Specific mutations in the protein associated with Parkinson's Disease, in which just one of its 140 building blocks is altered, can make a dramatic difference to processes which may lead to the condition's onset, researchers have found.
Body
The study of dental calculus from Late Mesolithic individuals from the site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges of the central Balkans has provided direct evidence that Mesolithic foragers of this region consumed domestic cereals already by c. 6600 BC, i.e. almost half a millennium earlier than previously thought.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Aug. 29, 2016 - Since the isolation of morphine from opium in the 19th century, scientists have hoped to find a potent opioid analgesic that isn't addictive and doesn't cause respiratory arrest with increased doses.
Now scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center report that in an animal model a novel pain-killing compound, BU08028, is not addictive and does not have adverse respiratory side effects like other opioids. The research findings are published in the Aug. 29 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
No specific treatments are currently available for triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), a type of tumor that lacks the receptors targeted by many breast cancer therapies. Although many TNBC tumors lack two tumor suppressors, RB1 and p53, the specific downstream pathways that can be targeted as potential treatments for these tumors have not been identified. In this issue of the JCI, a team led by Eldad Zacksenhaus at Toronto General Research Institute discovered that the growth of TNBC-like breast tumors is supported by enhanced mitochondrial function.
Ciliopathies are diseases that affect the cilia, sensory organelles that most mammalian cells possess and which play a critical role in many biological functions. One such disease is Senior Løken Syndrome a rare condition that can involve both a severe kidney disease and the blinding disease Leber congenital amaurosis, or LCA.
A decade ago, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues identified a dog with a similar blinding condition, and in 2013 they reported the causative gene.
August 29, 2016 - For people with nearsightedness (myopia), the lens doesn't compensate for growth or other changes in the structure of the eye, according to a long-term follow-up study in the September issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite analyzed Tropical Depression 9 after formed in the Gulf of Mexico after a slow crawl over the last week.
PITTSBURGH--Alternating positions between standing and sitting while performing deskwork could make the difference in whether the thin red needle in your bathroom scale tilts to the left or the right of your goal weight.
A new study from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education examined the potential weight management benefits of sit-stand desks. Pitt's researchers found that regular use of a height-adjustable workstation, when combined with other low-intensity activities, is an effective measure for maintaining weight for most people.
SELANGORE, MALAYSIA - Miracle berry (Synsepalum dulcificum), also known as miracle fruit, is a valuable horticultural species indigenous to West Africa. The authors of a study in the June 2016 issue of HortScience say that miracle fruit is "a very promising species" that has not been adequately studied. "Miracle fruit is a rare fruit crop with high economical value in the medical and food industry," they explained.
We might think of living organisms as typically having two sets of chromosomes---one from mom and one from dad. But there are lots of variations out there. Polyploidy, or having more than two chromosome copies, is especially common in plants, including some of the tasty ones we eat, such as potatoes, wheat, and strawberries. In fact, polyploidy is a major driver of plant diversity both on our plates and in the wild.
MIAMI--In a new study, University of Miami (UM) scientists found high concentrations of toxins linked to neurodegenerative diseases in the fins and muscles of 10 species of sharks. The research team suggests that restricting consumption of sharks can have positive health benefits for consumers and for shark conservation, since several of the sharks analyzed in the study are threatened with extinction due to overfishing.
A research team including developmental biologist Stephen A. Duncan, D. Phil., SmartStateTM Chair of Regenerative Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), has found a better way to purify liver cells made from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Their efforts, published August 25, 2016 in Stem Cell Reports, will aid studies of liver disease for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)'s $80 million Next Generation Genetic Association Studies (Next Gen) Program.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Maintaining proper nutrition is an important part of cancer therapy. Patients are urged to consult their doctors before making any change to their nutrition or vitamin regimen. Use of vitamin C may preclude patients from participating in a clinical trial.
HIGHLIGHTS
Previous studies at the University of Colorado Cancer Center show that the experimental drug AMPI-109 potently kills triple-negative breast cancer cells. But even the most compelling evidence of cell death in a dish isn't enough to push a drug into human clinical trials, even for triple-negative breast cancer, which has a high mortality rate and remains largely without targeted treatment options.
Being overweight increases the chances of premature death, according to a USC researcher.
Although people accept that obesity can shorten a person's life span, scientists have debated whether the weight category between normal and obese is, in fact, a health risk.