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Indiana University Professor Hui-Chen Lu and co-authors have identified 24 compounds that increase the brain’s production of the enzyme NMNAT2, which helps prevent the formation of tau tangles associated with neurodegenerative disorders. Image credit: National Institute on Aging / National Institutes of Health.

Study: Caffeine, 23 Other Compounds Boost Dementia-Fighting Enzyme

Mar 9, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists at Indiana University, Bloomington, has identified 24 compounds — including caffeine, retinoic acid, and rolipram — with...

Fructose, a simple sugar, is generated in the human brain, according to Hwang et al. Image credit: Pete Linforth / Sci-News.com.

Study: Brain Produces Fructose from Glucose

Feb 24, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers, fructose is converted in the human brain from glucose. The finding, published in the journal...

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Image credit: Jason Buchner.

Researchers Find Antimicrobial Substances in Komodo Dragon Blood

Feb 23, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the College of Science at George Mason University has detected 48 antimicrobial peptides in the blood plasma of Komodo dragons...

The study by Mitchell et al shows baby’s sex is associated with pregnant women’s immune responses.

Fetal Sex Plays Role in Immunity of Pregnant Women, New Study Finds

Feb 22, 2017 by News Staff

Women tend to react with stronger responses to immune challenges while pregnant with girls than with boys, a new study published in the journal Brain,...

According to Soderquest et al, T-bet plays an important role in coordinating the body’s immune responses. Image credit: Werbe Fabrik.

‘Molecular Switch’ that Causes Mucosal Autoimmune Diseases Discovered

Feb 21, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to an international team of researchers led by University College London and King’s College London, the discovery of a ‘molecular switch’...

Williams et al show that dietary supplementation with a single molecule (vitamin B3 or NAM) or Nmnat1 gene therapy significantly reduces vulnerability to glaucoma by supporting mitochondrial health and metabolism. Image credit: Mizianitka.

Vitamin B3 Protects Mice from Glaucoma, Study Finds

Feb 20, 2017 by News Staff

Vitamin B3, also known as niacin and nicotinic acid, prevents eye degeneration in glaucoma-prone mice, according to a study published in the Feb. 17 issue...

The study by Martineau et al provides the most robust evidence yet that vitamin D has benefits beyond bone and muscle health, and could have major implications for public health policy.

Vitamin D Protects Against Colds and Flu, New Study Finds

Feb 16, 2017 by News Staff

Vitamin D supplementation can help protect against acute respiratory infections including colds and flu, particularly among very deficient individuals,...

This image shows an ON Delayed retinal ganglion cell. Image credit: Adam Mani & Gregory W. Schwartz, Northwestern University.

Researchers Find Myopia-Causing Cells in Retina

Feb 13, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at Northwestern University has discovered a type of retinal ganglion cell that may cause myopia when it dysfunctions. The study is...

According to Kathrin Andrich et al, the Epigallocatechin gallate -- a compound found in green tea leaves -- may be of particular benefit to patients struggling with multiple myeloma and amyloidosis. Image credit: Ascyrafft Adnan.

Green Tea Compound Could Have Lifesaving Potential for Patients with Amyloidosis, Multiple Myeloma

Feb 7, 2017 by News Staff

The green-tea polyphenol Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) may be of particular benefit to patients struggling with amyloidosis and multiple myeloma, according...

CO2-dependent dye loading of HeLa cells expressing Cx26 from human. The top images (green) show the CO2-dependent loading of 5(6)-CBF at three different levels of PCO2. The Cx26 was tagged at the C-terminal with mCherry. The bottom images (red) in each panel show the mCherry fluorescence and hence Cx26 expression corresponding to the cells that were loaded in the images above. Image credit: Elizabeth de Wolf et al, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2723.

Biologists Identify Crucial Molecule that Regulates Breathing

Feb 2, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of Warwick, UK, has identified Connexin26 (Cx26) as a key molecule that reacts to carbon dioxide (CO2) in our bodies...

A DNA coverage plot for Escherichia coli following 60 generations (96 h) of growth in the presence and absence of doxycycline: data in the presence (three inner annuli, ‘Dox’) and absence (three outer annuli, ‘No-Dox’) indicate potential genetic mechanisms supporting positive r (growth rate), K (carrying capacity) and resistance adaptation; a change in DNA detected in the sequencing protocol is shown in red (reduction) and blue (increase; and white is complete loss), respectively, with respect to no mean change (in grey); the inner ring (black) indicates genome position and three replicates for each treatment were sequenced; the white region marked dlp12 shows the deletion of prophage dlp12 only during doxycycline treatment; the outer text labels summarize the estimated frequencies of mutations common to all three replicate populations, indicating positive selection for the doxycycline efflux operon, acr, with the prophage deletion at even higher frequency. Image credit: C. Reding-Roman et al, doi: 10.1038/s41559-016-0050.

New Study Highlights How Antibiotics Can Stimulate Bacterial Reproduction

Feb 1, 2017 by News Staff

The growth of bacteria can be stimulated by antibiotics, according to a study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. A DNA coverage plot...

The study by N.F. Watson et al shows the transcriptomic effects of habitual short sleep on dysregulated immune response and provides a potential link between sleep deprivation and adverse metabolic, cardiovascular, and inflammatory outcomes. Image credit: Geralt.

Sleep Deprivation Suppresses Your Immune System, Study of Twins Shows

Jan 29, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

A University of Washington-led team of researchers studying monozygotic (identical) twins has found that chronic sleep deprivation suppresses immune system....

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1, grown in cultured lymphocytes; virions are seen as small spheres on the surface of the cells. Image credit: C. Goldsmith.

Recently-Discovered Antiviral Protein Inhibits HIV-1 in Non-Human Primates

Jan 18, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered that a gene called SLFN11 — which encodes a protein known as Schlafen...

A model highlighting the specification of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to epicardial lineages by stage-specific modulation of canonical Wnt signaling and the long-term maintenance of hPSC-derived epicardial cells using TGF-β-signalling inhibitors. Image credit: X. Bao et al, doi: 10.1038/s41551-016-0003.

Scientists Use Human Pluripotent Stem Cells to Regenerate Epicardium

Jan 17, 2017 by News Staff

A process using human stem cells can generate heart cells belonging to the external layer, the epicardium, according to an international team of scientists...

3D observation of contact between host bipolar cells (green) and graft photoreceptors (red). Image credit: RIKEN.

Stem Cell-Based Transplantation Approach Improves Vision in End-Stage Retinal-Degeneration Mice

Jan 12, 2017 by News Staff

In the Jan. 10 issue of the journal Stem Cell Reports, Dr. Michiko Mandai and colleagues at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Japan report...

Estimated number and percentage of overfat and underfat adults and children worldwide (based on 2014 world population numbers of 7.2 billion). Image credit: Philip B. Maffetone et al, doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2016.00279.

Up to 76% of World’s Population is Now Overfat, Say Researchers

Jan 11, 2017 by News Staff

According to an international team of scientists from New Zealand and Australia, up to 76% of the world’s population is overfat. This amounts to an astonishing...

Tideglusib treatment shows complete repair with vital dental pulp after 6 weeks. Image credit: V.C.M. Neves et al, doi: 10.1038/srep39654.

Researchers Develop Novel Method to Repair Teeth using Alzheimer’s Drug Tideglusib

Jan 10, 2017 by News Staff

A novel method of stimulating the renewal of living stem cells in tooth pulp using an Alzheimer’s drug called Tideglusib has been discovered by scientists...

Melanoma is a disease in which malignant cells form in melanocytes. Image credit: Ibdipcan2015 / Terese Winslow / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Novel Drug Reduces Spread of Melanoma by 90%

Jan 6, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists at Michigan State University has discovered that a potential new drug, called CCG-203971, reduces the spread of melanoma cells by...

This illustration depicts a 3D computer-generated image of a number of drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae diplococcal bacteria. Note that extending from the organisms’ exterior were type IV pili, or hair-like appendages, which in this case, are used to promote motility for these bacteria, and improve surface adherence. The artistic recreation was based upon scanning electron microscopic imagery. Image credit: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New Antibiotic to Fight Gonorrhea Developed

Jan 5, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of York, UK, has harnessed the therapeutic effects of carbon monoxide-releasing molecules to develop a new antibiotic...