Demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and leukodystrophy, are characterized by damage to the protective myelin sheath that surrounds the axons of neurons. This demyelination can be caused by an autoimmune response or impaired myelin production by oligodendrocytes. A new report in JCI Insight from Arjun Saha and colleagues at Duke University demonstrates that a cell therapy product called DUOC-01 can accelerate remyelination of axons in mice treated with a demyelinating chemical agent.
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In a study being published in the August 19 issue of Science, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in collaboration with scientists from Tartu University Hospital in Estonia, the Karolinska Institutet and Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) in Sweden, and AstraZeneca, have identified a profound new level of complexity and interaction among genes within specific tissues responsible for mediating the inherited risk for cardiometabolic diseases, including processes that lead to heart attack and stroke.
Scientists at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute found that a deep-water marine sponge collected off of Fort Lauderdale's coast contains leiodermatolide, a natural product that has the ability to inhibit the growth of cancer cells as well as block cancer cells from dividing using extremely low concentrations of the compound. This work resulted in the award of a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office protecting the use of the compound against various forms of cancer.
Eight of every ten species extinctions has occurred on islands, and invasive mammals are the leading reason for those losses. Currently, 40 percent of species at risk of global extinction are island inhabitants.
In the most thorough study of its kind, scientists have now analyzed global patterns of island vertebrate extinctions and developed predictive models to help identify places where conservation interventions will provide the greatest benefits to threatened island biodiversity.
A new study led by Dr. Manel Esteller, Director of the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Program (PEBC) of Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), ICREA researcher and Professor of Genetics at University of Barcelona (UB) discovers that colorectal tumors present epigenetic heterogeneity that relates to the clinical course of the disease. The paper describing this finding has been published in the journal Gastroenterology, the most prestigious in the field of digestive diseases and official organ of the American Society of Gastroenterology.
A study led by researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) revealed that most tropical butterflies feed on a variety of flower types, but those that are 'picky' about their flower diets tend to prefer native plants and are more dependent on forests. These 'picky' butterflies also have wings that are more conspicuous and shorter proboscis. The reduction in native plants due to urbanisation affects the diet of such butterflies, and researchers suggest that intervention may be needed to manage their preferred flower resources.
Scientists at the University of Liverpool are using the health records of dogs to monitor the status of a potentially fatal tick-borne disease that appears to have been imported into the UK.
Canine babesiosis is transmitted to dogs by infected ticks, with symptoms including a lack of appetite, fever and jaundice. Although normally only found in mainland Europe, in February 2016 three cases of Babesia were reported at one Essex veterinary practice in dogs that had not travelled abroad.
There are four globally endemic human coronaviruses which, together with the better known rhinoviruses, are responsible for causing common colds. Usually, infections with these viruses are harmless to humans. DZIF Professor Christian Drosten, Institute of Virology at the University Hospital of Bonn, and his research team have now found the source of "HCoV-229E", one of the four common cold coronaviruses--it also originates from camels, just like the dreaded MERS virus.
New research, led by the University of Southampton, demonstrates that 'ecosystem canaries' can provide early warning signals of large, potentially catastrophic, changes or tipping points in ecosystems.
Like canaries that coal miners used to check for poisonous gasses deep underground, 'ecosystem canaries' are species that are often the first to disappear from a stressed ecosystem. Their vanishing can be linked to changes in the functioning of ecosystems, which can serve as a warning that a tipping point is approaching.
Flexitime and having autonomy over working hours - known as schedule control - impacts differently on men and women and may increase the gender pay gap.
That's the conclusion of new research co-led by the University of Kent that shows that although schedule control is associated with increases in overtime and income, it is men that benefit more.
OXFORD, 16 August 2016 - Researchers from the University of Oxford's Bodleian Libraries and from universities in the Netherlands have used high-tech imaging to uncover the details of a rare Mexican codex dating from before the colonization of the Americas. The newly revealed codex, or book, has been hidden from view for almost 500 years, concealed beneath a layer of plaster and chalk on the back of a later manuscript known as the Codex Selden, which is housed at the Bodleian Libraries.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Women may be at the forefront of the fast-growing forensic science field, but they're also more stressed than their male counterparts, indicates new research led by a Michigan State University criminologist.
Females working in forensic science labs were almost two times more likely to report high stress levels than males, according to the study, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Forensic scientists aid criminal investigations by collecting and analyzing evidence such as fingerprints, ballistics and DNA.
As the rope of a chromosomes replicates, it frays at the ends. No problem: A chromosome's ends have extra twine so that fraying doesn't reach into the body of the rope where the important information resides. This extra twine is called a "telomere". Over time and across replications, this telomere twine breaks down until the chromosome loses its protective ends and this "fraying" reaches into the rope, wrecking the chromosome and resulting in the death of the cell.
HOUSTON - (Aug.18, 2016) - A neurodevelopmental disorder for which there was no known cause has been linked to SON, a gene that is involved in essential mechanisms a cell uses to translate DNA into protein, as well as in DNA replication and cell division. A multidisciplinary, international team of researchers from 10 institutions published the results in today's issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
WIn a study of children with mild, persistent asthma, scientists found that acetaminophen was tolerated without the worsening of asthma, when compared with ibuprofen use. The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's asthma network (AsthmaNet), appears in the August 18, 2016, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.