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Study shows sex hormones alter the behavior of non-sex organs

In one of the first studies addressing the role of sex hormones' impact on stem cells in the gut, scientists outline new insights showing how a steroidal sex hormone, that is structurally and functionally similar to human steroid hormones, drastically alters the way intestinal stem cells behave, ultimately affecting the overarching structure and function of this critical organ.

10 Jul 2020

Researchers use super-resolution microscopy to study close protein associations

With the advent of super-resolution microscopy, scientists can study close protein associations better than ever before.

10 Jul 2020

TMEM106B gene reveals the causes of neurodegenerative diseases

Across the globe, approximately 50 million people are living with dementia. The two most common forms are Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which develop when neurons in specific parts of the brain stop functioning - triggering memory loss and other behavioral or personality changes.

10 Jul 2020

Metabolomics can help understand the impact of calorie-restricted diets on aging

Changes in a few small molecules involved in a cell's metabolism seem to indicate whether a restricted "life extension" diet will actually extend, shorten, or have no effect on lifespan, a study of fruit flies has found.

10 Jul 2020

Expansion stress promotes immunosuppression and enhances growth of breast cancer cells

Expansion stress can have an alarming impact on breast cancer cells by creating conditions that could lead to dangerous acceleration of the disease, an interdisciplinary team of University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers has found.

10 Jul 2020

CU scientists identify key role of brain's immune cells during development

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have identified how specific brain cells interacting during development could be related to neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including some that occur later in life.

10 Jul 2020

Preventing immune cell reprogramming could be a new way to stop breast cancer metastasis

Natural killer cells, a type of immune cell, are known to limit metastasis by inducing the death of cancer cells. But metastases still form in patients, so there must be ways for cancer cells to escape.

10 Jul 2020

ASC-enriched fat grafts for breast augmentation could produce superior results

Results of a clinical trial released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine indicates that breast augmentation in patients treated with fat grafts enriched with autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) had significantly superior results compared to those treated with non-enriched grafts.

9 Jul 2020

New type of molecular editor can make precise changes in mitochondrial DNA

The genome in mitochondria -- the cell's energy-producing organelles -- is involved in disease and key biological functions, and the ability to precisely alter this DNA would allow scientists to learn more about the effects of these genes and mutations.

9 Jul 2020

Report highlights role of genomics in perpetuating racism and inequality

Genomics is crowding out ways of reducing inequality, has thwarted medicine from advancing justice, and is creating new forms of social classification and surveillance.

9 Jul 2020

Bacteria-induced cell fusion provokes the immune system and causes host cell destruction

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a bacterium in the soil that causes melioidosis, a tropical disease with high morbidity and mortality.

9 Jul 2020

SOAT1 enzyme offers a promising therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer

Researchers from CSHL have discovered that the growth of pancreatic cancer cells can be stopped by disrupting the way cholesterol is stored by the cells.

8 Jul 2020

Integrating metabolomics and genomics to improve patient diagnosis

A patient and family walk into a doctor's office. They hope that the latest tests will reveal what is causing the patient's illness and end the diagnostic odyssey they have been going through for years.

8 Jul 2020

DNA repair tool is tailored to deal with specific type of complex break, study shows

Our cells are constantly dividing, and as they do, the DNA molecule - our genetic code - sometimes gets broken. DNA has twin strands, and a break in both is considered especially dangerous.

7 Jul 2020

BU researchers develop new way to better understand human cell communication

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine have developed and implemented a new way to better understand how human cells communicate with each other, how this communication is disrupted in human diseases and how this can be corrected pharmacologically.

7 Jul 2020

Lessons from early embryo could increase the efficiency of cell reprogramming

Cell reprogramming provides an outstanding opportunity for the artificial generation of stem cells for regenerative medicine approaches in the clinic.

7 Jul 2020

Researchers identify protective antibodies for rare, polio-like disease in children

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have isolated human monoclonal antibodies that potentially can prevent a rare but devastating polio-like illness in children linked to a respiratory viral infection.

6 Jul 2020