Body

New research shows that a cellular program that causes aging can also bring unexpected benefits in the function of pancreatic beta cells and the production of insulin in mice and humans. The findings are reported in the journal Nature Medicine, in a paper entitled "p16Ink4a-induced senescence of pancreatic beta cells enhances insulin secretion". The study was conducted by post-doctoral fellow Dr. Ronny Helman at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, under the guidance of Dr. Ittai Ben-Porath and Prof. Yuval Dor and in collaboration with scientists from Canada and the USA.

DENVER - A cross-sectional survey showed a quarter of patients with detected incidental pulmonary nodules experienced significant distress related to the nodule. Detailed clinician communication increased patient knowledge, relieved distress, and improved patient experience.

Using a new approach, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and collaborating institutions have discovered a novel drug candidate that could be used to treat certain types of breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma.

The new study focused on serine, one of the 20 amino acids (protein building blocks) found in nature. Many types of cancer require synthesis of serine to sustain rapid, constant and unregulated growth.

Children of mothers with vitamin D deficiency during early pregnancy appeared to be at greater risk for multiple sclerosis (MS) in adulthood, according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology.

While elevated levels of vitamin D have been associated with a decreased risk of MS in adulthood, some previous research also has suggested that vitamin D exposure in utero may be a risk factor for MS in later life.

Researchers at U of T Engineering have developed a new way of growing realistic human tissues outside the body. Their "person-on-a-chip" technology, called AngioChip, is a powerful platform for discovering and testing new drugs, and could eventually be used to repair or replace damaged organs.

The skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is one of the most common types of cancer. 90 per cent of the population are at risk to develop it one day, notably because of their age and exposure to the sun UV-rays. Although common, this cancer is rarely fatal and has until now been little studied. But now geneticists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, sequenced the DNA of these skin tumors, in order to determine the genes that are responsible for the cancerogenesis.

Daejeon, Republic of Korea, March 7, 2016--Renewable non-food biomass could potentially replace petrochemical raw materials to produce energy sources, useful chemicals, or a vast array of petroleum-based end products such as plastics, lubricants, paints, fertilizers, and vitamin capsules. In recent years, biorefineries which transform non-edible biomass into fuel, heat, power, chemicals, and materials have received a great deal of attention as a sustainable alternative to decreasing the reliance on fossil fuels.

Researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet and the University of Oulu in Finland have elucidated gene regulatory mechanisms that can explain how known genetic variants influence prostate cancer risk. The findings, published in the journal Nature Genetics, reveal widespread deregulation of androgen receptor function, a key player in prostate cancer.

Antibiotics do not easily eradicate the gut bacteria Escherichia coli, as some bacteria survive treatment in a dormant state. Once treatment is stopped, these dormant cells can become active again and recolonize the body. Researchers from KU Leuven, Belgium, have shown that the more frequently bacteria receive antibiotics, the more of them survive. What is more, these survivors have evolved into bacteria with multi-drug tolerance.

EUGENE, Ore. - March 7, 2016 - The genome of a slowly evolving fish, the spotted gar, is so much like both zebrafish and humans that it can be used as a bridge species that could open a pathway to important advancements in biomedical research focused on human diseases.

Hinxton, Cambridge, UK, 7 March 2016 - Research from the Single-Cell Genomics Centre on the Wellcome Genome Campus could change the way we look at gene expression and immune response. Published in Nature Methods, the new method, TraCeR, provides a powerful tool for research into immune response, vaccination, cancer and autoimmunity.

Many viral diseases tend to become chronic - including infections with the HI virus. In persons affected, the immune response is not sufficient to eliminate the virus permanently. Scientists at the University of Bonn have now identified an immune factor which is partially responsible for this. Their results give rise to hopes for new therapeutic approaches. The work, which included researchers from the University of Cologne and the Technical University of Munich, is being published in the renowned journal "Nature Immunology."

NEW YORK, NY (March 7, 2016)--A new study found a dramatic increase in the number of adolescents undergoing "Tommy John" surgery to repair a pitching-related elbow injury in recent years, outstripping growth among major league pitchers.

The study, performed by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), was published in the January online issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Like an albatross scanning for pods of squid in a vast ocean, molecules on solid surfaces move in an intermittent search pattern that provides maximum efficiency, according to new research from the University of Colorado Boulder.

While this behavior had been proposed theoretically, CU-Boulder researchers have made the first experimental observations of this phenomenon, providing a gateway for potential improvements in fields ranging from medical diagnostics to chemical production.

A joint research project being undertaken by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has achieved a breakthrough in fundamental research in the field of potential future data storage technologies. The idea is that electronic storage units (bits) will not be stored on rotating hard disks as is currently standard practice but on a nanowire in the form of magnetic vortex structures, so-called skyrmions, using a process similar to that of a shift register.