Results from a study published on Jan. 2 in Science defy textbook science, showing for the first time that the building blocks of a protein, called amino acids, can be assembled without blueprints – DNA and an intermediate template called messenger RNA (mRNA). A team of researchers has observed a case in which another protein specifies which amino acids are added.
In addition to incurring serious dental problems, memory loss and other physical and mental issues, methamphetamine users are three times more at risk for getting Parkinson’s disease than non-illicit drug users.
Examination of DNA from 21 primate species – from squirrel monkeys to humans – exposes an evolutionary war against infectious bacteria over iron that circulates in the host’s bloodstream. Supported by experimental evidence, these findings, published in Science on Dec. 12, demonstrate the vital importance of an increasingly appreciated defensive strategy called nutritional immunity.
It’s a virus that has long been characterized as dangerous and even deadly, but new research shows infant deaths from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are actually quite uncommon in the 21st century. Researchers at the University of Utah have shown there are approximately 42 deaths annually associated with RSV in the United States - much lower than had been reported previously - and of those deaths, the majority are in infants and young children that have complex preexisting chronic conditions.
A study by researchers at the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute has discovered the unusual role of lactate in the alveolar soft part sarcoma, while also confirming that a fusion gene is the cancer-causing agent in the disease
Black children are less likely to be diagnosed with and less likely to receive broad-spectrum antibiotics for ear infections than white children are, a new study has found. But the discrepancy in prescribing fewer broad-spectrum antibiotics means black children actually are more likely to receive care that aligns with the recommended guidelines for treating ear infections. Possible behaviors explaining the trend are overdiagnosis and overtreatment in white children and underdiagnosis and undertreatment in black children. The report appears in Pediatrics online on November 17, 2014.
Study shows that one way to solve problems of synthesis of natural compounds is to figure out how an organism solves the problem itself, and then modify it for a particular use.
CMI receives two grants.
A University of Utah-led study reports that cancers select against a protein complex called the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC), and re-introduction of MPC in colon cancer cells impairs several properties of cancer, including growth. The research, which appears online on Oct. 30 in Molecular Cell, implicates changes in a key step in metabolism – the way cellular fuel is utilized – as an important driver of colon cancer that is also likely to be important in many other cancer settings.
The award signifies a top-10 finish in UHC’s prestigious quality and safety rankings, a comparison of teaching hospitals based on quality measures, patient safety and satisfaction indictors, mortality rates and readmissions.
Workers punching in for the graveyard shift may be better off not eating high-iron foods at night so they don’t disrupt the circadian clock in their livers.
University of Utah scientists have identified two microRNA molecules that control chronic inflammation, a discovery that one day may help researchers prevent certain fatal or debilitating conditions before they start.
The case is one of several firsts to occur at University of Utah Health Care's revamped transplant program over the past year.
PKA protein helps regulate cellular functions, but also causes disease when it mutates.
A University of Utah study shows for the first time that continuous infusion benzodiazepines – a class of sedatives that includes lorazepam and midazolam, once considered the standard of care in the ICU – are linked to an increased likelihood of death among patients who receive mechanical ventilation, when compared to the sedative propofol.
University of Utah Health Sciences Names Satoshi Minoshima as New Chair of Radiology
New services launched at University of utah Health Care's South Jordan Health Center are designed to bring top-notch care to new moms who prefer to stay close-to-home with newborns.
A new study by researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine sheds light on a longstanding question about the role of mitochondria in debilitating and fatal motor neuron diseases and resulted in a new mouse model to study such illnesses.
A new study shows that when given the choice between a less costly “open” operation or a pricier laparoscopy for their children’s appendicitis, parents were almost twice as likely to choose the less expensive procedure – when they were aware of the cost difference.
A protein marker the mice carry that reacts to different calcium levels allows many different cell types to be studied in a new way.
Several times a year, eye surgeons from the University of Utah's Moran Eye Center set up medical eye camps in some of the most neglected corners of the world, including South Sudan, Micronesia, Haiti, Bolivia and Myanmar. The medical teams, however, don’t just work for a week and leave the country —throughout the process medical teams work with local providers to perform as many surgeries as possible and to train local partners on how to provide basic eye care and perform simple surgeries, which allows countries to develop a permanent source of eye care for the underserved regions.
Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have identified and characterized mutated forms of the gene that encodes BCR-ABL, the unregulated enzyme driving the blood cancer chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
In an environment where others struggle to survive, Tibetans thrive in the thin air of the Tibetan Plateau, with an average elevation of 14,800 feet. A study led by University of Utah scientists is the first to find a genetic cause for the adaptation and demonstrate how it contributes to the Tibetans’ ability to live in low oxygen conditions. The work appears online in the journal Nature Genetics on Aug. 17, 2014.
Senator and ophthalmologist Rand Paul (R-Ky) will join a medical team from the University of Utah’s John A. Moran Eye Center at a weeklong surgical camp in Guatemala beginning Aug. 14. The team plans to perform 200 sight-restoring cataract surgeries while working with local clinicians to improve care in the remote region of Baja Verapaz.
Study shows that a cellular 'chaperone' can also fold mirror-image proteins.
A University of Utah School of Medicine-led study has identified a previously unknown but crucial component in the process to make platelets, a discovery that could help spare multiple myeloma patients from a dangerous side effect of the primary drug (bortezomib) used to treat their cancer.
The award recognizes lifetime achievement by a vision scientist who has made a significant contribution to the understanding of vitreoretinal diseases or disorders
$3.6 million over five years will let the Institute establish a Network Lead Academic Participating Site.
Researchers discover that enzyme involved in intracellular signaling plays a crucial role in developing metabolic syndrome, a finding that has a U of U spinoff company developing a drug to potentially treat the condition.
Research to Prevent Blindness, a New York-based foundation, has announced that University of Utah researcher Wolfgang Baehr, Ph.D., will receive the Nelson Trust Award for Retinitis Pigmentosa—and an accompanying $100,000 to pursue new scientific leads to understand contributors to blindness.
Patients who have post-operative complications following high-risk surgery have a significantly lower risk of being readmitted to the hospital within 30 days if they go see their primary care physician soon following discharge, a new study in JAMA Surgery shows.
Published online in Cell Reports on June 19, Huntsman Cancer Institute investigators report that misregulation of two genes, sox2 and lkb1, drives squamous cell lung cancer in mice. The discovery uncovers new treatment strategies, and provides a clinically relevant mouse model in which to test them.
Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative has launched a new research team, the Center for Chemical Biology, to discover small molecules and develop drugs that alter biological processes, and enhance patient lives. The first investigator to join the new center is Danny Hung-Chieh Chou, Ph.D., who will develop novel forms of injectable insulin to make life better for patients with T1D.
The findings in the paper, titled “Protective buttressing of the hominin face,” present an alternative to the previous long-held hypothesis that the evolution of the robust faces of our early ancestors resulted largely from the need to chew hard-to-crush foods such as nuts.
Four new genes have been added to the growing list of those known to cause increased breast cancer risk when mutated through the efforts of researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah, who lead an international consortium working to find more gene mutations that cause inherited breast cancer susceptibilities.
Scientists have developed a powerful tool called pVAAST that combines linkage analysis with case control association to identify disease-causing mutations in families faster and more precisely than ever before.
Researchers who investigated the level of kidney function and subsequent cancer risk in more than one million adults have found that reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) — a key measure of reduced kidney function and chronic kidney disease (CKD) — is an independent risk factor for renal and urothelial cancer but not other cancer types.
It was long assumed that the joining of egg and sperm launched a dramatic change in how and which genes were expressed. Instead, new research shows that totipotency is a step-wise process, manifesting as early as in precursors to sperm, called adult germline stem cells (AGSCs), which reside in the testes. The research was published online in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Mice severely disabled by a condition similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) were able to walk less than two weeks following treatment with human neural stem cells. The finding, which uncovers potential new avenues for treating MS, will be published online on May 15, 2014, in the journal Stem Cell Reports.
A group of students from the University of Utah School of Computing has launched a new application designed to help consumers become more aware about alternatives to driving. The app is an effort to improve behavior that contributes to Utah’s air pollution problem.
Epidemiologist Cornelia Ulrich, Ph.D., and her husband, Bruce A. Edgar, Ph.D., will join the Institute as early as Sept. 1, 2014.
The prestigious honor is awarded by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to a scientist who has shown outstanding biochemical and molecular biological research, with particular emphasis on development of methods and techniques to aid in research.
University of Utah Health Care watched web traffic to its online physician profiles skyrocket after implementing online physician reviews, analytics show
A computational tool developed at the University of Utah (U of U) has successfully identified diseases with unknown gene mutations in three separate cases
Wolfgang Baehr, Ph.D., will be awarded Proctor Medal for work studying retinal diseases.
Twelve student teams garnered top honors from a field of more than 40 for inventing medical devices that may soon change the marketplace and improve modern medicine.
The Bench-to-Bedside program is designed to introduce medical students, engineering students and business students to the world of medical device innovation. Student teams form into multidisciplinary “start-up” companies and are given the task of identifying an unmet clinical need.
University of Utah neuroscientists report that when a region of the brain called the lateral habenula is chronically inactivated in rats, they repeatedly drink to excess and are less able to learn from the experience. The study, published online in PLOS ONE on April 2, has implications for understanding behaviors that drive alcohol addiction.
About 6 percent of colorectal cancers are diagnosed within three to five years after the patient receive a clean colonoscopy report, according to researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah.
Compared to 10 years ago, sequencing the human genome has plummeted in cost by 1 million-fold and can be completed in a fraction of the time. Yet there are still barriers preventing DNA sequence information from routinely being incorporated into patient care. The USTAR Center for Genetic Discovery is partnering with California based Omicia, Inc. to make patient genome analysis as routine as a blood test.
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