The Human Pangenome Refence Sequencing Project seeks to gather genomic sequences from a diverse representation of human participants. Two new grants from the NIH will support project contributions by researchers at WashU Medicine, which houses two centers crucial to this work.

Globally, over 600 million people are infected with the skin-penetrating threadworm, Strongyloides stercoralis, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions with poor sanitation infrastructure. Infections are treated with ivermectin, but some nematodes are starting to develop resistance to this first-line drug. UCLA biologists have discovered that the nematodes respond differently to carbon dioxide at different stages in their life cycle, which could help scientists find ways to prevent or cure infections by targeting the CO2-sensing pathway.

The B vitamin mitigates manganese neurotoxicity, which produces symptoms that resemble Parkinson's disease. The vitamin improves dopamine production in the brain and offers potential therapeutic benefits.

A new study from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine shows that only 3½ years of intensive blood pressure control continues to significantly reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia long after stopping this treatment in adults with hypertension and high cardiovascular risk.

A typical human pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, but most parents know this number is only a rough estimate.  

Babies are born on a seemingly unpredictable timeline, with a normal pregnancy ranging from 38 to 42 weeks. And 10 percent of all births are preterm, meaning they occur before 37 weeks of gestation, which puts babies at risk of a host of complications. 

Now, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered a molecular timer in mice that plays a role in controlling when they give birth. Surprisingly, the timer is activated in the very first days of pregnancy and operates within the uterus.