Category Biology/Biotechnology

A Rutgers-led team may have found the key to treating inflammatory diseases like asthma, allergies, chronic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

In a study published in the journal Nature Immunology, researchers discovered that neuromedin B (NMB), a protein produced by the nervous system, was responsible for preventing overactive immune responses and damaging inflammation. An immune response refers to the body’s ability to recognize and defend itself against harmful substances. Although beneficial to help clear infections, an immune response can also promote damaging inflammation if not properly restricted...

Doctors can predict patients’ risk for ischemic stroke based on the severity of their metabolic syndrome, a conglomeration of conditions that includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels and excess body fat around the abdomen and waist, a new study finds.

The study found that stroke risk increased consistently with metabolic syndrome severity even in patients without diabetes. Doctors can use this information — and a scoring tool developed by a UVA Children’s pediatrician and his collaborator at the University of Florida — to identify patients at risk and help them reduce that risk.

“We had previously shown that the severity of metabolic syndrome was linked to future coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes,” said UVA’s Mark DeBoer, MD...

Blocking the activity of a fat-regulating enzyme in the muscles of mice leads to an increased capacity for endurance exercise, according to the results of a new study. Sugars and fats are the primary fuels that power every cell, tissue and organ. For most cells, sugar is the energy source of choice, but when nutrients are scarce, such as during starvation or extreme exertion, cells will switch to breaking down fats instead.

The mechanisms for how cells rewire their metabolism in response to changes in resource availability are not yet fully understood, but new research reveals a surprising consequence when one such mechanism is turned off: an increased capacity for endurance (exercise.

In a study published in the Aug...

In a mouse study, researchers have found that an antibody that targets the protein TREM2 empowers tumor-destroying immune cells and improves the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment by stimulating the patient’s own immune system to attack cancer cells, yielding remarkably quick and complete remission in some cases...