An ancient enzyme in the brains of mammals acts as an innate nutritionist of sorts, guiding them to make healthy choices about what to eat, according to new work published in the April issue of Cell Metabolism. The molecular mechanism is likely to be important in all mammals, including humans, that eat a varied diet comprised of meat and vegetables, the researchers said.
David Ron, of the New York University School of Medicine, and his colleagues found in mice that an enzyme known
Having vaccines developed by computer may sound unnerving but the increasing role of computer modelling in the development of new vaccines could bring new products onto the market quicker, benefiting patients and saving pharmaceutical companies millions of pounds.
Researchers using informatics and computer modelling can help scientists to uncover and harness the hidden patterns in the wealth of DNA and protein sequences that modern bioscience generates and cut the number of compoun
When Michael Oshinsky, Ph.D., gives his rats a headache, he has good reason.
The animals are helping Dr. Oshinsky, assistant professor of neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, study how migraine treatments work. In recent experiments, the animals provided evidence showing that DHE, a standard drug currently used to treat acute migraine pain can also work against the onset of a phenomenon called “central sensitization,” or “allodynia,
A protein that regulates cholesterol levels in the body also is responsible for maintaining a healthy balance between fat storage and fat burning, according to a UT Southwestern Medical Center study that may lead to new drug targets in the fight against obesity.
In animals and humans, a protein called the liver X receptor, or LXR, senses cholesterol levels. When these receptors detect rising amounts of cholesterol, they activate genes and a series of biochemical reactions that
Liver-specific knock out mouse has improved liver function
A collaborative effort led by The Burnham Institute’s Gen-Sheng Feng has created a mouse with improved glucose tolerance and insulin activity in the liver, and generated new findings about insulin-signaling in the liver that could prove useful in understanding the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. These results, to be published by Nature Medicine in May, were made available to the scientific community by advance pos
A breakdown in brain cell communication may contribute to the most common biochemical cause of mental retardation, University of Florida scientists have discovered.
The process is akin to a baseball game gone bad. Imagine if a pitcher were joined by six players simultaneously winding up on the mound. Crouched behind home plate, the single catcher would soon be overwhelmed. Even if the coach sent in teammates to catch the extra balls, confusion would reign on the field.
Your mother was right. Eat your fruits and veggies — they’re good for you!
And if that’s not reason enough, a new study suggests antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables may limit brain damage from stroke and other neurological disorders. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of South Florida (USF)College of Medicine, James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is posted online and will be published in the May issue of t
A possible link between lack of sleep (insomnia) and obesity has been traced to hypocretin/orexin cells in the hypothalamus region of the brain that are easily excited and sensitive to stress, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the April issue of Cell Metabolism.
“If these neurons are over-activated by environmental or mental stress in daily situations, they may support sustained arousal, triggering sleeplessness, leading to overeating,” said lead author Tamas Horvath,
A researcher studying drug design for nerve damage therapies has gotten her answer to questions by following some old advice: she used the library.
It’s not the kind of library her mother or teacher suggested, but a combinatorial chemistry library of many different protein sequences that some day might help her and her colleagues develop a successful timed drug delivery system.
Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Washington Uni
Scientists from Wake Forest University School of Medicine have identified a protein that seems to control the malignant features of brain tumor cells, suggesting a new treatment target for anti-cancer drugs. The research is reported in the current issue of Molecular Cancer Research.
“This protein seems to be important in how cells acquire malignant characteristics and how they spread to healthy tissue,” said Waldemar Debinski, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Brain Tumor Center of Exce
In an Australian first, UNSW researchers have developed three clones of cells from existing human embryonic stem cells. The breakthrough could lead to new treatments for diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury.
“This cloning of cells involves a new technique, which is a very accurate way of extracting and then growing a single cell,” said UNSW Senior Lecturer Dr Kuldip Sidhu, who is leading the research and is based at the Diabetes Transplant Unit (DTU) at the Pri
A team of scientists from Colombia, the United States and elsewhere has successfully completed a 15-year-plus search for the genetic problems behind the very rare Roberts syndrome, whose physical manifestations often include cleft lip and palate and shortened limbs that resemble those of babies whose mothers took thalidomide during pregnancy.
The discovery, which is reported in the April 10 advance online section of Nature Genetics, proves that genes behind very rare inherited d
Study predicted cardiovascular risk of Cox-2 inhibitors
Amid the recent controversy and confusion over serious side effects from pain medications, a new UCLA and Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System study demonstrates that for arthritis sufferers at high risk for gastrointestinal problems who traditionally may have used a drug like Vioxx, the most cost-effective and safest treatment is actually a common painkiller combined with an acid-reducing drug.
Publ
It is well known that a tiny number of cyanobacteria, previously known as blue-green algae, produce substances that can be toxic to both humans and animals. Now a research team from Sweden, Scotland, and the U.S. has found that a further toxin (BMAA, -methyl amino-alanine) with a possible connection to degenerative nerve diseases like ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s is produced by cyanobacteria that are widespread around the world.
The findings are reported in the new issue of t
Millions of painted lady butterflies that fluttered into California’s Central Valley in the last week of March could be just the advance guard of one of the largest migrations of the species on record, said Arthur Shapiro, a professor and expert on butterflies at UC Davis.
“This may be the biggest migration of modern times,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro said he is getting reports of “billions” of butterflies around Trona, near Death Valley, and in the San Fernando Valley. M
Traditionally if scientists wanted to look at something small they would put a sample under a microscope but now researchers have managed to shrink the microscope itself to the size of a single human cell. An interdisciplinary research team, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) have developed optical biochips no larger than a single cell that could lead to faster development of new drugs and
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