Phase I trial begins of new vaccine against the plague

Researchers at the University of Oxford today launched a Phase 1 trial to test a new vaccine against plague. Based on the ChAdOx1 adenovirus viral vector platform also used in the successful Oxford coronavirus vaccine, forty healthy adults aged 18 to 55 will receive this new vaccine in order to…

Scientists make big progress in building mini-kidneys

A team of scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has created what could be a key building block for assembling a synthetic kidney. In a new study in Nature Communications, Zhongwei Li and his colleagues describe how they can generate rudimentary kidney structures, known as organoids, that…

Building A DIY Hanging Shelf Is Easier Than You Think

DIY projects have been all the rage in recent years, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. They can range from accent walls to clay earrings, and DIY projects are always both fun and rewarding. After all, you’ve made or built something — you should be proud! One perfect DIY project is…

Piecing together the preterm infant microbiome

The human microbiome—the collection of microbes living in the gut—is now recognized as an important contributor to health and disease. The environment, the host, and microbe-microbe interactions are all likely to shape the microbiome’s dynamics, but the unique roles of each are not well understood. Now, a Boston Children’s Hospital…

DNA building blocks regulate inflammation

Mitochondria are the energy suppliers of our body cells. These tiny cell components have their own genetic material, which triggers an inflammatory response when released into the interior of the cell. The reasons for the release are not yet known, but some cardiac and neurodegenerative diseases as well as the…