Digestion News and Research

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Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be absorbed, for instance, into a blood stream. Digestion is a form of catabolism; a break-down of macro food molecules to smaller ones.

Expert offers tips to lose weight

It happens every year, millions of Americans make resolutions to lose weight. Most persons end that pledge after the first few weeks of the New Year but experts at My Weight Doctor® say it may be that people are trying too hard to make quick changes. The experts say that making small, gradual changes to boost your metabolism will lead to better habits.

4 Jan 2012

Scottsdale resident donates $1 million to TGen pancreatic cancer initiative

A son's passion to find a cure for the cancer that claimed the life of his mother has led to a new series of clinical trials under a Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) initiative to find a cure for pancreatic cancer.

2 Dec 2011

Dendritic cells play a novel protective role in pancreas

NYU Langone Medical Center researchers have discovered the novel protective role dendritic cells play in the pancreas. The new study, published in the November issue of journal Gastroenterology, shows dendritic cells can safeguard the pancreas against acute pancreatitis, a sudden dangerous swelling and inflammation of the pancreas gland.

23 Nov 2011

Holiday health tips for cancer survivors

Surviving the holidays with one's waistline, bank account and sanity intact can be challenging for everyone, but the season affords specific pitfalls - and opportunities - for cancer survivors who are mindful of staying healthy throughout the season and beyond.

23 Nov 2011

WSU receives NHLBI grant to develop new CF treatments

A Wayne State University research team led by Fei Sun, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology in the School of Medicine, recently received a grant with an anticipated amount of nearly $1.9 million from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to better understand how this defective protein in cystic fibrosis patients is prematurely digested.

22 Nov 2011

Cancer cells tap into natural recycling system to obtain energy

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that cancer cells tap into a natural recycling system to obtain the energy they need to keep dividing. In a study with potential implications for cancer treatments, Einstein researchers used genetic manipulation to turn off this recycling system within the walls of cells and stop both tumor growth and metastasis.

17 Nov 2011

Midatech receives Swissmedic approval to start trial of insulin-coated gold nanoparticle

Midatech Ltd., a global leader in the design, development, synthesis and manufacture of nanomedicines, announced today it has received Swissmedic approval to start the First-in-Human clinical trial with insulin-coated gold nanoparticles, which will be coordinated through its Swiss subsidiary PharMida AG.

15 Nov 2011

Transgenomic and A. Menarini Diagnostics enter distribution agreement for mutation detection systems

Transgenomic, Inc. and A. Menarini Diagnostics today announced an exclusive distribution agreement for Transgenomic's SURVEYOR Scan and WAVE MCE (Micro-Capillary Electrophoresis) Mutation Detection system to its network of over 2,000 pathologists throughout Europe.

7 Nov 2011

Researchers discover key mechanism responsible for degrading ubiquitinated protein aggregates

Researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI) have discovered a key mechanism responsible for selectively degrading aggregates of ubiquitinated proteins from the cell.

7 Nov 2011

Python heart holds surprises that could be of use in cardiology

The expanding hearts of pythons have intrigued researchers. Leslie Leinwand - a University of Colorado at Boulder molecular biologist who studies heart disease in humans called pythons’ expanding hearts “amazing biology”. “They're not swelling up. They're building (heart) muscle,” he said.

30 Oct 2011

Potential avenue to make an unhealthy heart grow more like a healthy version

Identification of three fatty acids involved in the extreme growth of Burmese pythons' hearts following large meals could prove beneficial in treating diseased human hearts, according to research co-authored by a University of Alabama scientist and publishing in the Oct. 28 issue of Science.

28 Oct 2011

CINJ experts available to discuss risk factors of pancreatic cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cancer killer in the country, with nearly 44,000 new cases expected in 2011 and more than 37,600 deaths by year's end. In New Jersey alone, an estimated 1,100 deaths are predicted this year due to the disease. The death of Steve Jobs, who suffered from a form of pancreatic cancer, has brought increased attention to the disease in recent weeks.

28 Oct 2011

Beneficial intestinal bacteria can activate immune cells and trigger MS

Multiple sclerosis is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. For a long time, pathogens were believed to be such external influences. According to scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried, however, it is apparently not harmful bacteria that trigger multiple sclerosis, but beneficial ones - specifically, the natural intestinal flora, which every human being needs for digestion.

28 Oct 2011

Researchers identify 42 genetic regions associated with liver function

Researchers have identified a large number of areas in the human genetic code that are involved in regulating the way in which the liver functions, in a new study of over 61,000 people, published today in the journal Nature Genetics.

18 Oct 2011

Applied Biomics adds iTRAQ service to its proteomics line

Applied Biomics, Inc., a leading Proteomics service provider, is pleased to announce the addition of iTRAQ service (Isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantitation) to its proteomics line.

28 Sep 2011

Low vitamin B12 raises risk of dementia in the elderly: Study

According to a latest study the elderly with low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood may be more likely to develop problems with their thinking skills and have more brain shrinkage. The study points to a link between low B12 and early cognitive decline, a condition that often leads to dementia. Previous research has found that those people with high levels of vitamin B12 in their blood have lower levels of an amino acid called homocysteine, which some studies have linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, memory loss, and stroke.

27 Sep 2011

Combination of lunasin and oxaliplatin prevents colon cancer from metastasis

A University of Illinois study reports a promising new weapon in treating metastatic colon cancer, particularly in patients who have developed resistance to chemotherapy.

20 Sep 2011

NTNU genetic research shows best recipe to limit risk of lifestyle-related diseases

What should we eat? Answers abound in the international media, all of which rely on their interpretation of recent medical literature to come up with recommendations for the healthiest diet. But what if you could answer this question at a molecular level - what if you could find out how our genes respond to the foods we eat, and what this does to the cellular processes that make us healthy - or not? That's precisely what biologists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have done.

19 Sep 2011

Study reveals altered digestive genes in children with autism and gastrointestinal disturbances

Researchers at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and at the Harvard Medical School report that children with autism and gastrointestinal disturbances have altered expression of genes involved in digestion. These variations may contribute to changes in the types of bacteria in their intestines.

17 Sep 2011

Autophagy also mobilizes and exports cholesterol from cells

Researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) have discovered that an ancient pathway called autophagy also mobilizes and exports cholesterol from cells.

9 Sep 2011