Lipodystrophy syndromes are characterized by an abnormal distribution of adipose tissue and metabolic dysfunction. These disorders are rare and the underlying genetic abnormalities that lead to altered fat distribution are not fully known. In this issue of JCI Insight, Abhimanyu Garg and colleagues at UT Southwestern Medical Center identify a genetic mutation that caused atypical lipodystrophy in a single family. Affected individuals had a marked loss of fat from the limbs but excessive accumulation of adipose tissue in the face and neck.
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Vocal cords are able to produce a wide range of sound frequencies because of the larynx's ability to stretch vocal cords and the cords' molecular composition - according to a new paper published in PLOS Computational Biology. Scientists, led by Ingo Titze at the University of Utah, show how these two characteristics of various species' larynxes can closely predict the range of frequencies each species can produce. The results reveal the evolutionary roots of how and why voice arose.
Radiation therapy is commonly used to reduce tumor size and improve symptoms of non-small cell lung cancer. While initially beneficial, many patients will eventually relapse with metastatic tumors. Last year, two immunotherapies that improve anti-tumor T cell responses by inhibiting the PD-1 pathway were approved for non-small cell lung carcinoma. However, it is not yet known if combining immunotherapy with traditional radiation therapy will improve outcome for lung cancer patients.
New research suggests that mothers who eat high-fat, high-sugar diets can predispose multiple generations to metabolic problems, even if their offspring consume healthy diets.
WASHINGTON -- What if private companies could obtain some coverage to protect their foreign investments in developing countries against crippling infectious disease outbreaks such as Ebola?
The possible path to offering disease outbreak guarantees is an idea being posed by two global health researchers who suggest that a mechanism for establishing such an instrument could be tied to public health investments.
MADISON, WIS. -- An exhaustive look at how bacteria hold their ground and avoid getting pushed around by their environment shows how dozens of genes aid the essential job of protecting cells from popping when tensions run high.
For centuries, biologists have considered cells the irreducible unit of life, and cells require various types of envelopes to contain the chemical conditions life demands. When cells lose their mechanical properties, they rupture and die, and many antibiotics attack the envelope in order to mechanically destabilize bacterial cells.
The competition is fierce and only the strongest survive the obstacle course within the female reproductive tract. Of the millions of sperm that enter the vagina, only about 10 or so make it to the oocyte or egg, demonstrating how rigorous the natural sperm selection process really is. So how is it possible to select only the best sperm for assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization? That's what a researcher at Florida Atlantic University is aiming to do with his microfluidic technology for reproductive medicine.
Researchers have unlocked secrets of our ancient immune system, a major scientific advance which could help scientists and clinicians in the global fight against disease.
An international team, including researchers from The University of Queensland, identified interactions between immune system pathways which could improve the treatment of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which affects millions of people worldwide.
Naked mole-rats (NMR) are the longest-living rodent species and exhibit 'extraordinary' resistance to cancer. Mole-rats live up to 30 years, 10 times longer than mice, and captured colonies almost never show any type of cancer. Understanding these animals' anti-cancer mechanisms may help advance human treatment in the future, according to a collaborative research team from Hokkaido University and Keio University in Japan.
The researchers have established that chickens - just like people - have colour constancy. For birds, this means that they, in different environments and under different lighting conditions, recognise the colour of, for instance, berries and can thereby distinguish those that are ripe from those that are not. Without colour constancy, they would not be able to rely on their colour vision - they would simply see the berries in different colours as the light changed. They would certainly also not be able to recognise their own kind of species.
Researchers at Osaka University developed a technology to control the light wavefront reflected from a cholesteric liquid crystal - a liquid crystal phase with a helical structure. Although known for their ability to Bragg-reflect light, cholesteric liquid crystals could only be used as flat mirrors, reflecting light at the same angle as the incident angle. The new technology enables planar optical components to be made with functionality by design, contributing to the miniaturization of catoptrics devices.
Bethesda, MD (June 16, 2016) -- Basic and translational research paves the way for breakthroughs that can ultimately change patient care. Three new studies from Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CMGH) -- AGA's basic and translational open-access journal -- provide a glimpse into future treatment strategies for stomach ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease and alcoholic liver disease. Please find summaries below.
Professional footballers and their coaches often complain about the mental fatigue induced by the stress of frequent matches.
Now research from the University of Kent has demonstrated for the first time that mental fatigue can have a negative impact on football performance by reducing running, passing, and shooting ability.
The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) announces the world's first 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (5-17 years) released today in the 2016 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.
A Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine study of insurance coverage of more than 28,000 people with HIV concludes that a decades-old program that offers free medical care remains a critical necessity despite the availability of coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).