Mitochondria News and Research

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New drug kills tumor cells by triggering a deadly calcium storm

Calcium ions are essential for cells, but can be toxic in higher concentrations. A team of researchers has now designed and prepared a combination drug that kills tumor cells by modulating the calcium influx into the cell.

30 Jan 2024

Scientists reveal direct link between mitochondrial DNA mutations and cancer treatment response

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists have made an unusual discovery that could help to identify patients who are up to two and a half times more likely to respond to currently available cancer drugs.

29 Jan 2024

Study sheds new light on how obesity affects fat cells' mitochondria

The number of people with obesity has nearly tripled since 1975, resulting in a worldwide epidemic. While lifestyle factors like diet and exercise play a role in the development and progression of obesity, scientists have come to understand that obesity is also associated with intrinsic metabolic abnormalities.

29 Jan 2024

Groundbreaking technology shows immense potential for treating ischemic retinopathy

A groundbreaking technology with immense potential in treating ischemic retinopathy in premature infants and diabetic patients has been developed by Professor Byoung Heon Kang and his research team in the Department of Biological Sciences at UNIST, in collaboration with Professor Dong Ho Park's team at Kyungpook National University Hospital. Ischemic retinopathy, characterized by the breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier and abnormal blood vessel growth, often leads to vision impairment and loss.

24 Jan 2024

Researchers uncover a gene that causes heart defects in Down syndrome

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL have identified a gene that causes heart defects in Down syndrome, a condition that results from an additional copy of chromosome 21.

24 Jan 2024

Bladder and gut fermentation syndromes: Uncommon disorders with significant implications

Study reviews bladder fermentation syndrome (BFS) and gut fermentation syndrome (GFS), highlighting their etiology, diagnosis, and treatment, and emphasizing the importance of recognizing these conditions to avoid misinterpretation in abstinence monitoring.

23 Jan 2024

Cancer drug holds promise for shrinking polycystic kidney cysts

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), the most common form of polycystic kidney disease, can lead to kidney enlargement and eventual loss of function.

22 Jan 2024

Aerobic exercise could help combat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

According to a study conducted on animal models and published in the journal Metabolism, aerobic exercise could help fight the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common liver disease worldwide: it affects nearly 24% of the global population and it usually causes a certain stigma among the affected people.

22 Jan 2024

ALS progression linked to mitochondria-associated membrane-ER disconnection

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have discovered a relationship between the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and the disruption of mitochondria-associated membranes (MAM), the contact point between the mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the cell.

17 Jan 2024

$2.8M grant targets copper's role in deadly kidney cancer

Copper is an essential trace element required to produce energy in the body and allows humans to live in our atmosphere.

17 Jan 2024

Uncovering the role of ER-mitochondria connections in muscle atrophy

The loss of muscle mass, or muscle atrophy, is a relatively common condition in today's aging and increasingly sedentary societies.

12 Jan 2024

Study sheds light on how impaired autophagy can play a role in causing heart failure

A new study sheds light on how autophagy, the body's process for removing damaged cell parts, when impaired, can play a role in causing heart failure.

11 Jan 2024

Study identifies mitochondrial dysfunction as cause of long-COVID fatigue

Researchers from Amsterdam UMC and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) have discovered that the persistent fatigue in patients with long-COVID has a biological cause, namely mitochondria in muscle cells that produce less energy than in healthy patients.

4 Jan 2024

Study finds previously unidentified genetic mutation in a small protein provides significant protection against Parkinson’s disease

Researchers explored the effects of a small humanin-like peptide 2 (SHLP2) variant on mitochondrial function.

4 Jan 2024

Previously unidentified protein variant shields against Parkinson's disease

A previously unidentified genetic mutation in a small protein provides significant protection against Parkinson's disease and offers a new direction for exploring potential treatments, according to a new USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology study.

2 Jan 2024

A protein identified as key player in keeping cells tidy

Just as healthy organs are vital to our well-being, healthy organelles are vital to the proper functioning of the cell.

2 Jan 2024

Shedding new light on the hidden organization of the cytoplasm

Back in 2018, the lab of Christine Mayr, MD, PhD, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) introduced the world to a key cellular component that had been hiding in plain sight.

21 Dec 2023

New study pinpoints mitochondria as key player in dietary fat-cancer connection

The research study is entitled "The Central Role of Mitochondria in the Relationship between Dietary Lipids and Cancer Progression". It revealed new findings on the factors that influence the development of diseases, such as the particularly interesting relationship between dietary fats and the development of cancer.

20 Dec 2023

New mechanism that regulates dietary lipid processing by the intestine revealed

The maintenance of a balanced lipid homeostasis is critical for our health. While consumption of excessive amounts of fatty foods contributes to metabolic diseases such as obesity and atherosclerosis, fat is an indispensable component of our diet.

20 Dec 2023

Decoding the genome of world's biggest bacteria

Not all bacteria are created equal. Most are single-celled and tiny, a few ten-thousandths of a centimeter long. But bacteria of the Epulopiscium family are large enough to be seen with the naked eye and 1 million times the volume of their better-known cousins, E. coli.

18 Dec 2023