A new preclinical study from Weill Cornell Medicine found that the protein caspase-5 (CASP5), long thought to be a foot soldier in the body’s defense against bacterial infection, does not actually help clear invaders the way its close cousin caspase-4 (CASP4) does. Instead, the researchers discovered that CASP5 boosts the signal to proliferate in a population of gut cells that maintains a healthy intestinal lining and replaces injured cells with new, healthy ones.

While tics have been considered to result from an aberrant function of the brain’s motor cortex, a Kobe University mouse study has now discovered a connection to the brain’s emotional functions. The result promises a new avenue of research on treatments for Tourette syndrome.

Published in Nature, the study includes 128 complete genomes and reveals over one million new genetic variants, uncovering a unique genetic diversity with implications for evolution and health.

 

For the first time, the team has characterized the final migratory wave to South America, 1,300 years ago, and revealed the origin of these populations, with Y-chromosomal ancestry (“Ypykuéra”).

A web tool designed to spark reminiscence could help people with dementia and their caregivers feel more connected to each other and less impacted by feelings of pre-death grief, according to a clinical trial co-led by USC and Weill Cornell Medicine published in JAMA Network Open.

With features such as photo albums, autobiographical questions, and journaling prompts, the Living Memory Home for Dementia Care Pairs (LMH-4-DCP) website is a customizable virtual space that facilitates collaborative and interactive reminiscence therapy for both dementia patients and caregivers, said lead author Francesca Falzarano, assistant professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Shriners Children’s has named internationally renowned pediatric hand surgeon Scott H. Kozin, M.D. as its Chief Medical Officer, tapping a globally recognized innovator to lead the nonprofit healthcare system through its next phase of growth and medical advancement.