Body

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State University researchers have described with single-molecule precision how copper ions cause prion proteins to misfold and seed the misfolding and clumping of nearby prion proteins.

The researchers also found the copper-induced misfolding and clumping is associated with inflammation and damage to nerve cells in brain tissue from a mouse model.

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Most people recoil at the thought of ingesting E. coli. But what if the headline-grabbing bacteria could be used to fight disease?

Researchers experimenting with harmless strains of E. coli - yes, the majority of E. coli are safe and important to healthy human digestion - are working toward that goal. Specifically, they have developed an E. coli-based transport capsule designed to help next-generation vaccines do a more efficient and effective job than today's immunizations.

A receptor, first known for its role in mediating the harmful effects of the environmental pollutant dioxin in our body, is now understood to play other important roles in modulating the innate immune response.

Our immune system is vital as a protective mechanism against foreign agents, including viruses and bacteria. However, an exaggerated immune response can have damaging effects on the body, as is the case in autoimmune diseases, for example. The regulation of this system is thus important.

A Japanese research group verified the presence of a protein modification that is a unique mark in human cell nucleus. This protein modification, Histone H4 lysine 20 acetylation (H4K20ac), was only discovered in plant cells and its existence in mammalian cells has been indirectly proven. Their study suggests that H4K20ac is associated with gene repression. This new discovery of H4K20ac may lead to further clarification of the mechanisms in disease progression.

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden have devised a new high-resolution method for studying which genes are active in a tissue. The method can be used on all types of tissue and is valuable to both preclinical research and cancer diagnostics. The results are published in the journal Science.

Schools are commonly known as breeding grounds for viruses and bacteria, but this may not necessarily be linked to hygiene. New research in mice shows that because their immune systems do not operate at the same efficiency as adults, children may not only be more likely to contract a viral infection, but they also take to longer clear it.

July 1, 2016 - Patients doing Internet searches to learn about liposuction will find overall "very poor" quality of information, reports a study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery--Global Open®, the official open-access medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

MANHATTAN, KANSAS -- Kansas State University is helping the fight against Zika virus through mosquito research.

The university's Biosecurity Research Institute is taking a two-part approach: Researchers are studying mosquitoes to understand how they become infected with Zika virus and researchers are providing the virus to collaborative organizations for further study.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (July 5, 2016) - A team of researchers at the University of Miami who examined the role of women in extreme networks or organizations, such as terrorist groups dispelled the common assumption that women are lured into these dangerous environments solely to offer support while men are recruited and tend to be the key players. Instead, the researchers found, women are better connected within the network, essentially becoming the glue holding the system together, fueling its vitality and survival.

The olive was one of the first trees to be domesticated in the history of mankind, probably some 6,000 years ago. A Mediterranean emblem par excellence, it is of vital importance to the Spanish and other regional economies (Italy, Greece and Portugal). In fact, Spain is the leading producer of olive oil in the world. Every year, nearly three million tons of oil are produced, for local consumption and export. Spain produces one third of this total.

When an immune T cell divides into two daughter cells, the activity of an enzyme called mTORC1, which controls protein production, splits unevenly between the progeny, producing two cells with different properties. Such "asymmetric division," uncovered by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers using lab-grown cells and specially bred mice, could offer new ways to enhance cancer immunotherapy and may have other implications for studying how stem cells differentiate.

BOSTON (July 1, 2016) -- Tuberculosis is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world, infecting almost 10 million people each year. Treating the disease can be challenging and requires a combination of multiple antibiotics delivered over several months. This is due, in part, to variations in antibiotic tolerance among subpopulations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

Changing just one seated meeting per week at work into a walking meeting increased the work-related physical activity levels of white-collar workers by 10 minutes, according to a new study published by public health researchers with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The study, published June 24, 2016 in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's journal Preventing Chronic Disease, suggests a possible new health promotion approach to improving the health of millions of white-collar workers who spend most of their workdays sitting in chairs.

In the campy 1966 science fiction movie "Fantastic Voyage," scientists miniaturize a submarine with themselves inside and travel through the body of a colleague to break up a potentially fatal blood clot. Right. Micro-humans aside, imagine the inflammation that metal sub would cause.

Ideally, injectable or implantable medical devices should not only be small and electrically functional, they should be soft, like the body tissues with which they interact. Scientists from two UChicago labs set out to see if they could design a material with all three of those properties.

Though a variety of immunotherapy-based strategies are being used against cancer, they are often hindered by the inability of the immune response to enter the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and to effectively mount a response to cancer cells. Now, scientists from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences have developed a new vaccine that involves injecting cells that have been modified so that they can stimulate both an innate immune response and the more specific adaptive response, which allows the body to keep memories and attack new tumor cells as they form.