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Early diagnosis and improvement of breast cancer treatments have reduced breast cancer mortality in recent years, with survival rates reaching 85% today. In spite of these data, breast cancer was still the most frequently diagnosed tumour in the world in 2020, mainly due to increased population screening and social factors such as ageing. RANK protein plays a key role in the development of these tumours. Located in the membrane of cells, when it binds to its partner RANKL, it sends signals that stimulate the development of the mammary gland. When these proteins do not work properly, breast cells begin to divide and multiply ...

Mitochondria - the 'batteries' that power our cells - play an unexpected role in common diseases such as type 2 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, concludes a study of over 350,000 people conducted by the University of Cambridge. The study, published today in Nature Genetics, found that genetic variants in the DNA of mitochondria could increase the risk of developing these conditions, as well influencing characteristics such as height and lifespan. There was also evidence that some changes in mitochondrial DNA were more common in people with Scottish, Welsh or Northumbrian genetic ancestry, implying that mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA (which accounts for 99.9% of our genetic make-up) interact with each other. Almost ...

Scientists have succeeded in dating some of the oldest stars in our galaxy with unprecedented precision by combining data from the stars' oscillations with information about their chemical composition. The team led by researchers at the University of Birmingham, surveyed around a hundred red giant stars, and were able to determine that some of these were originally part of a satellite galaxy called Gaia-Enceladus, which collided with the Milky Way early in its history. The results, published in Nature Astronomy, revealed that the group of stars surveyed all have similar ages, or are slightly younger than the majority of the stars known to have started their lives within the Milky Way. This corroborates existing theories suggesting the Milky Way had already started forming a significant ...

In the largest genetic study of bipolar disorder to date, researchers have identified 64 regions of the genome containing DNA variations that increase risk of bipolar disorder - more than double the number previously identified. The research team also found overlap in the genetic bases of bipolar disorder and other psychiatric disorders. Furthermore, the study supports a role of sleep habits, alcohol, and substance usage in the development of bipolar disorder, although further research is needed to confirm these findings. The study results are published May 17 in Nature Genetics. Bipolar disorder, a complex psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of severely high and low mood, affects an estimated 40 to 50 million people worldwide. It typically begins ...

Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute, Royal Marsden, UCL and Cruces University Hospital have found that cells from different parts of kidney tumours behave differently, and surprisingly, cells within the centre of a tumour are the most aggressive and have the highest chance of spreading around the body. Cancers can spread to other parts of the body, with cells taking hold as secondary tumours which make the disease much harder to treat. Understanding the mechanics of this spread, a process called metastasis, could lead to new treatments that block this migration. In their multidisciplinary study ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - New research provides the best evidence to date into the timing of how our early Milky Way came together, including the merger with a key satellite galaxy. Using relatively new methods in astronomy, the researchers were able to identify the most precise ages currently possible for a sample of about a hundred red giant stars in the galaxy. With this and other data, the researchers were able to show what was happening when the Milky Way merged with an orbiting satellite galaxy, known as Gaia-Enceladus, about 10 billion years ago. Their results were published today (May ...

Patients with both diabetes and heart failure who were treated with sotagliflozin, a novel investigational drug for diabetes, for a median of nine to 16 months experienced reductions of 22% to 43% in the risk of death or worsening heart failure compared with similar patients who were treated with a placebo. The drug was effective in patients with all forms of heart failure, including those whose heart muscle is abnormally stiff (preserved ejection fraction) and for whom there is currently no effective treatment, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. "Treatment with sotagliflozin robustly and significantly reduced cardiovascular adverse events across the full spectrum of ...

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found out how microscopic structures called lipid droplets may help to prevent a high-fat diet causing kidney damage. The work in fruit flies, published in PLoS Biology opens up a new research avenue for developing better treatments for chronic kidney disease. Eating foods high in fats can cause inflammation and metabolic stress in the kidneys, leading to chronic disease, which in severe cases requires dialysis or a transplant. And with obesity on the rise globally, it's a growing problem - around 10% of people in the UK are living with chronic kidney ...

The University of Kent's School of Physical Sciences, in collaboration with the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Universities of Cardiff, Durham and Leeds, have developed an algorithm to train computers to analyse signals from subatomic particles embedded in advanced electronic materials. The particles, called muons, are produced in large particle accelerators and are implanted inside samples of materials in order to investigate their magnetic properties. Muons are uniquely useful as they couple magnetically to individual atoms inside the material and then emit a signal detectable by researchers to obtain information on that magnetism. This ability to ...

A program designed to improve hospital care for patients with heart failure, the leading cause of hospitalization among adults over age 65, did not bring additional benefits beyond existing hospital quality improvement programs in a randomized controlled trial presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session. Heart failure is a condition in which the heart becomes too weak or too stiff to pump blood effectively to the rest of the body. It causes symptoms such as swelling and fluid retention, shortness of breath and coughing. In the CONNECT-HF study, one group of hospitals received additional auditing and ...