Lipids News and Research

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Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The main biological functions of lipids include energy storage, as structural components of cell membranes, and as important signaling molecules.

Research findings could help develop new drugs to prevent, treat dry eye disease

With computers, smartphones and contact lenses now essential to modern life, many -- one out of every 10 Japanese people -- suffer dry eye disease.

20 Feb 2018

Women with type 1 diabetes not protected against coronary artery disease

Constrictions of the coronary blood vessels is a possible consequence of type 1 diabetes, and one that can eventually lead to myocardial infarction or heart failure.

20 Feb 2018

Study reveals how carbohydrate-restricted diet improves metabolism

New details about how a carbohydrate-restricted diet improves metabolism were revealed in a study published today, which could lead to improved treatments for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

15 Feb 2018

Producing Super-Swelled Lyotropic Monocrystals for Drug Development

An interview with Dr. Cecília Leal, about a new method for producing bicontinuous cubic phases that are super-swollen and exist as monocrystals in solution.

15 Feb 2018

Common ketone supplement may reduce blood sugar in diabetics, suggests study

Consumption of a ketone supplement lowers blood sugar levels and may therefore help diabetics to control spikes in blood sugar, suggests a new study.

14 Feb 2018

Scientists develop new array to identify biomarkers for wide range of diseases

Scientists have developed a way to identify biomarkers for a wide range of diseases by assessing the antibodies we are making to the complex sugars coating our cells.

12 Feb 2018

Cholesterol and other lipids in the blood play role in many diseases

Lipids are fatty molecules that play important signaling and storage roles in the body, but having an excess of some lipids, like cholesterol, is a risk factor for many metabolic diseases.

8 Feb 2018

Endogenous peptide improves glucose and insulin tolerance and reduces body weight in mice

Treating obese mice with catestatin, a peptide naturally occurring in the body, showed significant improvement in glucose and insulin tolerance and reduced body weight, report University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers.

7 Feb 2018

Study sheds light on Salmonella death at low temperatures

The most economical way to kill bacteria that cause common food-borne illnesses -- mostly caused by Salmonella enterica -- is heat, but, the mechanisms that kill Salmonella at lower temperatures were not fully understood until now, according to a team of researchers.

7 Feb 2018

Researchers receive major boost to explore long-standing paradigm in endocrinology

A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside, seeking to upend a long-held theory explaining how hormones freely enter and exit cells, has received a major boost in the form of a $1 million award from the W. M. Keck Foundation.

5 Feb 2018

Findings provide better understanding of cell membrane components

Research conducted by Toyohashi University of Technology in collaboration with Tohoku University elucidated the fusion process of proteoliposomes with an artificial lipid bilayer and the mechanism behind this process.

1 Feb 2018

Elevated levels of chlorinated lipids linked to lung injury and death in sepsis patients

In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, Saint Louis University scientists have found that elevated levels of chlorinated lipids are linked to sepsis, lung injury and death. The finding may offer a way to diagnosis and treat sepsis earlier, saving lives and avoiding serious side effects.

31 Jan 2018

Scientists elucidate surprising dual function of ceramide synthase

Scientists at the University of Bonn have clarified a surprising dual function of ceramide synthase. The enzyme not only catalyzes a central step of the production of vital lipids. It also has the ability to turn genes involved in lipid metabolism on or off. The study is being published in the renowned journal Cell Reports.

24 Jan 2018

Researchers block common siren call of glioblastoma and metastatic breast cancer

Aggressive cancers like glioblastoma and metastatic breast cancer have in common a siren call that beckons the bone marrow to send along whatever the tumors need to survive and thrive.

23 Jan 2018

Chinese researchers develop multifunctional vehicle to transport gene therapeutics

Gene editing is one of the hottest topics in cancer research. A Chinese research team has now developed a gold-nanoparticle-based multifunctional vehicle to transport the "gene scissors" to the tumor cell genome.

22 Jan 2018

Bile acids: A new therapy against obesity

Obesity arises from an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. As a result, current treatments try to decrease calorie intake and/or increase energy expenditure.

17 Jan 2018

Bile acids could directly burn away lipids in the fat depots

The EPFL scientists discovered that bile acids can turn fat-storing cells into fat-burning ones. This process is called thermogenesis (literally, "heat production") and it helps maintain body temperature in cold environments.

16 Jan 2018

Researchers use immune-mimicking biomaterial scaffolds to fast track T cell therapies

Immunologists and oncologists are harnessing the body's immune system to fight cancers and other diseases with adoptive cell transfer techniques. In a normal immune response, a type of white blood cell known as T cells are instructed by another kind of immune cell called an antigen-presenting cell (APC) to expand their numbers and stay alive.

15 Jan 2018

Research sheds new light on genetic, environmental factors that promote prostate cancer metastasis

Prostate tumors tend to be what scientists call "indolent" - so slow-growing and self-contained that many affected men die with prostate cancer, not of it. But for the percentage of men whose prostate tumors metastasize, the disease is invariably fatal.

15 Jan 2018

Unhealthy diet makes the body's defenses more aggressive in the long term

The immune system reacts similarly to a high fat and high-calorie diet as to a bacterial infection. This is shown by a recent study led by the University of Bonn.

11 Jan 2018