UPTON, NY—Even plants have to live on an energy budget. While they’re known for converting solar energy into chemical energy in the form of sugars, plants have sophisticated biochemical mechanisms for regulating how they spend that energy. Making oils costs a lot. By exploring the details of this delicate energy balance, a group of scientists from the U.
How do mammals keep two biologically crucial metabolites in balance during times when they are feeding, sleeping, and fasting? The answer may require rewriting some textbooks.
A new study published in the journal Stem Cells demonstrates how electroacupuncture triggers a neurological mechanism that can help promote tissue repair and relieve injury-induced pain. The findings provide the most comprehensive picture yet of how electroacupuncture stimulates the brain to facilitate the release of stem cells and adds new insight relating to the cells’ healing properties.
An algorithm based on levels of metabolites found in a blood sample can accurately predict whether a child is on the Autism spectrum of disorder (ASD), based upon a recent study.
Results from a prospective clinical trial showed that a blood test looking at specific biomarkers was able to detect recurrences of lung cancer an average of six months before conventional imaging methods found evidence of recurrence.
A new study in mice reveals that eosinophils, a type of disease-fighting white blood cell, appear to be at least partly responsible for the progression of heart muscle inflammation to heart failure in mice.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have discovered a common genetic variant that greatly affects normal brain aging in older adults. The discovery may point toward new targets for preventing or treating age-associated brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
A discovery, several years in the making, by University at Buffalo researchers proves that adult skin cells can be converted into neural crest cells (a type of stem cell) without any genetic modification, and that these stem cells can yield other cells that are present in the spinal cord and the brain. The applications could be significant, from studying genetic diseases in a dish to generating possible regenerative cures from the patient’s own cells.
An international research team, led by scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, has created the first cellular model of anorexia nervosa (AN), reprogramming induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from adolescent females with the eating disorder.
Silencing a gene called Nrl in mice prevents the loss of cells from degenerative diseases of the retina, according to a new study. The findings could lead to novel therapies for preventing vision loss from human diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa. The study was conducted by researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and was published online today in Nature Communications.
Intestinal stem cells rejuvenate daily so bowels will stay healthy and function normally, but a new study in Cell Reports suggests they also age along with people and lose their regenerative capacity. Reporting their data online March 14, researchers suggest that reactivating the signaling of a key molecule lost in aging intestinal stem cells could restore healthy intestinal function in older people.
Queen’s University Belfast scientists have discovered that specific cells from the immune system are key players in brain repair – a fundamental breakthrough that could revolutionise the treatment of debilitating neurological disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
One reason we survive into adulthood is that cell-killing T cells usually recognize and eliminate cancerous or pathogen-infected cells. But prolonged overactivity of immune cells summoned to a tumor or infection site can render them useless to dispatch invaders, a cellular state immunologists call "exhaustion." Fortunately, cancer researchers are devising effective immunotherapies to counter exhaustion and re-motivate immune cells to eradicate a patient's tumor
New research from Michigan State University indicates that embryonic tissue, key to the development of a baby’s gender, could contribute to an enlarged prostate, or BPH, in men later in life.
When an infection attacks the body for the first time, T cells of the immune system help fight off that specific pathogen. After the infection has cleared, some of the T cells that fought the microbe transition into “memory” cells that remember the pathogen and are ready to protect the body from future infections. Previous research has found that memory T cells are critical for long-term immunity, but the quantity and quality of the cells mysteriously declines with time, making some individuals more likely to be reinfected. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have identified a molecular mechanism that operates in memory T cells that could be manipulated to produce and maintain more memory T cells in the body, a finding that could improve vaccinations and cancer immunotherapies.
Mount Sinai study on psychosis reveals the importance of clarifying the precise structure of any genetic mutation before moving forward with human-induced pluripotent stem cell studies
New research adds to growing evidence that Parkinson's disease may arise in part from neurons’ failure to recycle the materials used to package and transport neurotransmitters.
A subset of protein complexes whose role has long been thought to consist only of chemically degrading and discarding of proteins no longer needed by cells appears to also play a role in sending messages from one nerve cell to another, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report.
A new study from the University of Chicago suggests that while proteins that control organ growth accumulate around the edges of cells, they actually function at a different cellular site.
Research from the University of Chicago has identified a new signaling system that epithelial cells use to coordinate their individual movements and efficiently move tissues.
Although Zika and dengue are considered different virus “species,” they are so closely related that the immune system treats Zika just like another version of dengue, report researchers at La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology. Their latest study, published in the March 13, 2017, advance online edition of Nature Microbiology, shows that pre-existing immunity to dengue virus modulates the magnitude and breadth of the immune system’s T cell response to Zika.
The breast cancer drug tamoxifen appears to protect light-sensitive cells in the eye from degeneration, according to a new study in mice. The drug prevented immune cells from removing injured photoreceptors.
Researchers led by University of Utah bioengineering assistant professor Robby Bowles have discovered a way to curb chronic pain by modulating genes that reduce tissue- and cell-damaging inflammation.
The deadly fungus, Candida auris, is resistant to entire classes of antimicrobial drugs, limiting treatment options for those infected. Now, in a first-of-its-kind study, microbiologists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have provided previously uninvestigated details pertaining to C. auris drug resistance and growth patterns.
fNIRS imaging has led to a breakthrough in communication with ALS patients that are “Locked-In” and unable to move or speak.
Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, but what type of training helps most, especially when you’re older - say over 65? A Mayo Clinic study says it’s high-intensity aerobic exercise, which can reverse some cellular aspects of aging. The findings appear in Cell Metabolism.
Targeting cancer stem cells may be a more effective way to overcome cancer resistance and prevent the spread of squamous cell carcinoma — the most common head and neck cancer and the second-most common skin cancer, according to a new study by cancer researchers at the UCLA School of Dentistry. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is a highly invasive form of cancer and frequently spreads to the cervical lymph nodes.
• Sickle cell trait, a common hemoglobin variant in African Americans, was associated with a twofold higher risk of developing kidney failure requiring dialysis. • Sickle cell trait conferred a similar degree of risk as APOL1 gene variants, which are currently the most widely recognized genetic contributors to kidney disease in blacks.
New data from the REGARDS study show that blacks with the sickle cell trait are more likely to develop kidney failure requiring dialysis.
Working as part of an international research consortium, a multidisciplinary team at The Johns Hopkins University has completed the design phase for a fully synthetic yeast genome.
Research into retinal regeneration in zebrafish has identified a signal that appears to trigger the self-repair process, raising the possibility that human retinas can also be induced to regenerate, naturally repairing damage caused by degenerative retinal diseases and injury, including age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.
A specific protein inside cells senses threatening changes in its environment, such as heat or starvation, and triggers an adaptive response to help the cell continue to function and grow under stressful conditions, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Chicago.
Learning and memory depend on cells' ability to strengthen and weaken circuits in the brain. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine report that a protein involved in recycling other cell proteins plays an important role in this process.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee have discovered that in zebrafish, decreased levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) cue the retina, the light-sensing tissue in the back of the eye, to produce stem cells. The finding sheds light on how the zebrafish regenerates its retina after injury and informs efforts to restore vision in people who are blind.
A collaborative Stony Brook University research team has discovered a novel metabolic pathway of the lipid ceramide, which is involved in cell death.
Neuroscientists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have been trying to answer these questions by studying the olfactory system of mammals. They have succeeded in identifying the complementary role played by two distinct kinds of neurons in processing olfactory information and the different brain re-organisation that occurs depending on the context.
Mayo Clinic researchers have uncovered three new agents to add to the emerging repertoire of drugs that aim to delay the onset of aging by targeting senescent cells – cells that contribute to frailty and other age-related conditions.
Researchers have reversed depression symptoms in mice simply by feeding them a probiotic bacteria found in yogurt. They also discovered a specific mechanism for how the bacteria affect mood, providing a direct link between gut health and mental health.
New TSRI Study Points to Potential Strategy to Kill Cancer Cells
Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised a versatile molecule-building tool for creating new drugs and other chemical products.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center discovered that lipocalin 2, a hormone secreted by bone cells, suppresses appetite in mice. The study findings, which reveal a new mechanism for regulating food intake and blood sugar, could lead to the development of new treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic disorders.
Proteins, those basic components of cells and tissues, carry out many biological functions by working with partners in networks. The dynamic nature of these networks – where proteins interact with different partners at different times and in different cellular environments – can present a challenge to scientists who study them.
UCLA scientists pioneered an approach to observe in real time what excites T cells at the nanoscale, pinpointed the pathway that controls immune response and identified drugs that could equip scientists with the ability to manipulate the immune system and control disease.
Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have shown that the composition of the mitochondrial calcium portal (the protein that regulates when and how much calcium enters) is different depending on the organ in the body, and this difference allows mitochondria to tune their energy output by decoding a pattern of amplitude and/or frequency of calcium oscillations inside a cell. The results, published March 7 in the journal Cell Reports, could shed light on our basic understanding of organ health and disease.
Ovarian cancer researchers have identified a protein biomarker expressed on the surface of tumour cells in high-grade serous ovarian cancer, the most common and lethal subtype of the disease.
Genetic mutations can increase a person’s cancer risk, but other gene “enhancer” elements may also be responsible for disease progression, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Using red blood cells modified to carry disease-specific antigens, scientists from Whitehead Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital have prevented and alleviated two autoimmune diseases—multiple sclerosis (MS) and type 1 diabetes—in early stage mouse models.
A rise in caloric consumption combined with a decrease in physical activity has contributed to a boom of metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases (e.g., heart failure and stroke).
Researchers from Columbia Engineering and Columbia University Medical Center have—for the first time—maintained a fully functional lung outside the body for several days. They designed the cross-circulation platform that maintained the viability and function of the donor lung and the stability of the recipient over 36-56 hours, used the advanced support system to fully recover the functionality of lungs injured by ischemia and made them suitable for transplant. (Nature Biomedical Engineering 3/6)
A sweeping international effort is connecting the dots between genes in our fat cells and our risk for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The researchers have identified approximately 90 genes found in fat that could play important roles in such diseases – and could be targeted to develop new treatments or cures.
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