A new research discovery published online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) may change the perception and treatment of diabetes. That's because scientists have moved closer toward correcting the root cause of the disease rather than managing its symptoms. Specifically researchers identified a protein (G6PD protein) and its antioxidant product (NAPDH) that both prevent the death and promote the growth of cells which produce and release insulin in the pancreas (beta cells).
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A new research discovery published in the January 2010 print issue of the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) suggests that treatments for disorders that cause accelerated aging, particularly Werner's syndrome, might come straight from the family medicine chest. In the research report, a team of Canadian scientists show that vitamin C stops and even reverses accelerated aging in a mouse model of Werner's syndrome, but the discovery may also be applicable to other progeroid syndromes.
As it turns out, children were not the only ones with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads over this past holiday season. In a new research report published in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, a team of scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Hospitals for Children show how a compound from licorice root (glycyrrhizin from Glycyrrhiza glabra) might be an effective tool in battling life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns.
Cold Spring Harbor, NY – A team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has determined a hierarchical set of criteria that explain how the molecular precursors of gene-regulating small RNAs are sorted by the cellular machinery.
By lowering the level of a neuronal protein, researchers halted the growth of blood vessels that tumors rely on for survival. The findings are reported online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org) on Jan. 4.
The master regulator of muscle differentiation, MyoD, functions early in myogenesis to help stem cells proliferate in response to muscle injury, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University. The study appears online Jan. 4 in the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--- This month's Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, includes a research review of the effects of Vitamins C and E and magnesium on diabetic retinopathy and findings from the first large study of vision problems in Hispanic and African-American infants and young children.
Can Supplements Help People with Diabetes Avoid Retinopathy?
A recent study shows that a bacterial protein may help cocaine addicts break the habit.
Cocaine esterase (CocE) is a naturally-occurring bacterial enzyme that breaks down cocaine, thereby reducing its addictive properties. The efficacy of CocE in animals and its suitability for treatment of addiction has been limited by its short half-life in the body.
Westchester, Ill. — A study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that erectile dysfunction was more common in older men with restless leg syndrome (RLS) than in those without RLS, and the magnitude of this association increased with a higher frequency of RLS symptoms.
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – An international team of scientists led by a Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) investigator has discovered that the deadly facial tumors decimating Australia's Tasmanian devil population probably originated in Schwann cells, a type of tissue that cushions and protects nerve fibers.
The discovery stems from the team's effort to carry out a genetic analysis of tumor cells. Based on these data, the scientists have identified a genetic marker to accurately diagnose the facial cancers, called devil facial tumor disease (DFTD).
Cells that protect nerves are the likely origin of the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) that has been devastating Australia's Tasmanian devil population, an international team of scientists has discovered.
Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) is a transmissible cancer that affects only Tasmanian devils and was first reported in 1996. It is spread by biting and quickly kills the animals. The disease is characterised by large tumours, mostly on the face and mouth, which often spread to internal organs.
"While the long term effects of genome mutations are quite well understood, we did not know how often new mutations arise in the first place," said Detlef Weigel, director at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. It is routine today to compare the genomes of related animal or plant species. Such comparisons, however, ignore mutations that have been lost in the millions of years since two species separated. The teams of Weigel and his colleague Michael Lynch at Indiana University therefore wanted to scrutinize the signature of evolution before selection occurs.
A new strategy involves the use of nanopores—orifices of molecular diameter that connect two fluid reservoirs. A constant voltage can be applied between two electrodes located at either end of the nanopore , inducing an ionic current to flow through the length of the nanopore's enclosed channel. At this scale, the passage of even a single molecule generates a detectable change in the flow of ionic current through the pore. This current is then electronically amplified and measured.
JUPITER, FL – Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined for the first time that prions, bits of infectious protein devoid of DNA or RNA that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease, are capable of Darwinian evolution.
With the discovery of a new type of chemical modification on an important muscle protein, a University of Iowa study improves understanding of certain muscular dystrophies and could potentially lead to new treatments for the conditions.
The findings, which appear in the Jan. 1, 2010, issue of the journal Science, may also have implications for detecting metastasizing cancer cells.