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Memory Loss Caused by West Nile Virus Explained

Every year as mosquito season arrives, so does West Nile virus, causing fever in thousands of people nationwide and life-threatening brain infections in an unlucky few. About half the people who survive that infection – West Nile encephalitis – are left with permanent neurological deficits such as memory loss. New research shows that these long-term neurological problems may be due…

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UMMS Scientists Use CRISPR To Discover Zika And Dengue Weaknesses

Scientists at UMass Medical School have performed the first CRISPR/Cas9 screen to discover human proteins that Zika virus needs for replication. This work, led by Abraham Brass, MD, PhD, assistant professor in microbiology & physiological systems, reveals new leads that may be useful for halting Zika, dengue and other emerging viral infections. “These genetic screens give us our first look at…

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Federal Panel Approves First Use of CRISPR Gene Editing in Humans

A federal biosafety and ethics panel on Tuesday unanimously approved the first study in patients of the genome-editing technology CRISPR/Cas9, in an experiment that would use CRISPR to create genetically-altered immune cells to attack three kinds of cancer. The experiment, proposed by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, still needs the approval of the medical centers where it would be…

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Birds Have More Neurons in Their Brains than Mammals, Study Finds

A new study led by Vanderbilt University scientist Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel has found that birds have significantly more neurons packed into their brains than are stuffed into mammalian and even primate brains of the same mass. The study, published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a straightforward answer to a puzzle that researchers…

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Using big data, scientists discover biomarkers that could help give cancer patients better survival estimates

People with cancer are often told by their doctors approximately how long they have to live, and how well they will respond to treatments, but what if there were a way to improve the accuracy of doctors’ predictions? A new method developed by UCLA scientists could eventually lead to a way to do just that, using data about patients’ genetic…

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