Alcoholism is a complex behavior that draws from both environmental and genetic factors. Researchers have found in a sample of smokers chromosomal regions that affect patterns of drinking behavior. These findings support results from previous research that link alcohol metabolism genes on chromosomes two and four with alcohol consumption. Researchers firmly believe that alcoholism is a complex behavior that draws from both environmental and genetic factors. A rece
Research, published in the journal Nature, may lead to insight on human organ regeneration
The stem cells that produce bird feathers have been visualized and analyzed for the first time, signifying the initial step in a scientific journey that may ultimately shed light on human organ regeneration.
The research, published in the December 15 issue of the journal Nature, was performed by a group of prominent stem-cell researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the Uni
Coating of tightly packed particles on bubble surface supports stresses to stabilize shape
Researchers at Harvard University have demonstrated that gas bubbles can exist in stable non-spherical shapes without the application of external force. The micron- to millimeter scale peapod-, doughnut- and sausage-shaped bubbles, created by coating ordinary gas bubbles with a tightly packed layer of tiny particles and then fusing them, are described this week on the web site of the journ
NT-proBNP test results comparable to those of BNP blood test in patients with kidney disease
A large-scale analysis has shown that a blood test previously found useful in diagnosing or ruling out heart failure in emergency room patients remains effective in patients with chronic kidney disease. The study also demonstrates that the test for a marker called NT-proBNP can identify patients at a higher risk for death, independent of kidney dysfunction. The report from investigators
Discovery mirrors expectations for genetic complexity of common diseases
Johns Hopkins scientists studying a rare inherited syndrome marked by eye and kidney problems, learning disabilities and obesity have discovered a genetic mutation that makes the syndrome more severe but that alone doesn’t cause it. Their report appears in the advance online edition of Nature (Dec. 4).
The new discovery about Bardet-Beidl syndrome (BBS) came from a panoply of studies — star
EAAC1 protein is the main transporter of cysteine into neurons, providing vital antioxidant protection
A study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center has identified a protein found in both mice and humans that appears to play a key role in protecting neurons from oxidative stress, a toxic process linked to neurodegenerative illnesses including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
The study, led by Raymond Swanson, MD, chief of neurology and rehabil
One of the great challenges for treating Parkinson’s diseases and other neurodegenerative disorders is getting medicine to the right place in the brain.
The brain is a complex organ with many different types of cells and structures, and it is fortified with a protective barrier erected by blood vessels and glial cells — the brain’s structural building blocks — that effectively blocks the delivery of most drugs from the bloodstream.
But now scientists have fou
Roche and the Competence Center for Systems Physiology and Metabolic Diseases (CC-SPMD) of SystemsX, the Swiss Initiative in Systems Biology, today announced a three-year research partnership. Scientists from Roche and the CC-SPMD will participate in a joint research project entitled «Systems biology of the beta cell-application to type 2 diabetes progression». The project aims to identify novel pathways for drug development in diabetes as well as new biomarkers of beta cell failure for diagnost
Porous metallic boxes can easily be tracked via MRI
Johns Hopkins researchers have devised a self-assembling cube-shaped perforated container, no larger than a dust speck, that could serve as a delivery system for medications and cell therapy.
The relatively inexpensive microcontainers can be mass-produced through a process that mixes electronic chip-making techniques with basic chemistry. Because of their metallic nature, the cubic container’s location in the bo
Scythe protein is critical to the normal development of the lungs, kidney and brain, according to St. Jude
A protein called Scythe determines which cells live and which die during the growth and development of the mammalian embryo, according to investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The St. Jude study is the first to show that Scythe plays a critical role during development of mammals by selectively regulating when and where specific cells eithe
News from the Cell Biology Meeting in San Francisco
Cancer works its malignant will by standing cell life on its head. No form of cancer is better at flipping normal cell mechanisms for growth and movement into sinister contraptions for evasion and invasion than aggressive colorectal tumors. Kidnapping is a particular talent, especially along the cancer’s invasive edges. That’s where Avri Ben-Ze’ev and colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and elsew
News from the Cell Biology Meeting in San Francisco
Children diagnosed with Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) race through life against an unfairly fast clock. Cases are extremely rare–one in 8 million births–but time plays cruel tricks on HGPS newborns. They begin life in apparent good health but by six–eighteen months develop the first signs of premature aging, including hair loss, stiff joints, osteoporosis and atherosclerosis. Typically, the HGPS race through life
The lens in the developing eye acts as a TGFbeta signaling center that controls differentiation, survival and formation of multiple eye structures deriving from the neural crest. A study published today in the open access journal Journal of Biology shows that neural crest (NC) derived cells contribute to both anterior and posterior parts of the developing mammalian eye. NC cells migrate properly in the eye but fail to differentiate in the absence of TGFbeta signaling. The activity of TGFbeta is medi
Harvard School of Dental Medicine Researcher Announces Findings Today
Today, Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) researcher Martin Nweeia, DMD, DDS, answers a marine science question that has eluded the scientific community for hundreds of years: why does the narwhal, or “unicorn,” whale have an 8-foot-long tooth emerging from its head, and what is its function? Nweeia, a clinical instructor in restorative dentistry and biomaterials sciences at HSDM, will be presenting his
Study using novel protein purification strategy shows that TRAF3 triggers interferon release while curbing inflammation, according to St. Jude
A protein called TRAF3, with a previously unknown job in immune cells, is actually a key part of a mechanism that triggers release of anti-virus molecules called type I interferons (IFNs) as part of the body’s rapid response against these invaders, according to investigators that include a scientist continuing this work at St. Jude Ch
Could vital information about many human diseases be deciphered from genes inside freshwater flatworms? A definitive yes is not the answer yet, but research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has provided an important advance for pursuing both that idea and the biology of stem cells.
In a paper appearing on line this week ahead of regular publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report the sequencing and analysis of 27,161 e
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