Curated News: Cell (journal)

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The genetic fingerprint of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis shows that the members of this evolutionarily very old animal phylum use the same gene cascades for the differentiation of neuronal cell types as more complex organisms. These genes are also responsible for the balance of all cells in the organism throughout the anemone’s life. The results were published by a team of developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau of the University of Vienna in "Cell Reports".

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As the world gets warmer, the use of power-hungry air conditioning systems is projected to increase significantly, putting a strain on existing power grids and bypassing many locations with little or no reliable electric power.

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Fungal pathogens have a major global impact upon human health – they are often difficult to diagnose and treat, and there is an urgent need for better diagnostics and more effective antifungal treatments.

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A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health has shown that commercially available rapid antigen tests can detect past and present variants of concern and has identified potential mutations that may impact test performance in the future.

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Researchers from Cleveland Clinic’s Florida Research and Innovation Center (FRIC) found that disruption of a cellular structure, known as the actin cytoskeleton, is a “priming signal” for the body to respond to a virus. These findings, published in Cell this week, potentially lay the groundwork for development of new anti-viral vaccines and treatments.

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Researchers at Tufts University have devised rules for a faster, more effective way to identify potential new drug cocktails against tuberculosis.

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A set of interacting molecules in immune cells of the gut is responsible for preventing the inflammation seen in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), UT Southwestern researchers report in a new study. The findings, published in Cell Reports, suggest a new drug target for treating IBD and related conditions.

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Obesity can give rise to a variety of health concerns. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)—a type of fatty liver disease that might progress to cancer—is particularly prevalent among obese people.

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A fungus that is a common cause of fungal meningitis undergoes a remarkable transformation once it enters the body, allowing it to infect the brain, according to new research by scientists at University of Utah Health. Studies in mice show that as the fungal intruder travels through the body, it shrinks and acquires characteristics that help infection to spread, all in a matter of days. The discovery could lead to new strategies for blocking Cryptococcus neoformans infection and preventing detrimental effects on the host.

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A team of researchers has discovered a way to convert 100% of carbon dioxide captured from industrial exhaust into ethylene, a key building block for plastic products.

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Calorie restriction has long been associated with reduced seizures in epilepsy.

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Scientists have identified a protein known as sulfatase-2 that plays a critical role in the damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis.

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Researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) used advanced three-dimensional mapping techniques at a microscopic level to identify a multitude of genetic variants and corresponding target gene pairings in the pancreas that are implicated in type 2 diabetes. In addition to these discoveries, the resulting datasets will serve as a key resource for researchers all over the world to delve deeper into the genetic origins of type 2 diabetes and further explore the roles of different types of cells in the development of the disease.

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The researchers discovered that in both the auditory cortex and posterior parietal cortex, when somatostatin neurons became active, other nearby somatostatin neurons activated as well. But the distance over which somatostatin neurons shared activity expanded in the posterior parietal cortex.

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Studies suggest that Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF) plays a central role in pathological growth of proliferative conditions like cancer, and may function as a resistance mechanism adopted by the majority of solid cancers following therapeutic targeting of non-IGF signaling pathways.

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Using publicly available data on COVID variant rates, researchers from the University of Hawai'i are investigating how mutations in the virus' genome impact its ability to spread and weaken immune responses.

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Investigators from Cedars-Sinai Cancer have discovered that cancerous tumors called soft-tissue sarcomas produce a protein that switches immune cells from tumor-attacking to tumor-promoting. The study, published today in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Reports, could lead to improved treatments for soft-tissue sarcomas.

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Regular treadmill exercise helped improve Parkinson’s disease symptoms in mice in a recent study by researchers at RUSH.

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The immune system of vertebrates is a powerful weapon against external pathogens and cancerous cells. T cells play a curcial role in this context.

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When female mosquitoes are looking for a human to bite, they smell a unique cocktail of body odors that we emit into the air. These odors then stimulate receptors in the mosquitoes’ antenna.

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Researchers have deciphered a signaling cascade through which inborn errors in metabolism provoke deadly neuroendocrine tumors in the adrenal glands.

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Researchers at McMaster University have found a class of well-known antiviral drugs could be part of a one-two punch to treat seasonal influenza and prevent a flu pandemic when used in combination with antibody therapies.

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Cedars-Sinai investigators have created bio-realistic and complex computer models of individual brain cells—in unparalleled quantity. Their research, published today in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Reports, details how these models could one day answer questions about neurological disorders—and even human intellect—that aren’t possible to explore through biological experiments.

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Is brain fog a condition limited to humans? “Infectious disease and cognition in wild populations,” a recently published paper in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, answers that question.

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Investigators at Cedars-Sinai and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have identified a component in the intestine that plays a critical role in repairing damaged tissue.

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UC San Diego researchers report using native bacteria in mice as the chassis for delivering transgenes capable of inducing persistent and potentially even curative therapeutic changes in the gut and reversing disease pathologies.

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In 1665, the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens hanged two of his recently invented pendulum clocks on a wooden beam and observed that as time passed, the clocks aligned their beats. Three and a half centuries later, neurons in the brain were found to sync their activities in a similar way.

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New research from VCU Massey Cancer Center — published Thursday in Cell Reports — demonstrated that a novel targeted therapy could be an effective treatment option for a deadly pediatric cancer known as neuroblastoma.

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Key takeaways: • Just like the real thing. The stem cell–derived interneurons, which play a role in sensations like touch and pain, are indistinguishable from their real-life counterparts in the body. • Tomorrow’s therapies. In addition to potential treatments for injury-related sensation loss, the discovery could lead to new methods for screening drugs for chronic pain. • Moving forward. While stem cells from mice were used in the research, scientists are now working to replicate the findings with human cells.