Category Biology/Biotechnology

ITGB3 (integrin β3) is regulated by the Polycomb protein CBX7 •β3 regulates senescence by activating TGF-β in a paracrine and autocrine fashion •β3 is highly expressed in OIS and induces senescence via ligand-independent pathway •There is a positive correlation between β3 levels and aging in different tissues

A protein has been found to have a previously unknown role in the aging of cells, according to an early study by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The researchers hope that the findings could one day lead to new treatments for aging and early cancer. A number of ‘abnormal’ cells have previously been found in tissues derived from old patients and at the initial stages of cancer...

ATF6 is protective in the heart; it is expressed at high levels in the young heart, and low levels in the aged heart. Gene therapy studies that were done in the Glembotski lab at the SDSU Heart Institute have shown that restoring ATF6 in the aged mouse heart to levels in the young heart provides remarkable protection against heart disease, and could pave the way for development of this therapy for use in humans in the near future. Credit: Chris Glembotski

A protein found in the heart that is known to be involved in cellular stress responses in cancer cells is now believed to play a critical role in the ability of cardiac cells to combat heart disease and recover from a heart attack...

S. J. Olshansky, L. Hayflick. The Role of the WI-38 Cell Strain in Saving Lives and Reducing Morbidity. AIMS Public Health, 2017; 4 (2): 127 DOI: 10.3934/publichealth.2017.2.127 Credit: National Cancer Institute

Nearly 200 million cases of polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, adenovirus, rabies and hepatitis A – and ~450,000 deaths from these diseases – were prevented in the U.S. alone between 1963 and 2015 by vaccination. The study is published in AIMS Public Health. In 1963, vaccination against these infections became widespread, thanks to the development of a human cell strain that allowed vaccines to be produced safely. Globally, the vaccines developed from this strain and its derivatives prevented an ~4.5 billion cases of disease and saved more than 10 million lives.

Author S...

Members of the Jena-Xing Research Group – Debdeep Jena, Moudud Islam, Huili (Grace) Xing, Vladimir Protasenko, Kevin Lee and Shyam Bharadwaj – are pictured in front of one of the molecular beam epitaxy systems used in their latest work. Credit: Image courtesy of Cornell University

The darkest form of UV light, ie UV-C, is unique because of its reputation as a killer – of harmful organisms. With wavelengths of between 200 and 280 nanometers, this particular form of UV light penetrates the membranes of viruses, bacteria, mold and dust mites, attacking their DNA and killing them...