Category Biology/Biotechnology

ab115630 at 10ug/ml staining GRASP1 in Human brain (cortex) tissue by immunohistochemistry (FFPE)

Learning and memory depend on cells’ ability to strengthen and weaken circuits in the brain. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine report that a protein involved in recycling other cell proteins plays an important role in this process. Removing this protein reduced mice’s ability to learn and recall information. “We see deficits in learning tasks,” says Richard Huganir, Ph.D., professor and director of the neuroscience department at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The team also found mutations in the gene that produces the recycling protein in a few patients with intellectual disability, and those genetic errors affected neural connections when introduced into mouse brain...

Active packaging extends food’s shelf life

KTU researchers are creating biodegradable food packaging materials, which, in addition, will also keep food fresh for longer. This innovation would solve 2 problems at once: assist in cutting down packaging waste and in reducing the number of food-borne illnesses. On average a European country citizen produces around 160 kilos of packaging waste; ~19% of which is plastic. “Food packaging is mainly made from various plastics, which are being produced from non-renewable sources and are non-biodegradable. Also, it is not always possible to recycle them as leftovers from food amount to almost 50% of the packaging waste,” says Paulius Pavelas Danilovas, KTU.

Headed by Danilovas, the team of researchers at the KTU Department of Polymer Chemistry and ...

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found a link between rapid drops in blood pressure, known as orthostatic hypotension, and an increased risk of dementia. Photo by ronstik/Shutterstock

Middle-aged people who experience temporary blood pressure drops that often cause dizziness upon standing up may be at an increased risk of developing cognitive decline and dementia 20 years later, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests. The findings suggest that these temporary episodes – orthostatic hypotension – may cause lasting damage, possibly because they reduce needed blood flow to the brain...

Cell (stock image). The use of iPSCs to generate tissues would revolutionize transplantation, facilitating the growth of artificial organs, say authors. Credit: © dedigrigoroiu / Fotolia

Houston Methodist researchers have identified an immune pathway that promotes the formation of a cell that can develop into new tissues and organs. In a new study published in the journal Stem Cells, a team led by John P. Cooke, M.D., Ph.D, described how activation of innate immunity enhances nuclear reprogramming, one of the first steps in tissue regeneration, or the formation of new tissues and organs from a single cell in the body.

“We found that activating the innate immune system opens up the DNA,” said Cooke, the study’s senior author...