Curated News: Cell (journal)

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Research reveals how mutated SARS-CoV-2 evades immune system defenses In lab-dish experiments, the mutant virus escaped antibodies from the plasma of COVID-19 survivors as well as pharmaceutical-grade antibodies Mutations arose in an immunocompromised patient with chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection Patient-derived virus harbored structural changes now seen cropping up independently in samples across the globe Findings underscore the need for better genomic surveillance to keep track of emerging variants Results highlight importance of therapies aimed at multiple targets on SARS-CoV-2 to minimize risk of resistance

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Millions of people are administered general anesthesia each year in the United States alone, but it’s not always easy to tell whether they are actually unconscious. A small proportion of those patients regain some awareness during medical procedures, but a new study of the brain activity that represents consciousness could prevent that potential trauma.

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Researchers from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey previously identified a small protein called Rab1A that regulates amino acid signaling. In a recent study, researchers explored the physiological role of Rab1A in mammals using mice though a technique in which one of an organism's genes is made inoperative, known as genetic knockout.

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Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified genes responsible for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) regeneration via the assembly of the ribosome, the protein factories in cells that translate mRNA sequences into amino acid sequences. The findings, which were published in Cell Stem Cell, highlight the importance of proper ribosome assembly in stem cell regeneration and identify possible targets for future therapies for ribosomopathies, childhood disorders that lead to bone marrow failure (BMF).

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Using genetic engineering, researchers at UT Southwestern and Indiana University have reprogrammed scar-forming cells in mouse spinal cords to create new nerve cells, spurring recovery after spinal cord injury. The findings, published online today in Cell Stem Cell, could offer hope for the hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who suffer a spinal cord injury each year.

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Scientists have mapped out what happens to fat deposits during intermittent fasting (every second day), with an unexpected discovery that some types of fat are more resistant to weight loss.

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Discovery of a metabolic pathways that inhibit memory T cell production has potential for enhancing the immune system’s ability to fight infections and cancers.

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ROCKVILLE, MD – The virus that causes COVID-19 belongs to the family of coronaviruses, “corona” referring to the spikes on the viral surface.

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Viruses are the most numerous biological entities on the planet. Now researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have identified over 140,000 viral species living in the human gut, more than half of which have never been seen before.

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The research team has discovered that for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, there is a dopamine receptor pathway that becomes abnormally activated in the cancer stem cells. This inspired the clinical investigation of a dopamine receptor-inhibiting drug thioridazine as a new therapy for patients, and their focus on adult AML has revealed encouraging results.

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Antibody-based drugs have been authorized for emergency use in COVID-19 patients by the Food and Drug Administration. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that the ability to interact with other elements of the immune system is an indispensable part of the effectiveness of such antibodies. The findings could help improve the design of the next generation of antibody-based COVID-19 drugs.

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By capitalizing on a convergence of chemical, biological and artificial intelligence advances, scientists have developed an unusually fast and efficient method for discovering tiny antibody fragments with big potential for development into therapeutics against deadly diseases.

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Scientists say they have discovered a potential new target for immunotherapy of malignant brain tumors, which so far have resisted the ground-breaking cancer treatment based on harnessing the body’s immune system. The discovery, reported in the journal CELL, emerged from laboratory experiments and has no immediate implications for treating patients.

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Researchers at the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) at Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) may have found a new pathway to treat and control tuberculosis (TB), the disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq), a next-generation sequencing technology, scientists were able to further define the mechanisms that lead to TB infection and latency.

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A research team led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Icahn Mount Sinai) has built the first cellular model to depict the evolution of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), from its early to late stages. By using gene editing technologies to alter genes that make cells malignant, the team was able to identify potential therapeutic targets for early disease stages. The study was reported in the journal Cell Stem Cell in February.

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DALLAS – Feb. 3, 2021 – Gaining more fat cells is probably not what most people want, although that might be exactly what they need to fight off diabetes and other diseases. How and where the body can add fat cells has remained a mystery – but two new studies from UT Southwestern provide answers on the way this process works.

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Stem cell study findings show that LMNA gene mutations can disrupt the “identity” of heart muscle cells

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A Cornell-led collaboration has developed a noninvasive blood test that uses cell-free DNA to gauge the damage that COVID-19 inflicts on cells, tissues and organs, and could help aid in the development of new therapies.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that immune cells stationed in sinuses in the meninges — the covering of the brain and spinal cord — monitor the brain and initiate an immune response if they detect a problem.

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A new study demonstrates that antibodies generated by the novel coronavirus react to other strains of coronavirus and vice versa, according to research published today by scientists from Oregon Health & Science University.

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For mice, the earliest social memories can form at three days old and last into adulthood, scientists report on January 26 in the journal Cell Reports.

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Viral infections and space travel similarly trigger inflammation and the enzymes APOBEC3C and ADAR1; UC San Diego researchers are developing ways to inhibit them as a means to potentially lower cancer risk for both astronauts and people on Earth.

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The finding can offer a new way for creating therapies to prevent secondary bacterial infections.

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An innovative approach to treating bone tumors – starving cancer cells of the energy they need to grow – could one day provide an alternative to a commonly used chemotherapy drug without the risk of severe side effects, suggests a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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Wistar researchers have discovered a new enzymatic function of the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) protein EBNA1, a critical factor in EBV’s ability to transform human cells and cause cancer. Published in Cell, this study provides new indications for inhibiting EBNA1 function, opening up fresh avenues for development of therapies to treat EBV-associated cancers.

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UC San Diego study supports launch of Phase I clinical trial to test a designer DNA agent — an antisense oligonucleotide that targets a gene called IRF4 — in patients with multiple myeloma.

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The results of a study led by Northern Arizona University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, suggest the immune systems of people infected with COVID-19 may rely on antibodies created during infections from earlier coronaviruses to help fight the disease.

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Researchers at Canada's McMaster University have developed a new form of cultivated meat using a method that promises more natural flavour and texture than other alternatives to traditional meat from animals.

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A collaborative study shows COVID-19 virus triggers antibodies from previous coronavirus infections, such as the common cold. It may also explain how previous exposure could partially account for differences in severity between old vs. young patients

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In a series of experiments with laboratory-cultured bacteria, Johns Hopkins scientists have found evidence that there is a second role for the widely used gene-cutting system CRISPR-Cas9 — as a genetic dimmer switch for CRISPR-Cas9 genes. Its role of dialing down or dimming CRISPR-Cas9 activity may help scientists develop new ways to genetically engineer cells for research purposes.

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New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that allergens in the environment often are to blame for episodes of acute itch in eczema patients, and that the itching often doesn’t respond to antihistamines because the itch signals are being carried to the brain along a previously unrecognized pathway that current drugs don’t target.

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In an article published in Cell Metabolism, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers report on a newly discovered biochemical pathway that protects cells from a type of cell death called ferroptosis.

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What if the degenerative eye conditions that lead to glaucoma, corneal dystrophy, and cataracts could be detected and treated before vision is impaired? Recent findings from the lab of Investigator Ting Xie, PhD, at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research point to the ciliary body as a key to unlocking this possibility.

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DALLAS – Jan. 11, 2021 – A set of biomarkers not traditionally associated with cell fate can accurately predict how genetically identical cells behave differently under stress, according to a UT Southwestern study. The findings, published by Cell Reports as a Dec. 1 cover story, could eventually lead to more predictable responses to pharmaceutical treatments.

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Princess Margaret Scientist Dr. Catherine O’Brien and team discovered that cancer cells hijack an evolutionary conserved program to survive chemotherapy. Furthermore, the researchers show that novel therapeutic strategies aimed at specifically targeting cancer cells in this slow-dividing state can prevent cancer regrowth.

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Scientists from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a simple, high-throughput method for transferring isolated mitochondria and their associated mitochondrial DNA into mammalian cells. This approach enables researchers to tailor a key genetic component of cells, to study and potentially treat debilitating diseases such as cancer, diabetes and metabolic disorders.

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Recent analyses indicate that pregnant women and newborns may face elevated risks of developing more severe cases of COVID-19 following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Cells produce a great number of different protein complexes, each of which is made up of many individual proteins. These protein complexes, like ribosomes for example, are what regulate almost all of a cell's life-sustaining biological functions.

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A new study of people with amputations who used a bionic hand for over one year highlights future challenges for developing realistic prosthetic devices

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Osteopontin is discovered as the culprit behind these patients’ main cause of death. However, a repurposed immunosuppressive drug may combat the pro-inflammatory protein.

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As Covid-19 infections soar across the U.S., some states are tightening restrictions and reinstituting quarantine measures to slow the virus' spread.

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A single protein that appears necessary for the COVID-19 virus to reproduce and spread to other cells is a potential weakness that could be targeted by future therapies.

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Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have combined synthetic biology with a machine learning algorithm to create human liver organoids with blood and bile handling systems. When implanted into mice with failing livers, the lab-grown replacement livers extended life.

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Berkeley Lab-developed machine learning tool can also calculate the optical properties of a known structure; CUORE experiment in Italy is designed to find theorized process called neutrinoless double-beta decay

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Researchers discover that gentle vibration can induce sleep in flies through a simple form of learning.

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Using data collected from many different resources, a multidisciplinary team led by NASA scientists reports the discovery of a common but surprising thread that drives cell and tissue damage during space travel: mitochondrial dysfunction.

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A comprehensive “proteogenomic” analysis of the proteins, genes, and RNA transcription involved in pediatric brain tumors has yielded a more complete understanding of these tumors, which are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children. The results could help physicians more accurately identify different types of tumors and methods for treating them.

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Princess Margaret scientists have revealed how stem cells are able to generate new blood cells throughout our life by looking at vast, uncharted regions of our genetic material that hold important clues to subtle biological changes in these cells.

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Damage caused to human cells during spaceflight appears to be the underlying cause of many health issues observed in astronauts, it has been discovered by researchers from the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) and School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast. Working in partnership with an international team, their findings have been published today (25 November) in Cell.

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As the global coronavirus pandemic continues, scientists are not only trying to find vaccines and drugs to combat it, but also to continuously learn more about the virus itself.