The ultimate goal of the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 would be using it to prevent diseases in the first place. Now a trial has successfully repaired a disease-causing mutation in a human embryo, which would prevent that gene from being passed down to future generations.
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Before new drugs can be used on humans, they need to be tested on animals, artificial models or both, but these results don’t often carry across to humans completely. Now researchers have developed a technique to effectively turn rat hearts into miniature human hearts to create more lifelike models.
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Although ticks are generally thought of as being the spreaders of illness, they may actually be able to help save peoples' lives. According to a new study, proteins found in tick saliva could be used to treat a potentially fatal heart disease.
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Sugars are generally not thought of as health boosters. But a new mouse study shows that a natural sugar called trehalose can actually arm the immune system with more of the machinery it needs to combat atherosclerosis, a dangerous condition in which plaque build up hardens and narrows the arteries.
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In recent years, statins have come under fire with indications side-effects from these drugs could potentially outweigh any benefits in low-risk patients. But new research has revealed that the drugs may have positive effects, far beyond simply lowering cholesterol.
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A new gene-silencing drug that can lower cholesterol levels is proving promising in its initial clinical test results. The treatment was shown to reduce the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in patients' blood by up to 51 percent in the month following one single treatment.
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An isolated tribe in the Bolivian Amazon has been found to have the healthiest arteries of any population ever studied. The Tsimane (pronounced chee-MAH-nay) are a forager-horticulturist tribe that has been found to have extraordinarily low levels of vascular aging.
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University of Bristol researchers discovered certain bacteria can use a “molecular lasso” to attach itself to host cells in what they call a catch-clamp mechanism. Understanding the process could lead to new treatments of a serious condition known as infective endocarditis.
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High blood pressure (hypertension) is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke and affects one in three people in the UK alone. Efforts to combat the condition might get a big boost thanks to a study led by two London universities that found over 100 genes implicated in its development.
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Heart failure is a multi-billion-dollar problem with no readily available solution in sight. Could a soft-robotic implant that mimics the natural motion of the heart bring us closer to one?
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