Stem Cell Discovery Reveals Versatility of Crest Cells

Tragic events like wars, famines, earthquakes, and accidents create fearful memories in our brain. These memories continue to haunt us even after the actual event has passed. Luckily, researchers from Tokyo University of Science (TUS) have recently been able to understand the hidden biochemical mechanisms involved in the selective suppression of fearful memories, which is called fear extinction. The researchers, who had previously demonstrated fear extinction in mice using the chemically synthesized compound "KNT-127," have now identified the underlying mechanism of this compound's action. Their findings have been published recently in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

In a major advance for rational drug design, a Texas A&M AgriLife team has described several protein structures of a crucial player in cellular processes. The advance could bring new ideas for treatments of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, AIDS, cancer and others. Specifically, the work describes the C1 domain...

Just as it’s hard to understand a conversation without knowing its context, it can be difficult for biologists to grasp the significance of gene expression without knowing a cell’s environment. To solve that problem, researchers at Princeton Engineering have developed a method to elucidate a cell’s surroundings so that biologists can make more meaning of gene expression information.

In biological evolution, we know that it’s all about the survival of the fittest: organisms that develop genetic traits that allow them to better adapt to their physical environment are more likely to thrive, and thus pass down their winning genes to their offspring. From the longer-beaked Galapagos Island...

Led by Juan Song, PhD, scientists at the UNC School of Medicine used optogenetic techniques to stimulate specific brain cells to increase production of neural stem cells and neurons relevant to memory and emotion processing in animal models. We humans lose mental acuity, an unfortunate side effect of aging. And...

Malaria infections are driven by Plasmodium parasites that enter the bloodstream and destroy red blood cells. Melbourne researchers from WEHI, in collaboration with Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), have now captured the first three dimensional (3D) images that reveal how compounds work to stop the parasites from spreading in the blood.

In this episode, we speak with Trish Meek, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Marketing, Digital Science at Thermo Fisher Scientific about why data is so important to organizations who are wanting to improve their instrument usage and uptime and what the wider benefits of instrument and system connectivity really are.

Research by Newcastle University and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi quantified antibiotic and metal resistance in sediments from the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers in India and streams in the River Tyne catchment. The results show heavy metals, which are high in the River Tyne catchment due to historic mining and industrial activity, relate to antibiotic resistance levels in the river. The same was seen in the Indian rivers, especially in areas of industrial activity.

The path to cancer prevention is long and arduous for legions of researchers, but new work by Rice University scientists shows that there may be shortcuts. Rice chemist Anatoly Kolomeisky, lead author and postdoctoral researcher Hamid Teimouri and research assistant Cade Spaulding are developing a theoretical framework to explain how cancers caused by more than one genetic mutation can be more easily identified and perhaps stopped.

Plants can’t speak up when they are thirsty. And visual signs, such as shriveling or browning leaves, don’t start until it’s too late. Metal electrodes have previously been used to monitor thirsty plants, but it’s difficult attaching them to hairy leaves. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have created a wearable sensor for plant leaves that stays put, and makes it easy to remotely manage plants’ water stress.

Developing new treatments for ailments can be a tedious and frustrating process for scientists. Oftentimes, newly developed drugs just don’t work the way they were intended, falling short of expectations and leading to a dead end. But other times, a drug developed for one purpose turns out to be even more effective at treating something completely different. In the past, this has happened with drugs such as prednisone, which was originally meant for inflammatory diseases but actually helps treat Parkinson’s disease symptoms. These are called repurposable drugs. another instance of this took place in 2017 with the realization that medicine for type 2 diabetes could have benefits for those with Alzheimer’s disease.

It has long been hypothesized that dietary habits can precede and even exacerbate the development of cancer. Researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology proved that a direct link exists between the amount of fat included in one’s diet and bodily levels of nitric oxide, a naturally occurring signaling molecule that is related to inflammation and cancer development.

In recent years, the immunotherapy field has revolutionized oncology treatment methods by developing therapeutics that help a cancer patient’s own immune system fight their disease. However, these treatments have had varied efficacies in different cancer types. Although immunotherapy has become the standard therapeutic method for fighting liver cancer, also called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its response rate has only been approximately 30% in patients with advanced disease. In a recent article published in Hepatology, a team led by researchers at Osaka University developed an analytical method that could help predict if an HCC patient would successfully respond to immunotherapy.

Redness, swelling, pain - these are signs of inflammation. It serves to protect the body from pathogens or foreign substances. Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Cologne were able to show that inflammatory reactions of an important sensor protein proceed in a specific spatial direction. This finding has the potential to conceivably stop inflammation at the "growing end", and thus bring chronic inflammatory diseases to a halt. The study has now been published in the journal "Science Advances".

We need zinc: one-tenth of the proteins in our cells require this metal for their normal functions in all aspects of cell metabolism. We acquire zinc by eating it — in foods or multivitamin supplements — but up to 30% of people in some parts of the world are at risk for zinc deficiency, which can cause slowed growth, impaired immune function, neurological disorders and cancers. The World Health Organization considers zinc deficiency a leading contributor to disease and death.

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai saw for the first time hallmarks of concussions and other head trauma in the brains of deceased headbutting animals—muskoxen and bighorn sheep. The results published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica may contradict the commonly-held belief that ramming animals do not suffer brain injuries and support the notion that studies on animals with brains evolutionarily similar to those of humans may help researchers understand and reduce traumatic brain injuries.

McMaster University researchers have found not only how some viral infections cause severe tissue damage, but also how to reduce it. They have discovered how Type I interferon (IFN) stops the immune system from ‘going rogue’ and attacking the body’s own tissues when fighting viral infections, including COVID-19.

Statins have been hailed as a wonder drug; the cholesterol-lowering drugs have been prescribed to tens of millions of people since their approval in the late 1980s to prevent heart attack and stroke. But the drugs may yet have additional benefits, some research has hinted, including on mental health. Now, a new study examines the influence of statins on emotional bias, a marker for risk of depression. The study appears in Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier.

Pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals play a vital role in keeping the world healthy, righting our bodies’ problems and reducing pain and suffering. Biological systems, however, are complex and designing therapeutics capable of this can be challenging. There is also a need to maintain those substances within precise parameters and in the absence of contaminants once they enter production to maintain effectiveness and prevent harm.

“The immune system can be seen as an army that protects us from foreign invaders and pathogens, but sometimes this army can go rogue and attack our own tissues and that’s what’s called autoimmune disease.” – Dr. Leonardo Ferreira. What is CAR T-cell therapy?. Chimeric antigen...