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Repeated cocaine use can increase individual's risk of mood disorders

It is well established that a mood disorder can increase an individual's risk for substance abuse, but there is also evidence that the converse is true; substance abuse can increase a person's vulnerability to stress-related illnesses.

25 Aug 2011

Study finds gender difference in immune responses to PTSD

Men and women had starkly different immune system responses to chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, with men showing no response and women showing a strong response, in two studies by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

27 Apr 2011

Deactivation of CRTC1 protein increases lifespan

Substantial evidence suggests that lifespan is increased if an organism restricts its daily calorie intake, a spartan regime that some say works by just making life seem longer. A team of scientists from the Salk Institute of Biological Studies has discovered a molecular switch flipped by hunger that could not only make longevity more appetizing but identify drug targets for patients with aging-related diseases such as type II diabetes or cancer.

17 Feb 2011

Alzheimer’s research update

Alzheimer’s disease researchers have been working for a while with a small, sticky protein fragment, beta amyloid, that clumps into balls in the brains of patients with this degenerative neurological disease. It is a normal protein that is present in every normal brain but in Alzheimer’s it starts to accumulate into these balls or plaques. On buildup of amyloid symptoms of the disease appear.

13 Dec 2010

Improper biological clocks tend to develop diabetes, obesity: Research

Biologists have found that a key protein that regulates the biological clocks of mammals also regulates glucose production in the liver and that altering the levels of this protein can improve the health of diabetic mice.

20 Sep 2010

MicroRNA-212 plays key role in determining vulnerability to cocaine addiction: Study

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have found that a particular type of genetic material plays a key role in determining vulnerability to cocaine addiction and may offer an entirely new direction for the development of anti-addiction therapies. In animal studies, the scientists found that a molecule called microRNA-212 was increased in the brains of test animals that had extended access to cocaine.

8 Jul 2010

Study examines how dietary restriction and high-caloric diet influence biochemical responses

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine set out to address a question that has been challenging scientists for years: How do dietary restriction-and the reverse, overconsumption-produce protective effects against aging and disease?

23 Nov 2009

Determining the cause for death of photoreceptors could hold the key to stopping blinding disorders

Determining what triggers the death of retinal cells, called photoreceptors, could hold the key to stopping blinding disorders caused by a wide range of eye diseases, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the November journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.

16 Nov 2009

SwitchGear Genomics introduces high-throughput research tools for profiling biological pathway regulation

SwitchGear Genomics, Inc., a leading provider of products for studying regulatory elements in the human genome, today announced the availability of the first cost-effective, high-throughput research tools for screening transcriptional activation and repression in a number of key biological pathways.

14 Oct 2009

Research shows how obesity sets the stage for diabetes

Obesity is probably the most important factor in the development of insulin resistance, but science's understanding of the chain of events is still spotty. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have filled in the gap and identified the missing link between the two.

22 Jun 2009

Common gene variant linked to development of prostate cancer

Researchers have described how a common genetic variation may be involved in the development of prostate cancer.

22 Apr 2009

Scientists detect molecular obesity link to insulin resistance, type II diabetes

A molecular switch found in the fat tissue of obese mice is a critical factor in the development of insulin resistance, report scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

2 Apr 2009

Drugs that act on 'fasting signal' may curb insulin resistance in obese

A report in the March issue of Cell Metabolism , a Cell Press publication, has found that a signal known to play a role during fasting also switches on early in the fat tissue of obese mice as they progress toward type 2 diabetes.

2 Apr 2009

Molecular switch linked to obesity, insulin resistance, type II diabetes

A molecular switch found in the fat tissue of obese mice is a critical factor in the development of insulin resistance, report scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

3 Mar 2009

Drugs that act on 'fasting signal' may curb insulin resistance in obese

3 Mar 2009

HDAC inhibitors show potential as therapeutic agents in treating alcoholism

Reshaping of the DNA scaffolding that supports and controls the expression of genes in the brain may play a major role in the alcohol withdrawal symptoms, particularly anxiety, that make it so difficult for alcoholics to stop using alcohol.

3 Apr 2008

Scientists shed light on long-distance signaling in developing neurons

A longstanding puzzle in neurodevelopment may have yielded up a key secret.

20 Feb 2008

New key finding in neurodevelopment

A longstanding puzzle in neurodevelopment may have yielded up a key secret. A team led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College says they have determined how events at the very tips of the developing neuron's long, skinny axon affect gene transcription back in the cell's distant nucleus.

20 Feb 2008

New pathway for inflammation-induced cancer

A well-known inflammatory protein spawns an enzyme that inactivates two tumor-suppressing genes, ultimately triggering production of new blood vessels to nourish breast cancer cells, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the August edition of the journal Cell .

11 Aug 2007

Plumber protein uses different tools to turn on genes

St. Jude investigators have discovered how a single molecular "on switch" triggers gene activity that might cause effects ranging from learning and memory capabilities to glucose production in the liver.

18 Jul 2007