Hidden stem cells may be fueling spinal stenosis

Scientists have discovered a stem cell that appears to serve as a master source for tendon and ligament cells throughout the body. In lumbar spinal stenosis, these cells become unusually active and may drive the ligament overgrowth that squeezes spinal nerves and causes pain, numbness, and difficulty walking. Researchers found that reducing calcium signaling stopped this abnormal growth in mice.

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Resetting the body clock could help the brain recover after stroke

Strengthening the body’s natural daily rhythms helped mice recover after stroke by improving the brain’s waste-clearing system and reducing lingering inflammation. The approach worked even when treatment began three days after the stroke, suggesting circadian-based therapies could eventually offer a new way to support long-term recovery.

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Scientists say house cats could help unlock better cancer treatments for humans

Scientists have mapped the genetics of cat cancer on an unprecedented scale and found surprising similarities with tumors in humans. The findings could help bring precision cancer treatments to cats while also revealing new clues about how human cancers develop and respond to drugs.

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A major risk of breast cancer screening may have been overestimated for decades

A new analysis suggests mammograms may lead to far less breast cancer overdiagnosis than some earlier studies indicated. Researchers reexamined all eight major randomized screening trials and accounted for differences in follow-up time, screening frequency, and screening after trials ended. Their results were consistent with an overdiagnosis rate below 5%, rather than estimates approaching 30% to 50%.

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Scientists discover an “impossible” cellular survival pathway that could help fight cancer

Scientists discovered a surprising backup system that lets mammalian cells make the essential amino acid cysteine even when the pathways once considered indispensable are disabled. The same survival mechanism may help cancer cells resist treatment, raising the possibility that shutting it down could make tumors easier to kill.

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First stellar stream beyond the Milky Way could reveal dark matter

Astronomers have discovered the first globular cluster stellar stream beyond the Milky Way, opening a new way to study dark matter in distant galaxies. These faint trails of stars trace a galaxy’s gravitational structure and could eventually help scientists map invisible matter across the universe.

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The Solar System chose fire over ice from the very beginning

Ancient iron meteorites reveal that some of the Solar System’s first solid bodies were built mostly from tiny heat-forged rock beads called chondrules, while water-rich dust was largely excluded. The finding pushes this selective planet-building process back to within the Solar System’s first million years.

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