by University of Sheffield Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Researchers from the University of Sheffield have discovered a new gene therapy pathway that has uncovered an important regulatory mechanism to keep our genome healthy. This pathway has the potential to protect us against serious life-limiting diseases such as cancer and dementia. Cancer and neurodegeneration are two major health...
by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Credit: CC0 Public Domain The Cedars-Sinai investigators discovered several key components in the control of telomerase reverse transcriptase, or TERT, expression, one of the necessary component proteins of telomerase. High levels of TERT are found in several cancer types, the result of mutations in DNA that control the levels of TERT in...
by University of Manchester Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A drug already used to treat high blood pressure could be re-purposed as the first treatment to tackle a type of vascular dementia caused by damaged and ‘leaky’ small blood vessels in the brain, according to research part-funded by the British Heart Foundation and published today in the Journal of Clinical...
by Ingrid Fadelli , Medical Xpress Functional neuroanatomy of LPB projections to the ventral midbrain. a, Experimental design. b, Whole-brain fluorescence image showing LPBVGLUT2 projections (eYFP, green; upper row, horizontal; lower row, sagittal). VTA, SNR and CeA are highlighted in different colors (scale bar, 1 mm). c, LPBVGLUT2 terminals and fibers of passage (white arrows) in...
By Nick Lavars Young stem cells (left) produce more material (dark brown) for bone than old stem cells (center), and a new study shows how they can be rejuvenated by adding sodium acetate (right)Pouikli/Max Planck Institute for Biology of AgeingVIEW 1 IMAGES Scientists looking into the biological mechanisms behind deteriorating bones have made a discovery...
When a pathogen such as a bacteria invades our body, the immune system sends white blood cells to the site of the infection to clear the invader. These white blood cells first travel through our blood vessels, but at some point must pass through its wall to get into the infected tissue. How does this...
A team from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University has developed a foot-pressure-sensing insole to detect Parkinson’s disease. Using tiny Raspberry Pi computers, they managed to create something discreet that can monitor people as they walk around in their own shoes.Video: Team Forelook What is Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that mostly affects...
All cells need ribosomes to make the proteins necessary for life. These multi-component molecular machines build complex proteins by stitching building blocks together according to instructions encoded in the cell’s messenger RNAs. But ribosomes are themselves composed of small and large subunits, each of which is made up of ribosomal proteins and RNA. Before they can manufacture proteins, these subunits must be manufactured...
IMAGE: SAMANTHA MENDONSA (LEFT) AND MARINA CHEKULAEVA (RIGHT) IN THE LAB AT BIMSB / MDC CREDIT: CHEKULAEVA LAB, MDC Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is a rare hereditary condition. It occurs when genetic changes disrupt the transmission of nerve signals from the brain to the muscles of the extremities, particularly those of the lower limbs. This leads...
Glioblastoma is the most lethal and malignant adult brain cancer that may arise from neuroglial stem or progenitor cells. Certain gene mutations or those with a known history of other cancers and radiation therapy may predispose patients to develop brain cancer. Tumour relapse is invariably inevitable due to the resistance of glioblastoma towards standard therapies....
