Researchers have uncovered a key step in the creation of new red blood cells in an animal study. They found that a tiny fragment of ribonucleic acid (RNA), a chemical cousin of DNA, prompts stem cells to mature into red blood cells. The researchers als…

The protein SIRT1 in the brain is tied into a mechanism that allows animals to survive when food is scarce, according to a new study. The research suggests that SIRT1 may be involved with the life span-increasing effect of low-calorie diets, they report.

How do mammals prepare themselves in utero for a radical modification to their respiration at the time of birth, when they move abruptly from an aquatic medium to air? Researchers have identified a gene in the mouse that is essential to respiration and…

Our bones have much greater influence on the rest of our bodies than they are often given credit for, according to two new studies. Both studies offer new insights into the interplay between bone and blood sugar, based on signals sent via insulin and a…

New research has identified the stem cells that generate three critical classes of nerve cells — olfactory receptors, vomeronasal and gonadotropin releasing hormone neurons — that are responsible for enabling animals and humans, to eat, interact soci…

Researchers have discovered that a protein called Tet 1 helps stem cells renew themselves and stay pluripotent — able to become any type of cell in the body.

Biologists have demonstrated a connection between multiple sclerosis — an autoimmune disorder that affects the brain and spinal cord — and gut bacteria.

If mice are administered an antibiotic for three days and are simultaneously infected with malaria, no parasites appear in the blood and life-threatening disease is averted. In addition, the animals treated in this manner also develop robust, long-term…

A new vaccine-delivery patch based on hundreds of microscopic needles that dissolve into the skin could allow persons without medical training to painlessly administer vaccines — while providing improved immunization against diseases such as influenza.

Light has been cast on the interaction between broccoli consumption and reduced prostate cancer risk. Researchers have found that sulforaphane, a chemical found in broccoli, interacts with cells lacking a gene called PTEN to reduce the chances of prost…