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Aberrant protein prevents self-cleaning of nerve cells in ALS

Scientists have discovered that TDP-43 interferes with lysosomal pathways responsible for its clearance and induces autophagy in ALS.

12 Apr 2018

UCLA researchers tweak CRISPR to accelerate genomic editing

The powerful gene-editing tool, CRISPR, has revolutionized research by allowing scientists to snip and patch DNA with remarkable precision. But tracking the impact of these changes on gene function can be time-consuming. Researchers currently analyze each edit one at a time, a process that can take weeks.

9 Apr 2018

Sulfur amino acid restriction consistently demonstrates range of health benefits in animals

The longevity and health improvements seen in animals on sulfur amino acid-restricted diets could translate to people, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers who recently conducted a review of published studies. More research is needed to confirm the benefits in people, the scientists said.

4 Apr 2018

Older Americans are hooked on vitamins despite scarce evidence they work

When she was a young physician, Dr. Martha Gulati noticed that many of her mentors were prescribing vitamin E and folic acid to patients. Preliminary studies in the early 1990s had linked both supplements to a lower risk of heart disease.

4 Apr 2018

Leading experts to promote cardiovascular health at EuroPrevent 2018

The impact of nutrition and lifestyle on cardiovascular health will be key elements discussed by health professionals during EuroPrevent 2018 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in April. EuroPrevent is the annual congress of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology, a branch of the European Society of Cardiology.

23 Mar 2018

Researchers uncover cause of rare childhood neurodegenerative disease

Neurology researchers investigating a rare but devastating neurological regression in infants have discovered the cause: gene mutations that severely disrupt crucial functions in mitochondria, the energy-producing structures within cells.

23 Mar 2018

New study identifies key cellular mechanisms behind vascular aging in mice

We are as old as our arteries, the adage goes, so could reversing the aging of blood vessels hold the key to restoring youthful vitality? The answer appears to be yes, at least in mice, according to a new study led by investigators at Harvard Medical School.

22 Mar 2018

Researchers delineate architecture of nuclear pore complex in yeast cells

Like an island nation, the nucleus of a cell has a transportation problem. Evolution has enclosed it with a double membrane, the nuclear envelope, which protects DNA but also cuts it off from the rest of the cell. Nature's solution is a massive--by molecular standards--cylindrical configuration known as the nuclear pore complex, through which imports and exports travel, connecting the bulk of the cell with its headquarters.

16 Mar 2018

Researchers produce complete 3D structure for yeast Nuclear Pore Complex

For the first time, researchers have produced a nearly complete three-dimensional structure for the yeast Nuclear Pore Complex. This discovery represents a major step toward identifying the atomic structure of the NPC, which soon may provide researchers with a better understanding of how the central transport channel functions.

15 Mar 2018

NIH-funded researchers use CRISPR to rapidly find new genetic suspects behind ALS, FTD

NIH-funded researchers at Stanford University used the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to rapidly identify genes in the human genome that might modify the severity of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia caused by mutations in a gene called C9orf72.

13 Mar 2018

Researchers aim to decipher molecular architecture of microtubule-organizing centers

Cell division is an intricately choreographed ballet of proteins and molecules that divide the cell. During mitosis, microtubule-organizing centers assemble the spindle fibers that separate the copying chromosomes of DNA.

20 Feb 2018

Hints to aging lurk in fruit flies’ germline stem cells

Little hints of immortality are lurking in the stem cells of fruit flies. Stem cells that produce sperm use a genetic trick to stay perpetually young across generations, researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute have discovered. Certain sections of the fruit fly genome get shorter with age. But remarkably, some reproductive cells can repair the shrinkage, the researchers report in the journal eLife.

13 Feb 2018

Could a rare, deadly ‘superbug’ fungus be gaining a foothold?

The number of U.S. patients infected with a rare but dangerous fungal "superbug" called Candida auris has climbed quickly to 200 as of Dec. 31, according to the latest figures from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

12 Feb 2018

New blood test offers quick, accurate diagnosis of deadly yeast infection

A new blood test seems to perform as well as, if not better than, traditional blood cultures at detecting a type of fungal yeast infection that commonly strikes hospital patients, according to an analysis led by UPMC.

8 Feb 2018

Researchers report technical advances in production of HIV vaccines

Research on HIV over the past decade has led to many promising ideas for vaccines to prevent infection by the AIDS virus, but very few candidate vaccines have been tested in clinical trials.

6 Feb 2018

Ribosomes found to be cause of somatic cell pluripotency

In 2012, a Japanese research group discovered that human skin cells acquire pluripotency when introduced to lactic acid bacteria. Now, the same group of researchers have found that the cause of somatic cell conversion into pluripotent stem cells is the ribosome, a protein synthesizing cellular organelle.

5 Feb 2018

Researchers discover specific taste neurons necessary for protein craving in fruit flies

A team of neuroscientists from the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, in Lisbon, Portugal, has discovered that were it not for specific taste neurons located in the fruit fly's proboscis (the equivalent of our tongue), the fly would not develop a craving for protein even when in excruciating need of it.

5 Feb 2018

Viral replication process weak spot may help develop cure for infections

Researchers at the Morgridge Institute for Research believe they have identified a weak spot in the replication process of positive-strand RNA viruses, which could yield treatment for viral infections such as Zika, Polio, Chikungunya, Hepatitis C and even common cold viruses.

29 Jan 2018

Scientists discover promising new target to fight a class of viruses

Scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research have discovered a promising new target to fight a class of viruses responsible for health threats such as Zika, polio, dengue, SARS and hepatitis C.

25 Jan 2018

Novel antifungal shows promise to stave off drug-resistant superbugs

Microscopic yeast have been wreaking havoc in hospitals around the world- creeping into catheters, ventilator tubes, and IV lines- and causing deadly invasive infection.

11 Jan 2018