The work of several Mount Sinai researchers who analyze brain genomics data as part of the PsychENCODE Consortium, a collective established in 2015 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is highlighted in four scientific papers published online December 13 in the journal Science as part of a special issue focused on big data. Take a closer look.

Some neurons in the brain protect themselves from Alzheimer’s with a cellular cleaning system that sweeps away toxic proteins associated with the disease, according to a new study from Columbia University, The Ohio State University, and the University of Cambridge.  The study, led by neuroscientist Karen Duff, PhD, of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons; Hongjun (Harry) Fu, PhD, of The Ohio State University; and Michele Vendruscolo, PhD, of the University of Cambridge, was published online in Nature Neuroscience. Take a closer look.

New research on remyelination, the spontaneous regeneration of the brain’s fatty insulator that keeps neurons communicating, could lead to a novel approach to developing treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other inflammatory diseases. The pre-clinical findings published today in Cell Reports by a University at Buffalo team reveal that activation of a specific transcription factor induces in adult stem cells a phenomenon called pathological quiescence. Take a closer look.

DNA testing can identify a genetic culprit in about 10 percent of adults with chronic kidney disease and impacts treatment for most of them A new study has found that genes cause about 1 in 10 cases of chronic kidney disease in adults, and that identifying the responsible genes has a direct impact on treatment for most of these patients. Take a closer look.

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and The Rockefeller University have discovered a new use for a long-standing computational concept known as “blacklisting,” which is commonly employed as a form of access or spam control, blocking unwanted files and messages. Using blacklisting as a filter to single out genetic variations in patient genomes and exomes that do not cause illness, researchers have successfully streamlined the identification of genetic drivers of disease. Take a closer look.

New laboratory techniques can identify which of our genes are influenced by DNA snippets that are left behind in our genetic code by viruses, a new study finds. Viruses have long been known to reproduce by using the genetic machinery of the cells they invade. Take a closer look.

New research gives scientists a clearer picture of what is happening in the brains of people with Huntington’s disease and lays out a potential path for treatment. The study, which appears today in the journal Cell Stem Cell,  shows that support cells in the brain are key contributors to the disease. Take a closer look.

In the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Hoau-Yan Wang,  Associate Medical Professor, was lead author on an article on altered glutamatergic signaling in brain of schizophrenia. Take a closer look.

The apparent simplicity of picking up a cup of coffee or turning a doorknob belies the complex sequence of calculations and processes that the brain must undergo to identify the location of an item in space, move the arm and hand toward it, and shape the fingers to hold or manipulate the object. New research, published today in the journal Cell Reports, reveals how the nerve cells responsible for motor control modify their activity as we reach and grasp for objects. Take a closer look.

The current ebolavirus outbreak in central Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ranks as the second largest and second deadliest in history: more than 600 cases and more than 370 deaths as of January 6, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Adding to the tragedy: children-who are much more likely to die from Ebola infection than adults-now account for more than one third of all cases.Take a closer look.

A previously unknown type of T lymphocyte, a class of white blood cell, contributes to the development of an autoimmune disease, called lupus, which causes the immune system to attack healthy tissues and organs and leads to chronic inflammation, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers. The study, published Nov. 26 in Nature Medicine, suggests that targeting this newly discovered class of T cell, or its biochemical signals, may be a good strategy for treating lupus.Take a closer look.

Dr. Khosrow Kashfi, Associate Medical Professor, recently guest edited a special Issue of Biochemical Pharmacology on “The Role of Hydrogen Sulfide in Health and Disease”. Take a closer look.

By now, many people are familiar with the grim statistic that opioid overdoses are killing more than 115 Americans every day. But the ongoing crisis has another toll, one that’s less talked about but still highly damaging to society: a financial cost of $78.5 billion per year, including nearly $29 billion to cover substance use disorder treatment and related healthcare. At Weill Cornell Medicine, researchers in the field of health economics work to find solutions to this crisis by developing interventions that save lives while remaining economically feasible-aiming to help people with substance use problems by encouraging policymakers to support initiatives that effectively treat addiction and prevent overdoses.Take a closer look.

New York Medical College has been awarded $246,000 in federal funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct research aimed at developing a new cure for the tick-borne disease Babesia microti. Endemic to the north eastern region of the Unites States and prevalent in the Hudson Valley, Babesia microti has been identified as a major public health threat by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation Research. The NIAID, which is one of the 27 institutes and centers that comprise the NIH, is mandated with responding to emerging public health threat. Take a closer look.

In accepting the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, University of Missouri Professor George P. Smith, Ph.D., said science is like a web of ideas—intricately tied to the work that’s come before. It’s a statement that rings particularly true to Carl V. Hamby, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and Gary P. Wormser, M.D., professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology, and pharmacology, and vice chair of medicine for research and development. Take a closer look.

In June 2018, a group of physician-scientists at Oregon Health & Science University published research on a compound that could stop cancer cells from spreading throughout the body. A few years before that, physician-scientists at the Scintillon Institute uncovered a molecular link between Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes.Take a closer look.

The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell hosted its seventh annual Scholarship Day on Nov. 7, 2018, featuring the investigative work of more than 75 Zucker School of Medicine students comprised of both MD and MD/PhD candidates. Take a closer look.