Category Biology/Biotechnology

mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines train the ‘long-term memory’ of the immune system, study reveals

mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines train the 'long-term memory' of the immune system
Cytokine release in macrophages following SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination. Credit: Molecular Systems Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44320-025-00093-6

Researchers at the University of Cologne and University Hospital Cologne have determined that the novel mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines not only induce acquired immune responses such as antibody production, but also cause persistent epigenetic changes in innate immune cells.

The study, “Persistent epigenetic memory of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination in monocyte-derived macrophages,” led by Professor Dr. Jan Rybniker, who heads the Division of Infectious Diseases at University Hospital Cologne and is a principal investigator at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), and Dr...

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Cancer researchers identify the ‘switch’ that allows intestinal cells to regenerate after injury

Cancer researchers identify the 'switch' that allows intestinal cells to regenerate after injury
Suppressing H3K36 methylation induces the accumulation of abnormal secretory cells. Credit: Nature Cell Biology (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41556-024-01580-y

Researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center have solved a cellular mystery that may lead to better therapies for colorectal and other types of cancer.

Peter Dempsey, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics–developmental biology in the CU School of Medicine, and Justin Brumbaugh, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at CU Boulder, recently published a paper in the journal Nature Cell Biology showing the importance of the H3K36 methylation process in regulating plasticity and regeneration in intestinal cells.

“The intestine has an enormous ability to regenerate itself after injury, an...

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An at-home smell test could pave the way for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease

An at-home smell test could pave the way for early detection of Alzheimer's disease
AROMHA Brain Health Test. Following online prescreening and online consent, the web-based program instructs you through the 5 bilingual (English / Spanish) cards (A). Card A comprises a practice odor P followed by the 9 odor labels comprising the OPID9 test. Adjacent in the blue box (B) is the workflow for these tests as directed by the testyourbrainhealth.com software to generate the OPID9, OPID9noguess, and average intensity scores. After a 10-minute break, participants are instructed to work through Cards B and C using the workflow in the green box (B) to generate the POEM, OPID18, and OPID18noguess scores. Then participants are instructed to move on to Cards D and E using the workflow in the purple box (B) to generate an OD10 odor discrimination score. Credit: Scientific Reports (202...
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Japanese scientists use stem cell treatment to restore movement in spinal injury patients

spinal cord
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A stem cell treatment helped improve the motor function of two out of four patients with a spinal cord injury in the first clinical study of its kind, Japanese scientists said.

There is currently no effective treatment for paralysis caused by serious spinal cord injuries, which affect more than 150,000 patients in Japan alone, with 5,000 new cases each year.

Researchers at Tokyo’s Keio University are conducting their study using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS)—created by stimulating mature, already specialized, cells back into a juvenile state.

They can then be prompted to mature into different kinds of cells, with the Keio researchers using iPS-derived cells of the neural stem.

The university said on Friday that the motor function s...

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