Body

11 January 2016 - A new method by researchers in the UK and Belgium makes it possible to study the epigenome and transcriptome of a single cell at the same time. The protocol, published in Nature Methods, helps scientists pinpoint the relationship between changes in DNA methylation and gene expression.

Patients suffering organ failure caused by a common inflammatory condition could be helped by a new therapy.

Scientists have discovered an experimental medicine that protects against organ damage caused by a condition called acute pancreatitis.

The research offers hope for the illness, which has no current treatment, and which affects thousands of people in the UK each year and places a huge burden on intensive care facilities.

An analysis funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has identified three genes that contribute to the most common type of glaucoma. The study increases the total number of such genes to 15.

"Just in time for Glaucoma Awareness Month, this unprecedented analysis provides the most comprehensive genetic profile of glaucoma to date," said NEI Director Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D. "These findings open avenues for the pursuit of new strategies to screen for, prevent, and treat glaucoma."

EPFL scientists have developed a new method that turns cells into stem cells by "squeezing" them. The method paves the way for large-scale production of stem cells for medical purposes.

In cancer, cell signaling pathways are the critical chain of events that can either quash or quicken disease progression.

A multi-institutional international study led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has revealed new information about how molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) interact with HIF-1, a signaling pathway that is overexpressed in many cancers. HIF-1 has been shown to regulate breast cancer progression.

Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have led an international effort to identify three genetic associations that influence susceptibility to primary open angle glaucoma -- the most common form of adult onset glaucoma and the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world.

(Boston)--Exposure to certain household air pollutants may cause some of the same molecular changes as smoking cigarettes.

Diclofenac, a common painkiller, has significant anti-cancer properties, according to researchers from the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology project.

The Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project, an international collaboration between the Anticancer Fund, Belgium, and US based GlobalCures, finds that existing and widely-used non-cancer drugs may represent a relatively untapped source of novel therapies for cancer.

ANN ARBOR--Nisin, a naturally occurring food preservative that grows on dairy products, delivers a one-two punch to two of medicine's most lethal maladies: cancer and deadly, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

A new University of Michigan study found that feeding rats a "nisin milkshake" killed 70-80 percent of head and neck tumor cells after nine weeks and extended survival, said Dr. Yvonne Kapila, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.

A novel therapy tested by University of Guelph scientists for treating a fatal heart disorder in dogs might ultimately help in diagnosing and treating heart disease in humans.

Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) professors Glen Pyle and Lynne O'Sullivan have also identified potential causes of inherited dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) or "weak heart."

The groundbreaking study was published this month in the American Journal of Physiology.

As National Football League playoff games are underway, a new article published in the "Hypotheses" section of the January 2016 issue of The FASEB Journal, suggests that the toll the sport takes on players' bodies extends beyond head trauma and damage to limbs and joints. The trauma and damage associated with football participation may also be linked to elevations in blood pressure through immune system activation and inflammation.

Just when you think you've seen it all, our eyes look to be victims of a low-gravity environments, too. According to new research published in the January 2016 issue of The FASEB Journal, two significant genetic differences in enzymes that direct the one-carbon pathway of metabolism can affect astronaut vision. Human genetic variation in these enzymes has been implicated in many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and more.

New research published in the January 2016 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that the G-protein-coupled receptor 119 (GPR119) could be a viable treatment target for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This receptor has already been identified as a drug target for diabetes and obesity, and this report raises hopes that compounds that target GPR119 for diabetes or obesity might also work for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have obtained the crystal structure of a toxin from the bacterium Clostridium difficile ("C. diff") -- the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in the United States.

Reporting in this week's Nature Microbiology, they also found that zinc is required to unleash the toxin's damaging effects in the colon. The discoveries are aiding efforts to develop vaccines and other novel therapies to prevent the potentially fatal consequences of C. diff infection.

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 11, 2016 - As cigarette smoking rates fall, more people are smoking tobacco from hookahs--communal pipes that enable users to draw tobacco smoke through water. A new meta-analysis led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine shows that hookah smokers are inhaling a large load of toxicants.