risk.

Horse cancer research reveals genetic similarities with humans: Researchers are studying horses to gain insights into cancer, noting genetic similarities between equine and human skin cancers, including shared melanoma markers and cellular mechanisms that resist mammary tumor formation. These insights position horses as a valuable comparative model to investigate cancer susceptibility and resistance, with potential to inform new human treatments.

How One Startup Is Aiming to Replace Surgery with Its Endometriosis Diagnostic

Startup develops blood test for endometriosis: Heranova Lifesciences, a Boston-based startup led by Chief Medical Officer Farideh Bischoff and Co-Founded by Penny Wan, has introduced a blood test called HerResolve for endometriosis that may present an alternative to surgical diagnosis. The test uses machine learning to analyze biomarkers and is as accurate as the current standard, which involves laparoscopic surgery. In the future, the company plans to develop a nonsurgical therapeutic for endometriosis.

Can this nasal spray slow down Alzheimer’s?  One couple is helping scientists find out

First Alzheimer’s patient receives nasal spray treatment: A 79-year-old is the first person with Alzheimer’s disease to receive an experimental nasal spray treatment containing the monoclonal antibody foralumab, designed to reduce brain inflammation associated with the disease. The therapy, which is also being tested for multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and COVID-19, has shown promising results in decreasing inflammation, but its impact on cognitive functions is uncertain.

How just a fishing expedition helped lead to GLP-1:  Store of game-changing therapy illustrates crucial role of fundamental research breakthroughs

How anglerfish helped launch the GLP-1 drug revolution: The discovery of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which now forms the basis of transformative drugs for diabetes and obesity, is largely credited to serendipitous research involving anglerfish in the late 1970s. Due to a federal moratorium on recombinant DNA research with warm-blooded animals at the time, researchers pivoted to the cold-blooded anglerfish, whose distinct separation of endocrine and exocrine tissues unexpectedly enabled the isolation of proglucagon peptides, including GLP-1.

After a political career shaped by cancer, Biden faces his own grim diagnosis

Biden’s cancer diagnosis follows years of advocacy: Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, a deeply personal development in a lifelong marked by cancer. After losing his son Beau to brain cancer, Biden made fighting the disease a focus of his political legacy, leading a White House cancer task force as Vice President and later reviving the Cancer Moonshot initiative as president to accelerate research and improve treatment.

Blood Money:  Theranos for Your Pets?

Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry (MD+DI) Senior Editor explores the large looming shadow of Elizabeth Holmes as her partner’s blood testing startup emerges from stealth mode.

Weight-loss jabs could halve risk of obesity-related cancers, study finds:  Experts say findings are transformational and could herald new era of preventive medicine

GLP-1 agonists halve risk of obesity-related cancers: A study published in The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine showed that GLP-1 receptor agonists nearly halved the risk of obesity-related cancers and offered protection comparable to bariatric surgery, despite less weight loss. Experts call the findings transformational, pointing to the anti-inflammatory effects of these drugs and urging large-scale trials to explore their potential in cancer prevention.

Jumping mice could help astronauts avoid injury during long space missions:  A first-of-its-kind study hints at possible method for countering cartilage damage during long space journeys

Jumping mice might help build stronger bones in astronauts: Mice undergoing jump training had healthier cartilage and stronger bones, suggesting that jumping exercises could help astronauts prevent cartilage damage during long missions. “The positive effect we saw in these mice is huge, and the magnitude of it was unexpected,” said Marco Chiaberge, Lead Author of the study in npj Microgravity