Lipids News and Research

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Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The main biological functions of lipids include energy storage, as structural components of cell membranes, and as important signaling molecules.

Scientists identify lipodystrophy-causing mutation in a single family

Lipodystrophy syndromes are characterized by an abnormal distribution of adipose tissue and metabolic dysfunction. These disorders are rare and the underlying genetic abnormalities that lead to altered fat distribution are not fully known.

16 Jun 2016

Weight reduction surgery improves serum lipids in obese patients

Fifty years after the first reported partial-ileal bypass, metabolic surgery has an established role in achieving weight loss and reducing cardiovascular death in obese patients.

15 Jun 2016

CD36 receptor in nasal sensory neurons may be linked to preference for fatty food

A paper by Brazilian researchers published in the journal Scientific Reports describes a study showing that a subgroup of olfactory neurons in the nasal cavity express a cellular receptor specializing in the transport of lipid molecules.

14 Jun 2016

Researchers unravel species-function relationships in gut microbial genomes

Despite recent progress, the organization and ecological properties of the intestinal microbial ecosystem remain under investigated. Using a manually curated metabolic module framework for (meta-)genomic data analysis, Sara Vieira-Silva, Gwen Falony and colleagues from the Jeroen Raes lab studied species-function relationships in gut microbial genomes and microbiomes.

14 Jun 2016

Barley products lower levels of two types of bad cholesterol linked to cardiovascular risk

Eating barley or foods containing barley significantly reduced levels of two types of "bad cholesterol" associated with cardiovascular risk, a St. Michael's Hospital research paper has found.

8 Jun 2016

Study: Current dietary guidelines give wrong idea about effects of consuming Mediterranean diet fats

A Mediterranean diet which is rich in vegetal fats does not mean it comes with weight gain if compared to a low-fat diet, according to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

8 Jun 2016

Innovative RapifleX MALDI-TOF/TOF showcased by Bruker

At the 64th ASMS Conference, Bruker introducesrapifleX™, the highest performance MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometer, which had been shown as work-in-progress to early adopters at HUPO 2015.

From Bruker Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry 7 Jun 2016

Majority youths with autism or intellectual disability receive antipsychotics, study finds

About one in ten youths treated with an antipsychotic are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability. Conversely, one in six youths diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has been prescribed antipsychotics.

31 May 2016

Drexel scientists identify how two new antimalarial drugs work

Drexel University scientists have discovered an unusual mechanism for how two new antimalarial drugs operate: They give the parasite's skin a boost in cholesterol, making it unable to traverse the narrow labyrinths of the human bloodstream.

27 May 2016

Study finds gap in screening for lipid abnormalities among adults taking antipsychotic medications

Too few adults taking antipsychotic medications are being screened for abnormalities in lipids, which include cholesterol and triglycerides, new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus finds.

25 May 2016

Oct4 gene may play significant role in preventing underlying cause of heart attacks, strokes

A gene that scientific dogma insists is inactive in adults actually plays a vital role in preventing the underlying cause of most heart attacks and strokes, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined.

18 May 2016

Scientists clarify molecular mechanism of Visomitin drug

An international team of scientists led by researchers from the Lomonosov Moscow State University succeeded to clarify the molecular mechanism of a drug created in Russia and designed to prevent the damaging of cell mitochondria by reactive oxygen species. This work is published in the journal Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity.

12 May 2016

Researchers discover true Diels-Alder enzyme on the Pacific seabed

Scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Newcastle have uncovered the secret of the 'Mona Lisa of chemical reactions' - in a bacterium that lives at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

12 May 2016

Air-dried silk protein encapsulation can stabilize blood samples for long periods of time

Researchers at Tufts University have stabilized blood samples for long periods of time without refrigeration and at high temperatures by encapsulating them in air-dried silk protein.

11 May 2016

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center receives $8.9 million grant to explore signaling in sphingolipids

The Medical University of South Carolina's Hollings Cancer Center received an $8.9 million grant from the National Cancer Institute designed to foster collaboration across clinical and laboratory research for the study of signaling in sphingolipids, a class of lipids known to be involved in the growth of solid tumor cancers.

10 May 2016

Scientists develop new technology that helps visualize translation of mRNA into proteins

For the first time, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have developed a technology allowing them to "see" single molecules of messenger RNA as they are translated into proteins in living mammalian cells. Initial findings using this technology that may shed light on neurological diseases as well as cancer were published online today in Science.

9 May 2016

LALES study analyzes risk, prevalence of early and late stage AMD among Latinos

The University of Southern California Roski Eye Institute researchers and clinicians published results of the largest population-based study of adult Latinos and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the National Eye Institute-funded "Los Angeles Latino Eye Study." The study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, is the first to analyze the risk and prevalence of early and late stage AMD and its impact on quality of life for older Latinos.

4 May 2016

Controlling cholesterol metabolism could help reduce pancreatic cancer spread

Researchers have shown how controlling cholesterol metabolism in pancreatic cancer cells reduces metastasis, pointing to a potential new treatment using drugs previously developed for atherosclerosis.

4 May 2016

Understanding how individuals respond to aspirin

Researchers have learned new information about how different people respond to aspirin, a globally prescribed drug in cardioprotection. The research team, led by scientists at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom and including representatives from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Colorado, identified more than 5,600 lipids — or fats — in blood platelets and gained new insights into how these cells respond to aspirin.

29 Apr 2016

Probiotic supplements may help treat post-menopausal osteoporosis

Probiotic supplements protected female mice from the loss of bone density that occurs after having their ovaries removed, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia State University have shown.

28 Apr 2016