Research Stash Weekly Review #10

Genes activated in metastasis also drive the first stages of tumor growth

The overexpression of the gene Serpent in the Drosophila wing causes permanent overgrowth and it is sufficient to promote tumor development. Image: Kyra Campbell, IRB Barcelona

In spite of the difference between the cell functions responsible for giving rise to a tumor and for the metastasis of this same tumor, studies at IRB Barcelona using the fly Drosophila melanogaster reveal that some genes can drive both phenomena. Read More

Google’s new AI algorithm predicts heart disease by looking at your eyes

Image by Google / Verily Life Sciences

Scientists from Google and its health-tech subsidiary Verily have discovered a new way to assess a person’s risk of heart disease using machine learning. Read More

Calcium May Play a Role in the Development of Parkinson’s

Tyrosine hydroxylase positive neuron stained with a synaptic marker. NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to Janin Lautenschläger.

Researchers have found that excess levels of calcium in brain cells may lead to the formation of toxic clusters that are the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. Read More

Plants Appeared On Land 100 Million Years Earlier Than Scientists Thought

A 400-million-year-old fossil plant stem from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON

Plants grew on land 100 million years earlier than scientists previously thought, research suggests, pushing our understanding of life on Earth and even climate change back in time. Read More

Powerful Antibiotics Found in Dirt

Caption: Researchers found a new class of antibiotics in a collection of about 2,000 soil samples. Credit: Sean Brady, The Rockefeller University, New York

Many of us think of soil as lifeless dirt. But, in fact, the soil is teeming with a rich array of life: microbial life. Read More

Utah Startup Claims It Is Successfully Regenerating Skin

A tiny Utah biotech firm is making waves in regenerative medicine. Last summer, it made headlines for successfully regenerating skin and stimulating hair growth in pigs with burns. Read More

A Biohacker Regrets Publicly Injecting Himself With CRISPR

When Josiah Zayner watched a biotech CEO drop his pants at a biohacking conference and inject himself with an untested herpes treatment, he realized things had gone off the rails. Read More

A Study Shows That Physical Exercise Reduces Risk of Developing Diabetes

Exercising more reduces the risk of diabetes and could see seven million fewer diabetic patients across mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, according to new research. Read More

World’s Loneliest Tree Records Fallout from Humanity

The loneliest tree in the world records the signature of humans’ impact on planet Earth. Read More

Nebula Genomics Will Let You Rent out Your Genetic Information

When the human genome was sequenced for the first time in 2001, the project cost $1 billion, as per a report from Nature – but today, individuals can undergo the same process for around $1,000, and prices are set to drop even further. Read More

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