Combating drug resistance in age-related macular degeneration

An international team of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Methodist has discovered a strategy that can potentially address a major challenge to the current treatment for choroidal neovascularization (CNV), an aggressive form of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the elderly. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF)…

Cancer cells in inhospitable brain fluids hijack iron to survive

In order to survive within the remote and harsh anatomical microenvironments of the central nervous system, the disseminated cancer cells that cause rare yet deadly leptomeningeal metastases (LM) hijack crucial iron micronutrients from native macrophages, researchers report. The work highlights the remarkable plasticity of tumor cells and reveals potential new avenues for treating these particularly…

Aging-associated inflammation may worsen COVID-19 outcomes in older individuals

The increased severity and mortality of SARS-CoV-2 infections in older individuals may be related to inflammageing – an age-associated phenomenon of increased general inflammation. In this Perspective, Arne Akbar and Derek Gilroy discuss this possibility as well as strategies to mitigate related effects. Inflammageing is thought to be caused, at least partially, by deterioration of…

Scientific Panel Urges That Schools Reopen

Wading into the contentious debate over reopening schools, an influential committee of scientists and educators on Wednesday recommended that, wherever possible, younger children and those with special needs should attend school in person. Their report — issued by the prestigious National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, which advises the nation on issues related to…