Category Biology/Biotechnology

This is opportunistic fungus called candida albicans (red) engulfed by CX3CR1+ phagocytes (green) in the gut villi (blue). Credit: Dr. Iliyan Iliev and Dr. Irina Leonardi

Immune cells that process food and bacterial antigens in the intestines control the intestinal population of fungi, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine scientists. Defects in the fungus-fighting abilities of these cells may contribute to some cases of Crohn’s disease and other forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

“After discovering that fungi might be involved in the pathology of IBD, one of the big questions in the field has been how to identify patients who would benefit from antifungal co-therapy, and our finding suggests a way to do that,” said Dr...

A stained cross section of the new muscle fibers. The red cells are muscle cells, the green areas are receptors for neuronal input, and the blue patches are cell nuclei. Credit: Image courtesy of Duke University

First functioning human muscle grown from induced pluripotent stem cells holds promise for cellular therapies, drug discovery and studying rare diseases. The advance builds on work published in 2015 when researchers at Duke University grew the first functioning human muscle tissue from cells obtained from muscle biopsies...

Adjusted relative risk ratios (RRR) and 95% confidence intervals for the association between prostate cancer incidence and the scores of adherence to Western, Prudent, and Mediterranean dietary patterns in MCC-Spain study by tumor aggressiveness and extension. Credit: The Journal of Urology

New study in The Journal of Urology® finds that a high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains might not be enough. Men who followed a Mediterranean diet, rich in fish, boiled potatoes, whole fruits, vegetables, legumes, and olive oil, and low consumption of juices had lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer (PC) than those who followed other dietary patterns like Prudent or Western diets.

Although PC is the most common type of cancer in men and can have a high mortality rate, evidence linking ...

2 non-biological cycles—HKG cycle and malonate cycle—could have come together to kick-start a crude version of the citric acid cycle. Image courtesy Greg Springsteen and Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy.

TSRI chemists have developed a fascinating new theory for how life on Earth may have begun. Their experiments demonstrate that key chemical reactions that support life today could have been carried out with ingredients likely present on Earth 4 billion years ago. “This was a black box for us,” said Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, PhD, associate professor of chemistry at TSRI and senior author of the new study. “But if you focus on the chemistry, the questions of origins of life become less daunting.”

For the new study, Krishnamurthy and this team focused on the citric acid cycle...