A group of chemicals in apples could protect the brain from the type of damage that triggers such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and Parkinsonism, according to two new studies from Cornell University food scientists.
The studies show that the chemical quercetin, a so-called phytonutrient, appears to be largely responsible for protecting rat brain cells when assaulted by oxidative stress in laboratory tests.
Phytonutrients, such as phenolic acids and fla
Although they are one millionth the size of a human hair and are so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye, nanoparticles may become one of the most significant new products in the biomedical field thanks to University of Missouri-Columbia researchers who have developed a procedure to make them that is 240 times faster than previous methods.
Today, nanoparticles are used in applications as varied as making laundry detergent to medicines. However, for them to be beneficial in
UC Riverside Team Finds That Lowering Enzyme Increases Drought Tolerance in Corn
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside report the development of technology that increases the tolerance of grains crops to drought by decreasing the amount of an enzyme that is responsible for producing the plant hormone ethylene.
UCR Biochemist Daniel R. Gallie led the research, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation and the Californi
A research team at the University of Navarre has detected the presence of the prion protein in the digestive tract of three animal species: the autochthonous Pyrennean cow, in a primate and in rats. This study is the first to describe the exact location of the “healthy” form of the prion (PrPc), a protein necessary for the development of prionic diseases in these three species.
The results obtained by the Navarre researchers provide new data on the propagation of the prion and on
Major breakthrough in the treatment of autoimmune diseases
In the upcoming issue of Immunity, a highly regarded journal put out by the Cell group, Dr. André Veillette, a scientist at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), and his team will publish the results of a study that could revolutionize the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as juvenile diabetes, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. Contemporary medicine has to date achieved only mixed results in deal
A newly-identified protein that can flag an important tumor suppressor gene for destruction may be a key player in the development of lung cancer.
Writing in the Nov. 17 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, scientists in the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) note that the protein, called Pirh2, when overexpressed, diminishes the activity of p53 – possibly the most powerful tumor suppressor in the entire genome. When it functions normally, p
Building a “tree of life” for all the species on the planet may be easier than first thought, according to a study by UC Davis researchers published in the journal Science Nov. 12.
A tree of life shows how living things have evolved since the origins of life billions of years ago, grouping related organisms on the same branch. Such trees provide an organizing framework for biology. They can be used for predicting the properties of poorly known species and are powerful tools for
A prehistoric fish that until 1938 was thought to be extinct has caught the eye of geneticists at the Stanford University School of Medicine who hope to sequence the ancient genome to learn how animals evolved to live on land.
The 5-foot, 130-pound fish in question, called the coelacanth, ekes out an existence in cool, deep-water caves off the Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean and northern Indonesia. Its lobed fins, skeleton structure and large, round scales are practically un
Medical scientists at the University of Leicester have announced they have narrowed the search for the ’death clock’ gene in humans. Their study relates to a hunt for a gene that has important implications for aging and cancer as well as other age-related diseases.
The gene controls the length of human telomeres – repeat DNA sequences that cap a chromosome. Each time a human cell divides, the cap shortens. When it gets too short, cells die. Telomere length therefore acts
A gene hunt being carried out at the University of Leicester for a skin disorder that affects over one million people in the UK alone has made a new breakthrough which could lead to the design of new and more targeted drugs.
The research team in the University of Leicester Division of Medical Genetics, led by Professor Richard Trembath, has been investigating Psoriasis – an inflammatory skin condition – for a number of years. Now Professor Trembath believes the research has made
Dutch researcher Jacqueline Vink has discovered that the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the level of nicotine dependence is largely down to a person’s genes. She investigated the smoking behaviour of more than 16,000 twins and their relatives.
Whether or not a young person starts smoking largely depends on his or her environment. Smoking friends and family members increase the chance that someone will take up smoking. Jacqueline Vink discovered that the variation b
Findings point way to identifying therapeutics to stem muscle atrophy
In research that could benefit astronauts posted to the International Space Station as well as individuals whose universe is defined by their sick bed, Boston University Sargent College researchers Susan Kandarian and R. Bridge Hunter have found that disrupting either one of two genes, nfêb1 and bcl3, can block the biological process of muscle wasting known as atrophy.
Their findings will inform ef
Northern plants must ’use it or lose it,’ says Queen’s study
A new, Queen’s-led study shows that plants growing in harsh northern climates are losing the ability to reproduce sexually, an evolutionary phenomenon similar to the loss of sight in cave-dwelling fish. “Our genetic analysis shows that northern plant populations acquire mutations that disable sex itself, a trait central to the biology of almost all higher organisms,” says Queen’s biologist Christopher Eckert, co-autho
Scientists at Johns Hopkins and the University of Texas Medical Branch have created a new tool that easily reveals when and where a key cellular signal is active. The development, described in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, should speed identification of the signal’s triggers and effects in normal processes and in conditions such as asthma, allergy, inflammation, lung disease and heart disease.
The tool — a special fluorescent prote
New Acid Has Potential to Help With a Variety of Processes
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered the world’s strongest acid. Remarkably it is also the gentlest acid. This non-toxic and non-corrosive acid may have a role in processes such as improving the quality of gasoline, developing polymers and synthesizing pharmaceuticals.
So how can an acid be both strong and gentle? The answer lies in the way chemists define the strength of an ac
Chemists at the University of Oregon have hit upon a way to build a molecular “claw” that grabs onto arsenic and sequesters it.
The discovery is published in the Nov. 5 issue of Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a premier journal in the field of chemistry.
Since the article was written, the UO team has developed additional ways of capturing arsenic so that it cannot bond with other substances in a laboratory setting, according to Darren Johnson, an assistant
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