Curated News: Cell (journal)

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Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say mysterious, previously unseen “X cell” may be cause of type 1 diabetes

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Scientists successfully bioengineered human liver organoids that faithfully mimic key features of fatal liver disease in the laboratory. This allowed them to uncover underlying disease biology in the organoids and test a potential therapy that in preclinical lab tests reversed an often-fatal childhood condition called Wolman disease.

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Researchers at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC have revealed how a genetic message to produce healthy heart tissue is altered in the body during stress and aging to contribute to sudden cardiac death. The discovery published in Cell Reports centers on communication between heart cells and allows for the potential of developing targeted therapies to help people at risk of arrhythmias and heart attacks.

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Scientists have long sorted cells into different varieties based on their appearance under a microscope or, for differences that are more visually subtle, based on the behavior of a handful of genes. But in a bid to reveal even more distinctive differences and similarities, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the Johns Hopkins Institute for Genetic Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Department of Neuroscience developed two new artificial intelligence methods that decipher complex gene activity controlling cell fate decisions in retina development and relate this gene activity to what occurs in other tissues and across different species.

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Researchers examining post-mortem brain tissue from people ages 79 to 99 found that new neurons continue to form well into old age. The study provides evidence that this occurs even in people with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, although neurogenesis is significantly reduced in these people compared to older adults with normal cognitive functioning.

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Targeting a key gene before birth could someday help lead to a treatment for Down syndrome by reversing abnormal embryonic brain development and improving cognitive function after birth, according to a Rutgers-led study.

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UNLV researchers have discovered a novel method for how two parts of the brain — the hippocampus and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) — work together to retrieve long-term memories.

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Two scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have unraveled aspects of how DNA organizes and preserves genetic information. Newly published research by Cynthia Wolberger, Ph.D., and James Berger, Ph.D., whose labs sit side by side, takes a closer look at how the puzzle pieces of DNA machinery fit together.

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Over one-third of all FDA-approved drugs act on a specific family of proteins: G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Drugs to treat high blood pressure, asthma, cancer, diabetes and myriad other conditions target GPCRs throughout the body—but a recent study shows what happens next. In results published in Cell, researchers outline the timeline of events, including precisely when and how different parts of a GPCR interacts with its G protein signaling partners. The findings provide new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of drug-induced signaling in cells, including ways to identify the most critical portions of GPCRs for targeting development of novel therapeutics.

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An open-source RNA analysis platform has been successfully used on plant cells for the first time – an advance that could herald a new era of fundamental research and bolster efforts to engineer more efficient food and biofuel crop plants. The technology, called Drop-seq, is a method for measuring the RNA present in individual cells, allowing scientists to see what genes are being expressed and how this relates to the specific functions of different cell types.

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UT Southwestern researchers identified a previously unknown bacteria-killing protein on the epidermis that requires vitamin A to work.

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Neurobiologists have located the brain area responsible for value decisions. Data from thousands of neurons revealed an area of the brain called the retrosplenial cortex, previously not known for “value-based decision-making,” a behavior that is impaired in a range of neurological conditions.

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New research published in Cell Immunity has defined the chain of molecular events that goes awry in sepsis, opening up opportunities for new treatments.

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A new study published in Cell Reports by a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and School of Medicine and Public Health could improve the efficiency of creating induced pluripont stem cells.

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Experts at Cincinnati Children’s report that the systemic inflammatory process that triggers preterm birth begins in an unexpected location that suggests new ways to develop preventative medications.

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A newly discovered relationship between genetic variation and the gut microbiome could help nutritionists personalize their recommendations. People with a high number of copies of a gene called AMY1, which expresses a salivary enzyme for breaking down starch, correlated strongly with a certain profile of gut and mouth bacteria, according to a new Cornell University study.

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The Immaculate Conception? Forget Sperm and Eggs, Hebrew University Researchers have Created Embryo Stem Cells from Skin Cells

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New computer program uses artificial intelligence to determine what visual neurons like to see. Algorithm generates synthetic images that morph into “super stimulus” for neurons, removing inherent bias of using natural images to gauge preferences. The approach could shed light on learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders and other neurologic conditions.

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Creating a defect in tRNA molecules could weaken bacteria’s two-pronged defense and help make faster-acting antibiotics.

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In a new study, Yale Cancer Center scientists have demonstrated a powerful method to analyze how tumor cells are altered as they metastasize to the brain.