Body

Safe, inexpensive chemical found to reverse symptoms of progeria in human cells

Progeria is a rare genetic disease that mimics the normal aging process at an accelerated rate. Symptoms typically appear within the first year of life, and individuals with the disease develop thin, wrinkled skin, fragile bones and joints, full-body hair loss and organ failure, among other complications. Most do not survive past their teen years.

Researchers discover new aspect of gene regulation and possible target for cancer drugs

There are about 20,000 genes in the human genome, but not all are used in all cells at all times. At any given moment, a cell is converting only roughly half its genes into proteins. And of those active genes, about 75 percent are regulated by a process known as 'RNA polymerase pausing.' This critical from of gene regulation occurs when an enzyme that transcribes the DNA hesitates at the beginning of the gene. Much like a runner at the start of a race, this molecular machine is poised to take off, but waits for the official signal.

Researchers identify gene possibly linked with methamphetamine addiction

(Boston)-- A new study sheds light on the significance of a potential genetic risk factor for drug addiction and possibly other neuropsychiatric disorders. Both genetic and environmental factors are known to influence susceptibility to substance use disorders. However, the genetic basis of these disorders is largely unknown.

Using public surveillance to study insect vectors of Chagas disease in Texas

Chagas disease is caused by a parasitic protozoan (Trypanosoma cruzi) and transmitted via triatomine insects known locally in Texas as "kissing bugs". Due to the success of community based triatomine surveillance and collection in Central and South America, researchers from Texas A & M University set up a citizen science program to gain insight into the distribution and infection prevalence of triatomine insects in Texas.

Scientists learn how poxviruses defeat the body's host defense

SAN ANTONIO (Dec. 10, 2015) -- Smallpox virus, which killed millions of humans through the ages, ranks among the world's most feared bioterrorism agents. Human monkeypox continues to occur sporadically in remote African villages.

Unhealthy choices cost company health care plans billions of dollars

ANN ARBOR--One out of every four dollars employers pay for health care is tied to unhealthy lifestyle choices or conditions like smoking, stress and obesity, despite the fact that most large employers have workplace wellness programs.

In the largest study of its kind, researchers from the University of Michigan looked at 10 modifiable health risks in roughly 223,500 people across seven industries, said Michael O'Donnell, first author on the study and director of theU-M Health Management Research Center at the School of Kinesiology.

Shaking the nanomaterials out

Purifying water and greening nanotechnology could be as simple as shaking a vial of water and oil. At least that's the case for a new method to clean contaminated water full of unwanted nanomaterials.

Anatomy of a microscopic wood chipper

TrCel7a is a cellulase: a special enzyme that breaks down cellulose, the most plentiful natural polymer on the planet.

The enzyme works like a microscopic wood chipper. It swallows strands of tightly bound cellulose and breaks them down into simple sugars. It works very slowly but, like a truck operating at a very low gear, it is extremely difficult to stop once it gets going. It is also self-propelling, powered in large part by energy from the cellulose bonds that it breaks.

Combined imaging modalities may change cancer management

Reston, Va. (December 10, 2015) - PET/CT and whole-body MRI detect extraskeletal disease that may change the management of high-risk breast and prostate cancer patients, according to a recent study reported in the December issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. In addition, the combined administration of F-18 sodium fluoride (NaF) and F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in a single PET/CT scan showed significantly higher sensitivity and accuracy than alternative methods for the detection of skeletal lesions.

Surgeon-in-training report cards can help reduce blood clots in hospitalized patients

A study of general surgery residents at The Johns Hopkins Hospital suggests that in the efforts to prevent dangerous blood clots among hospitalized patients, regular, one-on-one feedback and written report cards work a lot better than the usual group lectures that newly minted surgeons receive as part of their training.

Surprising diversity of TB strains found in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a hotspot for tuberculosis (TB) infection, ranking third among African countries and eighth in the world for TB burden according to the World Health Organization. But, say researchers who have analyzed the genomes of 66 TB strains and reported their findings in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 10, that's most likely not because TB was absent in the country before Europeans made contact--the so-called "virgin soil hypothesis"--as had been proposed ever since colonial times.

'Ghost Fibers' left by injured muscle cells guide stem cells to regenerate

SAN DIEGO, CA, Dec. 10, 2015 -- Ghosts are not your typical cell biology research subjects. But scientists at the Carnegie Institution for Science and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) who developed a technique to observe muscle stem/progenitor cells migrating within injury sites in live mice, report that 'ghost fibers,' remnants of the old extracellular matrix left by dying muscle fibers, guide the cells into position for healing to begin.

Signaling from dysfunctional mitochondria induces a distinct type of senescence

Buck Institute faculty Judith Campisi, PhD, says age researchers need to stop thinking of cellular senescence, now accepted as an important driver of aging, as a single phenotype that stems from genotoxic stress.

Bacteria engineered with synthetic circadian clocks

Many of the body's processes follow a natural daily rhythm or so-called circadian clock, so there are certain times of the day when a person is most alert, when the heart is most efficient, and when the body prefers sleep. Even bacteria have a circadian clock, and in a December 10 Cell Reports study, researchers designed synthetic microbes to learn what drives this clock and how it might be manipulated.

Protein factors tie the genome up in a bow for gene expression

Protein factors are responsible for organizing chromosomes inside the nucleus in three dimensions (3D), forming a shape like a gift bow, with proteins aggregating as the central 'knot' holding the ribbon-like loops of DNA when genes are organized for proper expression, or a tangled mess in the presence of certain mutations.