Medicine News

Researchers Determine Location and Structure of Our Body’s Blood-Pressure Barometers

Watanabe et al. show that the enigmatic baroreceptor is a nuclear mechanotransducer that resides in the renin cells per se and is responsible for the sensing and transmission of extracellular physical forces directly to the chromatin of renin cells via lamin A/C to regulate renin gene expression, renin bioavailability, and homeostasis. Image credit: Watanabe et al., doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.318711.
Aug 4, 2021 by News Staff

Baroreceptors — natural blood-pressure barometers inside our bodies — detect subtle changes in blood pressure and adjust hormone levels to keep it in check. Scientists have long suspected that these pressure sensors existed in specialized kidney cells called renin cells, but no one has been able to locate them until now. Watanabe et al. show that the enigmatic baroreceptor is a nuclear mechanotransducer that resides in the renin cells...

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Exercise training rewires the enhancers in regions of our DNA that are known to be associated with the risk to develop disease. Image credit: Sasin Tipchai.

Study: Physical Exercise Improves Health of Brain and Other Organs through Epigenetic Changes

Aug 4, 2021 by News Staff

Some sections of our DNA are genes, which are instructions for building proteins, while other sections — called enhancers — regulate which...

Mulugeta et al. found that middle to elderly age groups (37-73) gray brain matter decreased by 0.3% for every extra 1 kg/m2, which is equivalent of an extra 3 kg of weight for person of average height individuals, (173 cm). Image credit: Marta Cuesta.

Excessive Body Fat Can Lead to Brain Atrophy, Increase Dementia and Stroke Risks: Study

Jul 27, 2021 by News Staff

In a study of 336,309 UK Biobank participants, researchers found that the increased body fat incrementally leads to the increased atrophy of gray matter...

Pham et al. examined whether habitual coffee consumption is associated with differences in brain volumes or the odds of dementia or stroke. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Excessive Coffee Consumption is Associated with Smaller Brain Volumes, Increased Odds of Dementia

Jul 23, 2021 by News Staff

Coffee is a highly popular beverage worldwide, containing caffeine which is a central nervous system stimulant. In a study of 398,646 UK Biobank participants,...

Continuous monitoring of hydrogen sulfide in human breath for early stage diagnosis of halitosis is of great significance for prevention of dental diseases. Image credit: Shin et al., doi: 10.1021/acsnano.1c01350.

Newly-Developed Portable Device Can Rapidly Detect Bad Breath

Jul 22, 2021 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Korea and the United States has constructed a tiny portable device that directly detects hydrogen sulfide (H2S)...

Genomic analyses of wildtype and TET-deficient Treg cells, and iTreg cells treated with the TET activator vitamin C, show that TET proteins are essential for the maintenance of Treg signatures and IL-2/STAT5 signaling. Image credit: Yue et al., doi: 10.15252/embr.202152716.

Vitamin C is Key Ingredient for Immune Cell Function, Study Shows

Jul 22, 2021 by News Staff

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) help control inflammation and autoimmunity in the body. These cells are so important that scientists are working to generate...

Kim et al. found no evidence that moderate coffee consumption can cause arrhythmia. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Researchers Find No Link between Habitual Coffee Consumption and Arrhythmia

Jul 21, 2021 by News Staff

In a large, prospective, population-based community cohort study of 386,258 coffee drinkers, greater amounts of habitual coffee consumption were inversely...

Tyler et al. saw dramatic differences in adaptation to the one hour DST time shift between individuals genetically predisposed to a morning versus evening circadian inclination. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

DNA Plays Role in How Much Daylight Saving Time Change Affects Us, Study Says

Jul 21, 2021 by News Staff

According to a new paper published this week in the journal Scientific Reports, people whose genetic profile makes them more likely to be ‘early birds’...

Reuter et al. found that high doses of caffeine (800 mg) consumed over a six-hour period almost doubled the amount of calcium lost in the urine. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Excessive Caffeine Consumption May Increase Risk of Osteoporosis

Jul 20, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

In a double-blind clinical study, researchers examined the impact of high-dose, short-term caffeine intake on renal clearance of calcium, sodium and creatinine...

Hyperglycemia-induced trained immunity may explain why targeting elevated glucose is ineffective in reducing macrovascular risk in diabetes and suggests new targets for disease prevention and therapy. Image credit: Steve Buissinne.

Study: Elevated Levels of Glucose in Blood Reprogram Stem Cells, Increase Atherosclerosis Risk

Jul 16, 2021 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by University of Oxford’s Professor Robin Choudhury has found that hyperglycemia alters stem cells in the bone marrow that go...

Candida albicans. Image credit: Stephanie Rossow / Antibiotic Resistance Coordination and Strategy Unit, CDC.

Potentially Pathogenic Fungi Thrive in the Gut, Influence Health and Disease: Study

Jul 15, 2021 by News Staff

A new study in mice shows that normally, the immune system keeps potentially pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans in check, targeting them when they...

Antibiotic exposure early in life could alter human brain development in areas responsible for cognitive and emotional functions. Image credit: Arek Socha.

Early-Life Penicillin Could Lead to Brain Disorders, New Study Suggests

Jul 15, 2021 by News Staff

Penicillin in early life changes microbiome and gene expression, which allows cells to respond to its changing environment, in key areas of the developing...

Khan et al. performed a meta-analysis of 38 randomized controlled trials of omega-3 fatty acids, stratified by EPA monotherapy and EPA+DHA therapy. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Improve Cardiovascular Outcomes, Review Says

Jul 8, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

In a systematic review and meta-analysis of 38 randomized controlled trials comprising 149,051 participants, omega-3 fatty acids — such as eicosapentaenoic...

The European chestnut (Castanea sativa). Image credit: Benjamin Gimmel / CC BY-SA 2.5.

Chestnut Compound Shows High Bioactivity against Drug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Jul 5, 2021 by News Staff

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most serious infectious disease concerns worldwide. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control...

In healthy eyes, photopic visual acuity improved significantly after cocoa flavanols ingestion and showed a non-significant trend to an improvement with red-berries anthocyanins. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Study: Eating Pure Cocoa Improves Visual Acuity in Daylight

Jun 29, 2021 by Natali Anderson

A duo of researchers in Spain has examined the acute effect of compounds found in cocoa and red berries on retinal functions in healthy eyes. In healthy...

The postmenopausal females studied by Hernández-González et al. did not gain body weight with chocolate intake. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

High Intake of Chocolate in the Morning Could Help Burn Body Fat, Reduce Blood Glucose Levels

Jun 25, 2021 by Natali Anderson

A new study, led by Brigham and Women’s Hospital scientists, suggests that having chocolate in the morning or in the evening/night results in differential...

MPS is a novel neuroprotective molecule that is more than two orders of magnitude more potent than the related molecule, ethosuximide. The discovery may enable novel treatments for human neurodegenerative diseases to be developed in the future. Image credit: National Institute on Aging / National Institutes of Health.

Chronic Psychosocial Stress Could Lead to Alzheimer’s Disease

Jun 24, 2021 by News Staff

Chronic stress, which involves a pathway called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease,...

Drinking any type of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of developing chronic liver disease and related liver conditions.

All Types of Coffee are Protective against Chronic Liver Disease, Study Shows

Jun 22, 2021 by News Staff

In a study involving almost 500,000 adults from the United Kingdom, a team of scientists from the University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh...

Hops (Humulus lupulus). Image credit: Elisa Klickblick.

Two Compounds Derived from Hops Attenuate High-Fat Diet-Induced Hepatic Steatosis: Study

Jun 17, 2021 by News Staff

Xanthohumol, a prenylated flavonoid produced by hops (Humulus lupulus), and its synthetic derivative, tetrahydroxanthohumol, can mitigate the diet-induced...

Borgmann et al. employed intersectional genetic manipulations to probe the feeding and glucoregulatory function of distinct sensory neurons; they reconstructed the gut innervation patterns of numerous molecularly defined vagal and spinal afferents and identified their downstream brain targets; bidirectional chemogenetic manipulations, coupled with behavioral and circuit mapping analysis, demonstrated that gut-innervating, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP1R)-expressing vagal afferents relay anorexigenic signals to parabrachial nucleus neurons that control meal termination; moreover, GLP1R vagal afferent activation improved glucose tolerance, and their inhibition elevated blood glucose levels independent of food intake; in contrast, gut-innervating, GPR65-expressing vagal afferent stimulation increased hepatic glucose production and activated parabrachial neurons that control normoglycemia, but they were dispensable for feeding regulation. Image credit: Borgmann et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2021.05.002.

Gut-Innervating Neurons Can Sense What We Eat, Study Suggests

Jun 7, 2021 by News Staff

In a new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers took a closer look at the functions of different sensory neurons in the control center...

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