news 2024

Researchers describe the relationship between facial morphology and cerebral cortex measurements in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder A study published in Psychiatry Research identifies subtle differences in facial shapes that may be linked to the diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Light and moderate consumption of wine is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular complications, according to a multicentre study led by researchers from the University of Barcelona, the Hospital Clínic and the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBEROBN) and the University of Navarra (UNAV).

Researchers at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) have discovered that R-Ras1 and R-Ras2 proteins regulate the diversity of subpopulations of oligodendrocytes, the cells responsible for producing myelin in the central nervous system. This finding, published in Glia , could lay the foundations for new regenerative therapies for diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

One of the most fascinating periods in the evolution of the human lineage is the appearance of the first ancestors capable of bipedalism. Knowing the type of locomotion used by many fossil species - walking upright on the ground or climbing from branch to branch with the strength of their arms - has been one of the most classic questions in the study of the process of hominization.

Researchers at the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) have revealed that pipolins, mobile genetic elements present in bacteria, contain numerous defense systems against bacteriophages. The study, published in Nucleic Acids Research , analyzed more than 11,000 pipolins in bacterial genomes, identifying their crucial role in the genetic evolution of bacteria.

A team of researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and the Puerta de Hierro University Hospital has proposed a map of competencies to optimize the care of patients with rare diseases, a group that faces a great lack of treatment and inequalities in care.

A study led by the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) reveals that repositioning the drug dimethyl fumarate reduces neuronal degeneration in a mouse model of TDP-43-dependent frontotemporal dementia. The finding opens the possibility of reusing an already approved drug to treat a neurodegenerative disease without a cure, potentially accelerating the development of new therapies for dementia patients.

Research at the Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS) shows that the combination of melatonin and methylprednisolone effectively protects against multiple sclerosis in animal models, allowing to reduce up to four times the dose of corticosteroids.

Researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and IMDEA-Food reveal that sleeping too little or too much at night, as well as taking prolonged naps of more than one hour, is associated with an increased risk of death in older people, but only in those who do not get enough physical activity.

Researchers from the Universitat de València have developed a new methodology to detect and visualise zinc in astrocytes (cells that help in the correct function of nerve cells), both at microscopy and electronic level. The project, published in the magazine Microscopy and Microanalysis, confirms the importance of astrocytes in the control of zinc levels in our brain, an essential element for many neural functions.

Universitat de València full-time university professor Rubén Artero is leading a research that has identified a promising therapy for treating myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), based on anti-miRs. The study is being carried out by the Human Translational Genomics Group of the INCLIVA-Universitat de València Health Research Institute (Biotecmed).

Researchers from the Centro de Biología Molecular -Severo Ochoa- (CBMSO), the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and the Hospital Universitario de Alcorcón have identified a possible key role of glial activation and inflammation in the neurodegeneration of the cerebellum of mice mimicking Friedreich's ataxia, an inherited neurodegenerative disease.

In this study, published in the journal Computers in Biology and Medicine , researchers have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) that represents an important advance in the combination of deep learning and computational biology techniques. A team of researchers from the University of Granada and the University of Seville, led by Juan Antonio Marchal Corrales and Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez Naranjo respectively, has published an innovative study in which an Artificial Intelligence is designed to improve the prediction of the evolution of cell migration in breast cancer.

It is the carotenoid phytoene, which is found in foods such as tomatoes, carrots, apricots, red peppers, oranges, tangerines or passion fruit, among others. Researchers from the Color and Food Quality group of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Seville, in collaboration with Marina Ezcurra's group at the University of Kent (UK), have demonstrated that the carotenoid phytoene increases the lifespan of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and that it can slow the onset of paralysis associated with the formation of amyloid plaques in a model of Alzheimer's disease.

International collaboration to uncover how cells communicate through vibrations Organisms of all shapes and sizes communicate by vibrating the solid stuff of their environments, and initial evidence suggests that individual cells in our bodies might do the same. A team of researchers from Israel, the United Kingdom, Spain and the United States have been awarded a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the Human Frontier Science Program to study this potentially transformative new mode of cell-to-cell communication.

Researchers from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge in Barcelona have discovered a spontaneous response of the brain of adult rats after stroke that facilitates neurological and motor recovery. The study reveals an increase in oligodendrocytes that promotes remyelination of damaged tissue.

Researchers from the Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla- IBiS, the University of Seville and the Virgen Macarena University Hospital publish a study that explores in depth the mechanisms that block the development of resistance in bacteria.

A collaboration led by Enrique Nácher, from the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC), has developed the first fully Spanish proton tomography scanner. The device reuses prototypes from other nuclear physics projects and has been tested at a proton therapy centre in Poland. The first results of this project, developed in collaboration with the Institute of Structure of Matter (IEM-CSIC) and the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), have been published in The European Physical Journal Plus.

Researchers from the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBM), the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and the Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) have described the therapeutic potential of partial neuronal reprogramming in aged mice. The results, published in Communications Biology , show that controlled overexpression of Yamanaka factors in neurons of the central nervous system significantly improves cognitive function in in vivo models, which could be key to combat age-associated neurodegenerative diseases.

From left to right: Andrea Guiu, Paula Guerrero, María Luisa Gil, Alberto Yáñez, María Sobén and Cristina Bono. The Immunology of Fungal Infections Research Group from the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (BIOTECMED) of the Universitat de València has published a new study discovering new molecular mechanisms responsible for establishing an immune memory in hematopoietic stem cells (stem cells of the blood and the immune system).