Category Biology/Biotechnology

Natural Barometer Inside Cells Helps Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure. University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have determined the location of natural blood-pressure barometers inside our bodies that have eluded scientists for more than 60 years.

These cellular sensors detect subtle changes in blood pressure and adjust hormone levels to keep it in check. Scientists have long suspected that these barometers, or “baroreceptors,” existed in specialized kidney cells called renin cells, but no one has been able to locate the baroreceptors until now.

The new findings, from ...

A study suggests that we fixate slightly away from the retinal optimum to see better. When we fixate an object, its image does not appear at the place where photoreceptors are packed most densely. Instead, its position is shifted slightly nasally and upwards from the cellular peak. This is shown in a recent study conducted at the University of Bonn (Germany), published in the journal Current Biology. The researchers observed such offsets in both eyes of 20 healthy subjects, and speculate that the underlying fixation behavior improves overall vision.

We like to think of the eye as a camera, but the analogy falls short if we look at the distribution of light sensitive cells — phot...

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have added to evidence that the compound farnesol, found naturally in herbs, and berries and other fruits, prevents and reverses brain damage linked to Parkinson’s disease in mouse studies.

The compound, used in flavorings and perfume-making, can prevent the loss of neurons that produce dopamine in the brains of mice by deactivating PARIS, a key protein involved in the disease’s progression. Loss of such neurons affects movement and cognition, leading to hallmark symptoms of Parkinson’s disease such as tremors, muscle rigidity, confusion and dementia. Farnesol’s ability to block PARIS, say the researchers, could guide development of new Parkinson’s disease interventions that specifically target this protein.

“Our experiments showed tha...

The body’s ability to prevent food poisoning by producing a natural antimicrobial compound increases during the day, when exposure to noxious bacteria is most likely, a new study by UT Southwestern scientists suggests. The findings, published online in Cell, could eventually lead to timed therapies and vaccination regimens designed to maximize this immune response.

“This study shows that our immune systems are not turned on all the time, which is an unexpected result,” says study leader John F. Brooks II, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Lora Hooper, Ph.D., study co-leader and professor of immunology and microbiology at UTSW. “Our findings suggest that there are peak times in which the body is more primed to fight infections.”

Researchers have long known that vi...