University of North Carolina scientists found that mucin proteins, which make mucus thick and sticky, fail to unfold properly in the airways of people with cystic fibrosis. And they found the lack of water in the lung can trigger the misfolding mucins.
Connecting pieces of information by finding a common thread often takes glaucoma researchers in unexpected directions. Zinc is one such thread that joined together different experts at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
UCLA scientists have traced the Pavlovian response to a small cluster of brain cells -- the same neurons that go awry during Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Tourette syndrome. The research could one day help scientists find new approaches to diagnosing and treating these neurological disorders.
Harry Greene, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University, and Cissy Ballen of the University of Minnesota have just published a paper in PLOS Biology, “Walking and Talking the Tree of Life: Why and How to Teach About Biodiversity,” discussing why the evolutionary TOL approach to biodiversity is best, to what extent the traditional taxonomy is still used and how to teach TOL using an active learning approach.
Membrane fusion lies at the heart of many cell functions—from the secretion of antibodies to the release of neurotransmitters. For more than two decades, one view of the process by which membrane fusion occurs has been accepted as dogma; now recent studies indicate that fusion is more complex. These discoveries are being regarded by at least one leading cell biologist as “textbook changing” and could alter how we develop drugs that affect membrane fusion activities.
Since a couple of decades, metal-containing drugs have been successfully used to fight against certain types of cancer. The lack of knowledge about the underlying molecular mechanisms slows down the search for new and more efficient chemotherapeutic agents. An international team of scientists, led by Leticia González from the University of Vienna and Jacinto Sá from the Uppsala University, have developed a protocol that is able to detect how metal-based drugs interact with DNA.
University of Utah bioengineering researchers have discovered that damage to collagen, the main building block of all human tissue, can occur much earlier at a molecular level from too much physical stress. This could be helpful for some who want to know earlier if they are developing diseases such as arthritis or for athletes whose bodies are taking a toll.
A group of computational biological researchers, led by Stony Brook University’s Rob Patro, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has developed a new software tool, Salmon — a lightweight method to provide fast and bias-aware quantification from RNA-sequencing reads. The research was published in the March 6 edition of Nature Methods. .
UCLA researchers have discovered the molecular basis of an incurable disease known as inclusion body myopathy, Paget disease with frontotemporal dementia, or IBMPFD. Using both fruit flies and human cells the researchers discovered how IBMPFD mutations cause cellular damage, and identified two compounds that are able to reverse the mutations effects. The findings suggest potential strategies to combat IBMPFD and other diseases, including ALS.
Using a technique that avoids the use of high-dose chemotherapy and radiation in preparation for a stem cell transplant, physicians at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System have documented the first cure of an adult patient with congenital dyserythropoietic anemia.
Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine (RCIGM) announced that Robert Wechsler-Reya, Ph.D., has been named program director for the Joseph Clayes III Research Center for Neuro-Oncology and Genomics at RCIGM. Wechsler-Reya, a professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), will retain his position as director of the Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program at SBP’s NCI-designated Cancer Center and will hold a joint appointment at RCIGM.
The Galat laboratory at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, has developed an elegant system to derive blood cell precursors from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). This type of stem cell has the potential to develop into many different kinds of cells in the body, and is capable of participating in organ repair and function. These qualities have prompted scientists to test the use of hPSC to treat some diseases. However, the development of a fully defined system to generate functional blood cell precursors has proven to be a significant challenge. The Galat lab’s findings hold promise to overcome this challenge.
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.
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