Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) have demonstrated the crucial role of the NOTCH signaling pathway in the development of a fundamental heart structure, the heart valves. These valves ensure unidirectional bloodflow with each heartbeat, and open and close millions of times during a person's lifetime.
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BOSTON - In recent years, hospitals have reported dramatic increases in the number of cases of the highly contagious, difficult-to-treat, and often deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Now, investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have developed a promising method of identifying new antimicrobials that target these organisms. The research is published in April issue of the journal ASSAY and Drug Development Technologies.
Researchers writing in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society recently learned that older women who are frail, and who have six or more chronic health conditions, are twice as likely to have a lower quality of life compared to women with less than three risk factors.
Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CMGH) is committed to publishing impactful digestive biology research covering a broad spectrum of themes in GI, hepatology and pancreatology. We wanted to share two new CMGH articles, which both offer important insight into future interventions for chronic conditions.
Functional Characterization of Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Associated Gut Dysbiosis in Gnotobiotic Mice
By Hiroko Nagao-Kitamoto, et al.
Monash researchers have discovered a new mechanism that enables plants to regulate their flowering in response to raised temperatures.
Published today in the journal Nature Plants, the finding could potentially lead to the development of technology allowing us to control the physiological response of plants and mitigate the impacts of warming temperatures.
The Monash team led by Associate Professor Sureshkumar Balasubramanian made the discovery by applying a combination of genetic, molecular and computational biology experiments to the flowering plant Arabidopsis.
Matjaz Gregoric, a research associate at the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU), Jovan Hadzi Institute of Biology, and coauthors studied the mating behavior of the Madagascan Darwin's bark spider (Caerostris darwini), a sexually size dimorphic species from Madagascar with females several times larger and heavier than males. They uncovered a rich sexual repertoire in C. darwini that predictably involved sexual cannibalism and genital mutilation.
A new research report appearing in the May 2016 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, suggests that specific enzymes, called "salt-inducible kinases," may be able to help curb runaway inflammation associated with autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease, arthritis, and psoriasis. In particular, Swiss researchers found that by inhibiting the effects of salt-inducible kinases, they were able to significantly limit the production of inflammatory molecules by certain types of human immune cells.
How birds' beaks evolved characteristic shapes to eat different food is a classic example of evolution by natural selection.
However, new research from the Universities of Bristol, Sheffield, Madrid and York, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found this does not apply to all species, and that raptors in particular have not enjoyed this evolutionary flexibility.
Scientists are working diligently to prepare for the expected increase in global population -- and therefore an increased need for food production-- in the coming decades. A team of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis has found a sustainable way to boost the growth of a protein-rich bean by improving the way it absorbs much-needed nutrients.
The fabrication of a prototype tissue having functional properties close to the natural ones is crucial for effective transplantation. Tissue engineering scaffolds are typically used as supports which allow cells to form tissue-like structures essentially required for the correct functioning of the cells under the conditions close to the three-dimensional tissue.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Researchers are one step closer to understanding the genetic and biological basis of diseases like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and rheumatoid arthritis - and identifying new drug targets and therapies - thanks to work by three computational biology research teams from the University of Arizona Health Sciences, University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University.
Belgian scientists from VIB and UGent developed Virotrap, a viral particle sorting approach for purifying protein complexes under native conditions. This method catches a bait protein together with its associated protein partners in virus-like particles that are budded from human cells. Like this, cell lysis is not needed and protein complexes are preserved during purification. The development and application of this pioneering technique are described in a paper published this week in Nature Communications.
International researchers led by the University of Bath have demonstrated a cheap, effective and environmentally-friendly way to sterilise medical implants without changing their properties, in contrast to some techniques.
This inexpensive technology could save time and money while effectively sterilising medical implants, does not require extensive training and produces no waste products
Jena (Germany) With the arrival of spring many insects leave their winter quarters. Presently swarms of the mining bee (Andrena vaga) emerge along sandy river valleys. These whitish-grey haired wild bees live in galleries and cavities in the ground. They feed on nectar and pollen mostly collected from willow trees. "Sometimes the first bees come out very early, weeks before it would actually be their time," says PD Dr Hans Pohl of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). This usually indicates that the insects are infested by specific parasites, explains the entomologist.
Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) have demonstrated the crucial role of the NOTCH signaling pathway in the development of a fundamental heart structure, the heart valves. These valves ensure unidirectional bloodflow with each heartbeat, and open and close millions of times during a person's lifetime.