by Rainer Klose, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Images taken with an atomic force microscope show alpha-synuclein in the form of fibrils (left). When the protein is placed in a solution containing copper, ring-like structures form instead (right). Credit: Empa Copper exposure in the environment and the protein alpha-synuclein in the human brain...
by Universitaet Tübingen Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases are associated with inflammatory processes in the brain. German researchers have succeeded in identifying a group of proteins in cerebrospinal fluid that could provide information about such inflammatory processes. As so-called biomarkers, the proteins could help researchers to better understand disease processes in...
by Washington University School of Medicine Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a previously unknown function for the fragile X protein, the loss of which is the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability. The researchers showed that the protein modulates how neurons in the brain’s memory center process information,...
EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF OBESITY A new study being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Maastricht, the Netherlands (4-7 May), has linked key nutrients, including protein, zinc and niacin, to improvements in heart health. Improvements in metabolic and cardiovascular health seen during weight loss in people with obesity are traditionally...
by Laurie Fickman, University of Houston Credit: CC0 Public Domain In the gym, you are not just pumping iron, you are oxygenating muscle cells which keeps those muscles healthy, strong and growing—a process called hypertrophy, or an increase in muscle mass due to an increase in muscle cell size. Conversely, under the covers, lounging, your...
by Salk Institute Left: Healthy pancreas. Right: Extensive pancreatic scarring (purple) when ERR gamma is lost from acinar cells. Credit: Salk Institute Every day, your pancreas produces about one cup of digestive juices, a mixture of molecules that can break down the food you eat. But if these powerful molecules become activated before they make...
by California NanoSystems Institute Disruptions in the fission of mitochondria, the structures within cells that make energy, are behind a host of other ailments, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Credit: National Institutes of Health As scientists work toward finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease, one line of research that has emerged focuses on mitochondria,...
JANUARY 17TH, 2022 CONN HASTINGS MEDICINE, NANOMEDICINE Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have created a new coating for nanoparticles that can help to protect them from attacks by the immune system. The approach, which uses naturally occurring proteins that can inhibit the complement system, can significantly reduce immune destruction of nanoparticles, meaning that more...
Posted Today Most organisms have proteins that react to light. Even creatures that don’t have eyes or other visual organs use these proteins to regulate many cellular processes, such as transcription, translation, cell growth, and cell survival. The field of optogenetics relies on such proteins to better understand and manipulate these processes. Using lasers and genetically engineered versions...
by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers have solved a decade-long mystery about a critical protein linked to Parkinson’s disease that could help to fast-track treatments for the incurable disease. The research, published in Nature, has for the first time produced a ‘live action’ view of the protein, called PINK1,...
