In a discovery that could guide the development of next-generation antidepressants and antipsychotic medications, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed new insights into how a critical brain receptor works at the molecular level and why that matters for mental health treatments.

The study, published in the online issue of Science Advances, focuses on the 5-HT1A serotonin receptor, a major player in regulating mood and a common target of both traditional antidepressants and newer therapies such as psychedelics.

Researchers have discovered a protein which is critical for steering melanoma cancer cells as they spread throughout the body. The malignant cells become dependent on this protein to migrate, pointing to new strategies for impeding metastasis.

The protein eIF2A is generally thought to spring into action when a cell is under stress, helping ribosomes launch protein synthesis.

Cambridge scientists have developed and tested a new drug in mice that has the potential to reduce damage to the brain when blood flow is restored following a stroke.

As many as one in four people will have a stroke during their lifetime. This is when a blood clot prevents oxygen from reaching a part of the brain.

Multidrug resistant bacteria kill five million people each year, with newly resistant germs emerging faster than scientists can develop treatments.

Now, researchers have developed a platform that identifies drug resistance genes already circulating in the environment before they emerge in the clinic and directly couples this information to the design of resistance-evasive antibiotics.

A healthy diet can slow down the accumulation of chronic diseases in older adults, while inflammatory diets accelerate it. This is shown by a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Aging.

Researchers have investigated how four different diets affect the accumulation of chronic diseases in older adults. Three of the diets studied were healthy and focused on the intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, legumes, unsaturated fats and reduced intake of sweets, red meat, processed meat and butter/margarine.

A landmark study has revealed that autoantibodies - immune proteins traditionally associated with autoimmune disease - may profoundly influence how cancer patients respond to immunotherapy.

The study, published in Nature, offers a potential breakthrough in solving one of modern-day oncology’s most frustrating mysteries: why checkpoint inhibitors work for some patients but not others - and how we can extend their benefits to more people.

While current treatments for schizophrenia - a mental illness affecting 1% of the world’s population - can reduce certain symptoms, they have little effect on the cognitive deficits affecting the daily life of patients.

Scientists at the Institute of Functional Genomics (CNRS/Inserm/Université de Montpellier) have just designed a nanobody made from llama antibodies that can specifically activate a glutamate receptor involved in regulating neural activity.