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.

Link between cell's energy use and genome health discovered

While studying how a cell keeps its genetic material intact, scientists at Johns Hopkins got busy alternately knocking out two catalysts vital to managing a yeast cell's energy.

21 Jul 2006

New findings on cystic fibrosis-related diabetes

A growing number of cystic fibrosis patients are battling a second, often deadly complication: a unique form of diabetes that shares characteristics of the type 1 and type 2 versions that strike many Americans.

10 Jul 2006

Safe for cystic fibrosis patients to stop using inhaled corticosteroids

In comparison to cystic fibrosis (CF) patients who regularly use inhaled corticosteroid, those who did not use these drugs for six months exhibited no positive or negative effects in terms of major disease factors.

18 Jun 2006

Humans are a cocktail of bacteria and human cells

Gene experts after studying the DNA of hundreds of different kinds of bacteria in the human gut have reached the conclusion that the human race may not be quite as human as we may think.

4 Jun 2006

The ratio of phosphatidylcholine to phosphatidylethanolamine influences membrane integrity and steatohepatitis

An imbalance in the lipid content of the liver appears to trigger the downward spiral that leads some with fatty liver disease to advance to full-blown liver failure, according to a new study in the May Cell Metabolism.

11 May 2006

Ginger shown to zap ovarian cancer cells

Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found in a study that ginger kills cancer cells and has the added benefit of stopping the cells from becoming resistant to treatment.

18 Apr 2006

Specific gene that could be responsible for metabolic diseases

We are all familiar with the dangers of too much fat in our diet--increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are just a few of the most severe consequences.

7 Apr 2006

Transportation of prion protein across the intestinal mucosa of scrapie-susceptible and scrapie-resistant sheep

While newly published research confirms that under laboratory circumstances prion-protein can be absorbed across the gut, it also shows that this is unlikely to occur in real life.

4 Apr 2006

New evidence questions the simple link between prion proteins and vCJD

While newly published research confirms that under laboratory circumstances prion-protein can be absorbed across the gut, it also shows that this is unlikely to occur in real life.

30 Mar 2006

A map of recent positive selection in the human genome

By scanning the entire human genome in search of genetic variations that may signal recent evolution, University of Chicago researchers found more than 700 genetic variants that may be targets of recent natural positive selection during the past 10,000 years of human evolution.

13 Mar 2006

A map of recent positive selection in the human genome

9 Mar 2006

New diabetes form found by Norwegian researchers

A research group in Bergen has discovered a new form of diabetes. In addition to high blood sugar levels, the disease is characterised by a decrease in pancreatic functioning and reduced fat absorption in the intestine. The discovery may have an impact on the treatment of more usual forms of diabetes.

6 Jan 2006

Reduced rates of lung function decline in cystic fibrosis clinical study patients

Although cystic fibrosis patients in clinical trials had more severe illness, worse lung function, a lower weight level and more respiratory infection than non-participants, their involvement in research studies resulted in less lung function decline over a 7-year period.

2 Jan 2006

How protein-enriched meals decrease hunger and reduce eating

Researchers have uncovered new evidence to explain the observation that diets rich in protein stunt the appetite, according to a report in the November Cell Metabolism.

13 Nov 2005

Growth hormone illegal for off-label anti-aging use

Because of 1988 and 1990 amendments to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, off-label distribution or provision of human growth hormone to treat aging or age-associated illnesses is illegal in the United States, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

25 Oct 2005

Significant step forward in the genome era

In what promises to be a significant step forward in the genome era, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) today announced plans to devote a portion of its large-scale sequencing capacity to efforts aimed at identifying the genetic roots of specific diseases that have long eluded gene hunters.

17 Oct 2005