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Study sheds new light on neurobiological processes that control drug-related adaptations

The lab of Jeremy Day, Ph.D., at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has used single-nucleus RNA sequencing approaches to compare transcriptional responses to acute cocaine in 16 unique cell populations from a portion of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, or NAc.

10 Jul 2020

UNM study sheds new light on transition of fear to anxiety

A deadly coronavirus pandemic, economic instability and civil unrest menace the mental well-being of millions.

9 Jul 2020

Study sheds new light on protein movement

Many of the most promising medicines under development are proteins, often antibodies, to help patients fight disease. These proteins must be purified as part of the manufacturing process - a task that can be tricky and result in costly waste.

8 Jul 2020

DNA resection pathways are highly specific, shows study

Our cells are constantly dividing, and as they do, the DNA molecule - our genetic code - sometimes gets broken. DNA has twin strands, and a break in both is considered especially dangerous.

7 Jul 2020

Cell 'membrane on a chip' could help test potential drug candidates for COVID-19

Researchers have developed a human cell 'membrane on a chip' that allows continuous monitoring of how drugs and infectious agents interact with our cells, and may soon be used to test potential drug candidates for COVID-19.

6 Jul 2020

GIRK channel activator can provide potential treatments for brain disorders

Potassium channels play an important role in controlling the electrical activity of neurons in the brain.

1 Jul 2020

Researchers track brain receptor as it transmits or inhibits neural signals

For the first time, researchers in the lab of CSHL Professor Hiro Furukawa have been able to track each atom in the NMDA receptor, an important brain protein, as it transmits or inhibits neural signals. Critical for brain development and function, the receptor converts chemical messages between cells into electrical signals within a neuron.

30 Jun 2020

Scientists discover osmotic stress as stimulator of cellular waste disposal

Cellular waste disposal, where autophagy and lysosomes interact, performs elementary functions, such as degrading damaged protein molecules, which impair cellular function, and reintroducing the resulting building blocks such as amino acids into the metabolic system.

29 Jun 2020

Researchers identify a novel mutation through whole-exome sequencing

Long QT syndrome (LQTS), caused by an ion channel-related gene mutation, is a malignant heart disease with a clinical course of a high incidence of ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death in the young.

27 Jun 2020

PrecisionLife scientists identify 68 genes linked to severe COVID-19 risk

PrecisionLife’s unique AI platform has found 68 genes associated with risk of developing severe COVID-19 after analysis of the genomes of 929 patients from the UK Biobank who had a severe response to SARS-CoV-2.

26 Jun 2020

Researchers identify mouse model that mimics HFpEF syndrome in humans

A receptor that plays an essential role in safely clearing chronic unresolved cardiac inflammation may offer new targets for treating an increasing type of heart failure associated with age-related obesity, suggests a preclinical study led by researchers at the University of South Florida Health Heart Institute, Morsani College of Medicine.

22 Jun 2020

Mutations linked to intellectual disability, epileptic seizures affect ion channel's function

Two mutations identified in individuals with developmental and epileptic brain disease can be traced back to the same ion channel.

18 Jun 2020

Study reports structure of enzyme activator for high pathogenic avian influenza

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), causing the current pandemic of COVID-19, is the focus of many investigators seeking to find an effective vaccine or therapeutic. Among the potential targets are various protease enzymes suspected of allowing the virus to gain entry to host cells and establish a successful infection.

16 Jun 2020

Genetic marker may predispose African Americans to cardiac complications from COVID-19

Nearly one out of every 10 African Americans has a genetic variant that puts them inherently at an increased risk for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

15 Jun 2020

Study reveals novel mechanism that triggers a cell-mediated immune response

Viruses and other disease-causing microbes influence the type of immune response their hosts will develop against them. In some cases, the predominant response involves antibodies, proteins made by the immune system that specifically recognize parts of the invading microbe and mediate its destruction.

11 Jun 2020

Advancements in the Optimization of Medical Accelerators

Radiotherapy is a way of treating cancer by means of radiation. In principle, that can be all different types of radiation. The commonly known types are X-rays or electron beams, which find very widespread application.

11 Jun 2020

Chemotherapy and cancer join together to cause neuropathy

Contrary to common medical guidance, chemotherapy does not appear to be the only culprit in neuropathy, a neurological side effect of cancer treatment, a new study says. Cancer itself contributes heavily, too, and the stresses on neurons appear far worse than the sum of the two causes.

8 Jun 2020

Tanycytes in the brain play an active role in increasing appetite

Tanycytes are glial cells, which communicate with neurons in the brain to inform it of what we have eaten. Researchers from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick have found when tanycytes are selectively stimulated appetite was increased.

8 Jun 2020

Study may pave for new therapeutic approaches for Parkinson's disease

Researchers have uncovered a link between the structure of the protein alpha-synuclein and its likelihood to misfold and aggregate.

5 Jun 2020

JGU professor wins Exploration Grant for research into membrane proteins of parasites

So-called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) cause great suffering in some of the world's poorest countries and can lead also to significant economic losses due to, for example, the infestation of animal herds.

4 Jun 2020