A hematologist at Rush University Medical Center is studying whether a medication that helps control sugar levels in diabetics also can deprive an aggressive form of blood cancer of the sugar it needs to thrive. The results could have implications for the use of the treatment for other cancers as well.
In a study published in this week’s edition of NATURE, scientists from the Research Institutes of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) and Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna and from the Harvard Medical School in Boston have identified a long-sought “roadblock factor” in stem cell engineering that prevents the conversion of adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. By suppressing this factor, the team discovered a way to
As microRNA biology has been implicated in everything from the development of cancer to virus infections, a new tool developed by scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai holds tremendous potential to develop new therapies that involve these small regulatory fragments of RNA.
When we get cold sores, the reason is likely related to stress. For the first time, researchers discovered a cellular mechanism that allows the herpes simplex virus to reactivate. They also found how brain cells are duped into allowing this to happen so that the virus can cause disease.
Metastasizing cancer cells do not destroy tissue, but crawl along the paths that have already been created by blood vessels, nerve bundles and other tissues. However, immune cells that fight the cancer cells take those same paths. This was demonstrated in research conducted by cell biologist Bettina Weigelin of Radboud university medical center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Researchers learn more details about how CRISPR works in cells.
A first-in-human Phase I study of multiple myeloma patients combined expanded cord blood-derived natural killer cells with transplantation of a patient’s own stem cells and high-dose chemotherapy with little or none of the side effects seen with current treatments.
Spermatozoa need to crane their necks to turn right to counteract a left-turning drive caused by the rotation of their tails, new research has found. Led by Dr Vasily Kantsler of the University of Warwick’s Department of Physics, the researchers discovered that all sperm tails (flagella) rotate in a counter-clockwise motion as they beat to enable them to move through and against the motion of a fluid.
A one-of-a-kind instrument built at Colorado State University lets scientists map cellular composition in three dimensions at the nanoscale, allowing researchers to watch how cells respond to new medications at the most minute level ever observed.
UT Southwestern Medical Center and California researchers today provide the first report that an enzyme previously known solely for its role in cell division also acts as an on-off switch in the innate immune system ¬– the body’s first defense against infection.
The vitamin D receptor (VDR) promotes the differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) and boosts myelin sheath regeneration, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology. The research suggests potential new ways to treat multiple sclerosis patients.
Researchers at St. Mary’s College of Maryland recently focused their attention on the chemotherapeutic use of an azo- compound (azo- compounds contain a nitrogen-nitrogen double bond) that they designed to convert from an inactive to an active form when exposed to blue or near-UV wavelength light.
Led by Columbia Engineering professor Ken Shepard, researchers have, for the first time, harnessed the molecular machinery of living systems to power an integrated circuit from ATP, the energy currency of life. They achieved this by integrating a conventional solid-state complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit with an artificial lipid bilayer membrane containing ATP-powered ion pumps, opening the door to creating entirely new artificial systems that contain both biological and solid-state components. (Nature Communications 12/7)
Parkinson’s disease researchers at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo have developed a way to ramp up the conversion of skin cells into dopamine neurons. They have identified – and found a way to overcome –a key obstacle to such cellular conversions.
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore has found a new significant correlation between the protein nucleophosmin and the development of an aggressive form of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The team, led by Professor Lim Tit Meng from the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science, explained the puzzling phenomenon of AML cells appearing like normal cells even though they are cancerous. The team discovered that the mutated form of the protein which is found in about one-third of AML cases, is associated with a novel cellular mechanism that develops AML cells containing normal chromosomes.
The ebb and flow of intracellular calcium concentrations is a universal mode of communication in mammalian cells. Researchers at La Jolla Institute identified the matchmaker that brings two critical calcium channel components together, thus allowing calcium to rush into the fluid-filled space known as cytosol.
Research led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has identified genetic variations in young leukemia patients that are associated with an increased incidence of osteonecrosis, a serious cancer treatment side effect
A new, open-source software that can help track the embryonic development and movement of neuronal cells throughout the body of the worm, is now available to scientists.
Turns out dads are also eating for two. A study published December 3 in Cell Metabolism reveals that a man's weight affects the heritable information contained in sperm. The sperm cells of lean and obese men possess different epigenetic marks, notable at gene regions associated with the control of appetite. The comparisons, which included 13 lean men and 10 obese men, offer one biological explanation for why children of obese fathers are themselves more predisposed to obesity.
Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus can infect and replicate in cultured and primary neurons.
A new study published in PLOS ONE found that the Transcendental Meditation technique and lifestyle changes both appear to stimulate genes that produce telomerase, an enzyme that's associated with reduced blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and mortality.
In a game-changing study, researchers at UC Davis and other organizations have shown that the enzyme cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1), which plays a key role in DNA repair, also leaves the nucleus to boost cellular energy production. By irradiating normal cells, the team showed that CDK1 turned up production of ATP, cellular energy packets that – in this case – provided the necessary power supply to fix the radiation-damaged DNA.
During the holidays, we often remember the past and create new memories. But, why do some memories fade away while others last forever? Scientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have identified a possible biochemical mechanism by which the specialized brain cells known as neurons create and maintain a long-term memory from a fleeting experience.
A Stony Brook University-led research team has discovered that when a rare type of glial cells, called NG2 glia, are depleted from the brain in mice, depressive-like behaviors occur.
Parkinson’s disease isn’t the kind of affliction that will kill most people. Instead, it creeps up slowly and progressively destroys the quality of life of those who develop it.
By attaching a hydrogen peroxide reporter protein to cellular microtubule structures, researchers have developed the first sensor able to show the location of the key cellular signaling chemical inside living cells with high resolution over time.
A University of California, Irvine pharmacology researcher has helped create a class of inhibitory compounds that can strongly enhance the effect of anti-tumor drugs for melanoma.
With the support of a $2.8 million NIH grant, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute will explore mutations in the nuclear lamina—the outer edge of the cell nucleus— which have been linked to many diseases, from muscular dystrophies and heart disorders to type 2 diabetes and premature aging.
Novel methods for gene expression network analysis and gene cluster comparison now available to biomedical community
Linda Chelico and her team are learning more about how an ancient “error correction” system in the human genome helps protect the body against HIV.
Menkes disease arises from dysfunction in ATP7A, a protein that transports copper to cells, leading to brain development complications. Introducing working versions of ATP7A in the brain is considered the most direct therapeutic approach. However, a new study suggests that functioning ATP7A located elsewhere in the body, not necessarily the entire brain, can help treat the disorder.
An international team of scientists, headed by researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, report that decreases in a specific group of proteins trigger changes in the cancer microenvironment that accelerate growth and development of therapy-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs). The findings are published in the November 30 online issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a method to efficiently turn human stem cells into retinal ganglion cells, the type of nerve cells located within the retina that transmit visual signals from the eye to the brain.
Many human gene variants have evolved specifically to protect older adults against neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, thus preserving their contributions to society, report University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers in the November 30 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found evidence that a mutant protein responsible for most cases of cystic fibrosis is so busy “talking” to the wrong cellular neighbors that it cannot function normally and is prematurely degraded.
Scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) show for the first time a direct link between neural activity across an animal‘s entire brain and behavior.
A particular location in DNA, called the Dlk1-Gtl2 locus, plays a critical role in protecting hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells—a discovery revealing a critical role of metabolic control in adult stem cells, and providing insight for potentially diagnosing and treating cancer, according to researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
Before the fluid of the middle ear drains and sound waves penetrate for the first time, the inner ear cells of newborn rodents practice for their big debut. Researchers have figured out the molecular chain of events that enables the cells to make “sounds” on their own, essentially “practicing” their ability to process sounds in the world around them.
Fruit fly windpipes are much more like human blood vessels than the entryway to human lungs. To create that intricate network, fly embryonic cells must sprout “fingers” and crawl into place. Now researchers have discovered that a protein called Mipp1 is key to cells’ ability to grow these fingers.
The Weizmann Institute of Science’s Prof. Michael Eisenbach previously revealed that sperm use multiple navigation systems, such as heat-seeking and chemical. Now he has found that opsins – proteins involved in the visual system – contribute to the heat-seeking movement, helping sperm sense warmth.
Researchers have identified 10 genes whose inhibition appears to protect kidney cells. The findings point the way to strategies for preventing acute kidney injury and may also help to evade drug resistance in cancer therapy.
Biologists at Tufts University have succeeded in inducing one species of flatworm to grow heads and brains characteristic of another species of flatworm without altering genomic sequence. The work reveals physiological circuits as a new kind of epigenetics – information existing outside of genomic sequence – that determines large-scale anatomy.
Maintaining the shape of the cell, creating proper internal structure, guiding organelles and pulling chromosomes apart during mitosis are some of the important functions of the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton is composed of three main structural components: actin filaments, microtubules and intermediate filaments. In a series of thematic minireviews, the Journal of Biological Chemistry highlights what we know so far about the cytoskeleton.
Champion of regeneration, Hydra is capable of reforming a complete individual from any fragment of its body. It is even able to remain alive when all its neurons have disappeared. Researcher of the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have discovered how: cells of the epithelial type modify their genetic program by overexpressing a series of genes, among which some are involved in diverse nervous functions. The results are published in Philosophical Transactions.
• After researchers transplanted kidney tissue generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells into a mouse kidney, the animal’s blood vessels readily connected to the human tissue.
Most cases of small cell lung cancer are only diagnosed after the tumour has already formed metastases. Until now it has not been possible to investigate the reasons for this rapid metastasis, because of a lack of sufficient tumour material from patients. Now, the group of researchers led by Gerhard Hamilton, University Department of Surgery at Medical University of Vienna has succeeded in creating infinitely reproducing tissue cultures. The findings have been published in the leading journal "OncoImmunology".
University of Washington scientists have sequenced the complete genetic makeup of a species of ecologically important algae, which may aid in biofuel production.
Whitehead Institute researchers have determined the organization of a protein complex that is critical during chromosome segregation. Without the foundation it supplies, the link between chromosome and kinetochore would fail, as would chromosome segregation and cell division.
In a recently published paper, Indiana University biologists have calculated the lifetime energy requirements of multiple types of cells, as well as the energy required to replicate and express the genes within these cells.
A Duquesne University biology major received an Undergraduate Research Fellowship award from the American Society for Microbiology, the oldest and largest single life science membership organization in the world.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right