Lifeboat Foundation

In 2001, Gina Arata was in her final semester of college, planning to apply to law school, when she suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. The injury so compromised her ability to focus she struggled in a job sorting mail.

“I couldn’t remember anything,” said Arata, who lives in Modesto with her parents. “My left foot dropped, so I’d trip over things all the time. I was always in car accidents. And I had no filter—I’d get pissed off really easily.”

Her parents learned about research being conducted at Stanford Medicine and reached out; Arata was accepted as a participant. In 2018, physicians surgically implanted a device deep inside her brain, then carefully calibrated the device’s electrical activity to stimulate the networks the injury had subdued. The results of the clinical trial were published Dec. 4 in Nature Medicine.

For the first time, scientists have begun to figure out why the disfiguring skin lesions caused by cutaneous leishmaniasis don’t hurt.

Researchers analyzed leishmaniasis lesions on mouse skin to detect metabolic signaling pathways that differed from uninfected mice. Results suggested the parasites that cause the disease change pain perception—presumably as a way to delay treatment and promote their own survival.

“No one knows why these lesions are painless—but it has been thought that the parasite somehow manipulates the host physiological system,” said Abhay Satoskar, senior author of the study and professor of pathology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Introduction to spatial genomics The power of single-cell resolution Mapping the blueprint of health Case study: Bio-Techne Challenges and future prospects References Further reading

Spatial genomics is a cutting-edge field that combines genomics and spatial analysis to investigate the role of genomic features in disease at single-cell resolution.

Spatial genomics is a field of study that focuses on analyzing the spatial organization of genomic features within intact tissues. It involves the simultaneous analysis of various molecular components, including genomic DNA and RNA, through transcriptomic analysis and epigenetic modifications within their spatial context. These techniques aim to reveal the spatial relationships between the different genomic elements and provide insights into the organization and function of single cells within tissues, enabling the molecular connection of a particular genotype to its phenotype.

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, UCL and MSD have identified a potential treatment target for a genetic type of epilepsy.

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies are rare types of epilepsy that start in early childhood. One of the most common types of genetic epilepsy, CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), causes seizures and impaired development. Children are currently treated with generic antiepileptic drugs, as there aren’t yet any disease-targeting medications for this disorder.

CDD involves losing the function of a gene producing the CDKL5 enzyme, which phosphorylates proteins, meaning it adds an extra phosphate molecule to alter their function. Until now, researchers have not been sure how genetic mutations in CDKL5 cause CDD.

Dynamic response of adult neural stem cells during pregnancy prepares the maternal olfactory bulb for motherhood.

DCEG researchers are testing one-dose HPV vaccination and creating new cervical cancer screening approaches that are effective and efficient. For high resource settings, the investigators are designing a quick and cost-effective HPV genotyping assay to improve the detection and management of cervical cancer.

Innovative neuromodulation techniques provided by a specialist institute in New Jersey can restore lost functions.

Researchers develop DVAP, a groundbreaking 3D printing technique using sono-ink and ultrasound waves for deep-tissue biomedical applications.

People in so-called “Blue Zones” have low rates of chronic disease and long life expectancy.