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    Category Biology/Biotechnology

    Real-Time MRI Analysis powered by Supercomputers

    February 18, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Raw image data collected from dGEMRIC MRI protocol at an inversion time of 1600 milliseconds (left). The T1 map computed from seven different inversion times using the automated, real-time, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging pipeline (right). Credit: Image courtesy of University of Texas at Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center

    Raw image data collected from dGEMRIC MRI protocol at an inversion time of 1600 milliseconds (left). The T1 map computed from seven different inversion times using the automated, real-time, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging pipeline (right). Credit: Image courtesy of University of Texas at Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center

    A new, automated platform that returns in-depth analyses of MRI scans in minutes, rather than hours or days has been developed by Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) and Philips Healthcare. The system has the potential to minimize patient callbacks, save millions annually, and advance precision medicine.

    The team presented a proof-of-concept demonstration of the platform at the International Conference on ...

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    Scientists uncover how Zika virus causes Microcephaly

    February 17, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Highlights
    •Mexican ZIKV strain infects primary human fetal brain-derived neural stem cells
    •ZIKV inhibits neuronal differentiation in a cell-strain-dependent manner
    •Majority of differentiated ZIKV-infected cells are glial cells
    •ZIKV-mediated transcriptome alteration is cell-strain-dependent

    A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has uncovered the mechanisms that the Zika virus uses to alter brain development. These findings are detailed in Stem Cell Reports. There are currently 70 countries and territories reporting active Zika transmission, according to the World Health Organization...

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    Biologists Control Gut Inflammation by Altering the Abundance of Resident bacteria

    February 16, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Proposed model of sox10 mutant intestinal pathology. sox10 mutants have altered intestinal motility and an increased bacterial load. Given the role of the ENS in intestinal function, sox10 mutants likely also experience alterations in epithelial secretion and permeability, although these phenotypes are yet to be examined. sox10 mutants can assemble a microbiota that mirrors WT intestinal microbiota (host population 2) or is dysbiotic (host population 1), characterized by an expansion of the Vibrio lineage and reduction of the Escherichia lineage. We do not yet know what determines which bacterial community assembles in sox10 mutants (dashed lines) but hypothesize that it could be due to the timing or order of exposure to bacterial strains, differences in epithelial permeability or secretion, or differences in other host compensatory mechanisms.

    Proposed model of sox10 mutant intestinal pathology. sox10 mutants have altered intestinal motility and an increased bacterial load. Given the role of the ENS in intestinal function, sox10 mutants likely also experience alterations in epithelial secretion and permeability, although these phenotypes are yet to be examined. sox10 mutants can assemble a microbiota that mirrors WT intestinal microbiota (host population 2) or is dysbiotic (host population 1), characterized by an expansion of the Vibrio lineage and reduction of the Escherichia lineage...

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    Pizza, burgers and the like: A Single High-Fat meal can Damage Metabolism

    February 16, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    This image shows the impact of saturated fatty acids on the liver, muscles and fatty tissue. Credit: © DDZ

    This image shows the impact of saturated fatty acids on the liver, muscles and fatty tissue. Credit: © DDZ

    The global proliferation of overweight and obese people and people with type 2 diabetes is often associated with the consumption of saturated fats. Scientists at the German Diabetes Center and the Helmholtz Center in Munich (HMGU) have found that even the one-off consumption of a greater amount of palm oil reduces the body’s sensitivity to insulin and causes increased fat deposits as well as changes in the energy metabolism of the liver. The results of the study provide information on the earliest changes in the metabolism of the liver that in the long term lead to fatty liver disease in overweight persons as well as in those with type 2 diabetes.

    DZD researchers working at the Germa...

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