Category Biology/Biotechnology

Regular aerobic exercise may protect the collateral circulation and lessen the severity of strokes later in life.

The network of blood vessels (collateral circulation) shrinks in number and diameter as the brain ages. Collateral circulation allows blood flow to be rerouted when arteries narrow. Using mice, researchers found that this loss of collateral vessels is prevented by exercise, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s International Stroke Conference 2017.

The amount of damage to the brain after a stroke and the effectiveness of recovery treatments depend significantly on the extent of collateral circulation.

Mice that started exercising regularly at 12 months-age (equivalent to 40 years-age in humans) had the same abundance of collateral vessels when they ...

Inhaled, prophylactic resveratrol treatments can slow the rate of lung function decline, alveolar enlargement and alveolar epithelial type 2 cell DNA damage

For the 1st time inhaled resveratrol was shown to slow aging-related degenerative changes in mouse lung. Lung aging, characterized by airspace enlargement and decreasing lung function, is a significant risk factor for chronic human lung diseases. The study is published online in the journal Thorax. Resveratrol (RSL), a chemical found in red wine, is an antimicrobial chemical substance produced by plants to protect against infection and stress-related changes. It has previously been shown to support muscle metabolism when given orally.

RSL prophylaxis by inhalation was a novel measure taken by the research team as a potential approach f...

Rosiglitazone

An anti-diabetic drug can inhibit the growth of melanoma in older patients by activating an anti-aging gene that in turn inhibits a protein involved in metastatic progression and resistance to targeted therapies for the disease. Even more than other types of cancer, melanoma is a disease of aging, with older patients more frequently diagnosed with the disease and having a worse prognosis. Targeted therapies have brought benefits in terms of overall survival compared to chemotherapy but they are limited by intrinsic or acquired resistance.

Wistar scientists have previously shown that age-related changes in the tumor microenvironment – or the surrounding area where tumor cells crosstalk with normal and immune cells – can drive melanoma progression and therapy resistance...

Craig Chandler | University Communication Yang holds a piece of the atomic force microscope used to measure the beetle’s surface. A small wire can barely be seen in the middle of the piece. Unseen is a two-nano-size probe attached to the wire, which does the actual measuring.

A better understanding of beetle exoskeletons could help engineer lighter, stronger materials. Such materials could, for example, reduce gas-guzzling drag in vehicles and airplanes and reduce the weight of armor, lightening the load for the 21st-century knight. But revealing exoskeleton architecture at the nanoscale has proven difficult. Nebraska’s Ruiguo Yang, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering, and his colleagues found a way to analyze the fibrous nanostructure.

The lightweight exoskeleton i...