Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory and UConn Health discovered that cancer cells suppress "poison exons" — genetic elements that act as an off switch for protein production — in a key gene called TRA2β, promoting tumor growth. By using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to restore poison exon activity, the team effectively reactivated this kill switch, offering a potential new precision therapy for aggressive, hard-to-treat cancers.

 

In Nature Neuroscience, UConn School of Medicine researchers have revealed a new scientific clue that could unlock the key cellular pathway leading to devastating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

UofL Assistant Professor of Anthropology Kathryn Marklein co-authored a study that contradicts past literature about the stress markers and lifespans of female and male-presenting individuals, with new indications of resource disparities between the two. Marklein sheds light on how social and cultural factors — such as the preferential treatment of individuals presenting as males — have influenced health outcomes throughout history.  

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have determined that dermatitis resulting from topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) is distinct from eczema and is caused by an excess of an essential chemical compound in the body. Scientists from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) identified treatments that could be studied in clinical trials for the condition based on their potential to lower levels of the chemical compound—called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺), a form of vitamin B3. The findings were published today in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.