Category Biology/Biotechnology

The researchers caution that maintaining high levels of fitness through physical activity will not entirely eliminate or cure age- or Alzheimer’s disease related decline, but it may slow down the decline. NeuroscienceNews.com image is for illustrative purposes only.

Older adults who experience good cardiac fitness may be also keeping their brains in good shape as well. In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, older adults who scored high on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) tests performed better on memory tasks than those who had low CRF. Further, the more fit older adults were, the more active their brain was during learning. These findings appear in the journal Cortex...

While typical embryonic stem cells (left) are unable to make tissues like the placenta, which allow the embryo to communicate with the mother, blocking a microRNA unleashes the potential to make these extra-embryonic tissues (red cells, right). (Lin He image)

UC Berkeley researchers have found a way to reprogram mouse embryonic stem cells so that they exhibit developmental characteristics resembling those of fertilized eggs, or zygotes. These “totipotent-like” stem cells are able to generate not only all cell types within a developing embryo, but also cell types that facilitate nutrient exchange between the embryo and the mother For now, the new stem cell lines will help scientists understand the first molecular decisions made in the early embryo...

The Association of Hot Red Chili Pepper Consumption and Mortality: A Large Population-Based Cohort Study. PLOS ONE, 2017; 12 (1): e0169876 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169876

Like spicy food? If so, you might live longer, say researchers at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, who found that consumption of hot red chili peppers is associated with a 13% reduction in total mortality – primarily in deaths due to heart disease or stroke – in a large prospective study. The study was published recently in PLoS ONE...

Multiplexed image analysis with HySP is faster and less expensive than other methods. Image courtesy of Francesco Cutrale.

A new image analysis technique makes it easier for scientists to quickly find and track important biological molecules including tell-tale signs of disease. Called “Hyper-Spectral Phasor” analysis, or HySP, it could even be useful for diagnosing and monitoring diseases by using cell phone images. It is much faster and far less expensive than current techniques. Through the new imaging technology, researchers use fluorescent imaging to locate proteins and other molecules in cells and tissues. It works by tagging the molecules with dyes that glow under certain kinds of light – the same principle behind so-called “black light” images.

Fluorescent imaging can help scientis...