Washington, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today finalized two guidances to drive the efficient development of a novel technology that scans a person’s DNA to diagnose genetic diseases, which are usually hereditary, and guide medical treatments. The guidances provide recommendations for designing, developing, and validating tests that use the technology, called next generation sequencing (NGS), and will play an important role in the continued advancement of individualized, genetic-based medicine.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) celebrates the launch of the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP). For more than a decade, the ADA has worked tirelessly to ensure that evidence-based community prevention programs like the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) are accessible and affordable for all Americans who need them.

Mitochondria, known to most people as the “powerhouses of the cell,” have been recognized for decades as the cellular organelle where sugars and fats are oxidized to generate energy. Now, new research by UCLA scientists has found that not all mitochondria fit this definition. Within each cell a group of specialized mitochondria can be found attached to fat droplets. Rather than burn fat to create energy, these specialized mitochondria are responsible for providing the energy to build and store fat molecules.

An advance by UCLA neuroscientists could lead to a better understanding of astrocytes, star-shaped brain cells that are believed to play a key role in neurological disorders like Lou Gehrig’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases.

In a new analysis released today, the American Heart Association projects that the cost of informal caregiving for Americans with heart disease and stroke will more than double from $61 billion in 2015 to $128 billion by 2035. These new data on caregiving would increase the association’s predicted 2035 price tag for cardiovascular disease (CVD) total costs to $1.2 trillion annually. The study was included in a policy statement, published in the association’s journal, Circulation.

Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health have uncovered molecular characteristics that link the genomic profiles of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five areas of the body and that set these SCCs apart from other cancers. Using a robust dataset of SCCs from the head and neck, lung, esophagus, cervix, and bladder, the researchers also found defining characteristics in subtypes of SCCs associated with tobacco use or human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. This research may lead to more effective diagnosis and treatment of these cancers by helping researchers develop tailored strategies for specific cancer subtypes.