Month: <span>August 2020</span>

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New type of taste cell discovered in taste buds
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New type of taste cell discovered in taste buds

by Public Library of Science Most taste cells selectively respond to a specific stimulus type while broadly responsive cells respond to multiple taste qualities. Credit: Jhanna Flora and Kathryn Medler Our mouths may be home to a newly discovered set of multi-tasking taste cells that—unlike most known taste cells, which detect individual tastes—are capable of...

Study uncovers the molecular events by which popular antidepressants work
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Study uncovers the molecular events by which popular antidepressants work

by Rockefeller University Some highly effective medications also happen to be highly mysterious. Such is the case with the antidepressant drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs: They are the most common treatment for major depression and have been around for more than 40 years, yet scientists still do not know exactly how...

Probe detects the destruction of defective mitochondria
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Probe detects the destruction of defective mitochondria

by RIKEN Figure 1: Colored transmission electron micrograph of a single mitochondrion in a human pancreas cell. RIKEN researchers have developed a fluorescent probe that can detect the programmed death of defective mitochondria in the lysosomes. Credit: K.R. PORTER/ SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A versatile probe that can detect with pinpoint accuracy the programmed destruction of...

Key gene identified for improving multiple sclerosis treatment
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Key gene identified for improving multiple sclerosis treatment

by Karolinska Institutet The disease multiple sclerosis (MS) attacks the central nervous system and, with time, can give rise to muscle tremors and loss of balance. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now identified a gene, Gsta4, that protects a certain kind of cell in the brain from being destroyed. It is hoped that the results...

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BIOENGINEERS ARE USING LEVITATION ON DEAD CELLS TO PRESERVE THE LIVING

GENTLY REMOVING DEAD CELLS MEANS BETTER PHARMA RESEARCH AND 3D PRINTING. In the delicate work of bioengineering, dead cells get everywhere — and become a major nuisance. Now, Stanford scientists have figured out how to separate the dead cells from the living, using magnetic levitation, gently pulling them away from the still-useful survivors without ripping...

New research sheds light on how skin cancer starts
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New research sheds light on how skin cancer starts

by Case Western Reserve University Luis Ortiz-Rodríguez grew up on the beaches of Puerto Rico—surfing, swimming and running in the hot sand—and swears he had never put on sunblock a day in his life. Then the day came when he peered through an ultrafast laser spectrometer at the College of Arts & Sciences at Case...

Researchers discover the microbiome’s role in attacking cancerous tumours
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Researchers discover the microbiome’s role in attacking cancerous tumours

by University of Calgary Researchers with the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) have discovered which gut bacteria help our immune system battle cancerous tumors and how they do it. The discovery may provide a new understanding of why immunotherapy, a treatment for cancer that helps amplify the body’s...

Single-cell analysis provides new insights into mitochondrial diseases
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Single-cell analysis provides new insights into mitochondrial diseases

by Michael Morrison, Massachusetts General Hospital Investigators led by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have made discoveries at the single cell level to uncover new details concerning mitochondrial diseases—inherited disorders that interfere with energy production in the body and currently have no cure. The findings, which are published in the New England Journal...

Experimental treatment confers benefits for the alleviation of nonalcoholic hepatic steatosis
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Experimental treatment confers benefits for the alleviation of nonalcoholic hepatic steatosis

by Liu Jia, Chinese Academy of Sciences Prof. Liu Hongwei’s group and Prof. Liu Shuangjiang’s group from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has reported the anti-NAFLD effects of a Ganoderma meroterpene derivative that increased the abundance of Bacteroides spp. to activate Bacteroides-folate-liver pathway and further alleviate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease...