Mitochondria News and Research

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Synthetic compound targets enzyme that supports survival and dissemination of metastatic cells

Cancer can most often be successfully treated when confined to one organ. But a greater challenge lies in treating cancer that has metastasized, or spread, from the primary tumor throughout the patient's body.

17 Oct 2017

Researchers identify strategies to mitigate disturbed axonal transport in ALS patients

A team of researchers at VIB and KU Leuven used stem cell technology to generate motor neurons from ALS patients carrying mutations in FUS. They found disturbed axonal transport in these motor neurons, but also identified genetic and pharmacological strategies that mitigate this defect.

17 Oct 2017

Study helps understand basic mechanisms of mitochondrial DNA maintenance

Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have discovered a novel mechanism safeguarding mitochondrial DNA. The study, published in PNAS earlier this week, was carried out in close collaboration with research groups from CBMSO in Madrid, Spain, and Umeå University in Sweden.

13 Oct 2017

USC discovery may one day lead to new therapies for liver cancer

A Keck School of Medicine of USC research team has identified how cancer stem cells survive. This finding may one day lead to new therapies for liver cancer, one of the few cancers in the United States with an incidence rate that continues to balloon.

12 Oct 2017

Mitochondrial DNA copy number appears to be predictive of sudden cardiac death, heart attacks

Johns Hopkins researchers report that the level, or "copy number," of mitochondrial DNA--genetic information stored not in a cell's nucleus but in the body's energy-creating mitochondria--is a novel and distinct biomarker that is able to predict the risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths a decade or more before they happen.

11 Oct 2017

Menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that may increase Alzheimer's risk

Menopause causes metabolic changes in the brain that may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a team from Weill Cornell Medicine and the University of Arizona Health Sciences has shown in new research.

10 Oct 2017

Newly discovered compound causes cancer cell death, whilst sparing healthy cells

Researchers have discovered a compound that can trigger cancer cells to self-destruct, without causing any damage to healthy cells.

10 Oct 2017

New treatment approach makes cancer cells commit suicide while sparing healthy cells

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have discovered the first compound that directly makes cancer cells commit suicide while sparing healthy cells.

9 Oct 2017

Research explains why mTOR inhibitors show limited ability to kill cancer

Anti-cancer drugs called mTOR inhibitors slow the growth of cancer cells but show limited ability to cause cancer cell death. New studies explain why.

6 Oct 2017

New research uncovers how blood cancer 'steals' parts of bone marrow cells to thrive

New research published today uncovers how the blood cancer 'steals' parts of surrounding healthy bone marrow cells to thrive, in work that could help form new approaches to cancer treatment in the future.

5 Oct 2017

Medical treatment against diabetes reduces Parkinson’s disease risk

A Norwegian study shows that the taking of diabetes medicine reduces the risk of getting Parkinson´s disease.

25 Sep 2017

Researchers identify new genetic test to help predict cancer recurrence

Researchers have discovered a new genetic test which could help predict cancer recurrence - paving the way for more precise, personalized treatments.

21 Sep 2017

New device can monitor mitochondria in the heart to predict cardiac arrest

A new device can assess in real time whether the body's tissues are receiving enough oxygen and, placed on the heart, can predict cardiac arrest in critically ill heart patients, report researchers at Boston Children's Hospital and scientists from Cambridge device maker Pendar Technologies.

21 Sep 2017

Scientists find a way to convert “bad body fat” to “good fat”

Researchers have found that the unhealthy fat in the body called “white fat” could be converted to a healthier fat by blocking a special protein. This could help fight the obesity epidemic they speculate. The report was published in the journal Cell Reports.

19 Sep 2017

A skin patch to get rid of those love handles

Researchers from the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and the University of North Carolina have managed to devise a microneedle skin patch that could locally treat both obesity and diabetes. As of now it has been used to treat mice in the laboratory and shown promising results.

17 Sep 2017

Researchers find signaling pathway in cells that plays key role in development of fatty liver disease

Morbid obesity affects the liver: Almost one-third of all adults suffer from chronic fatty liver disease, which can lead to infections and even trigger cancer. Researchers at the University Children's Hospital Zurich and the University of Zurich have now found a signaling pathway in cells that play an important role in the development of fatty liver disease.

7 Sep 2017

Study sheds light on virulence strategy of intracellular bacteria that cause legionellosis

Intracellular pathogens adopt various strategies to circumvent the defences of the host cell and to proliferate intracellularly. One specific strategy is to target host organelles like the mitochondria. Mitochondria are well-defined cytoplasmic organelles, which take part in a variety of cellular metabolic functions.