Category Biology/Biotechnology

Scientists have elucidated a surprising novel mechanism of cascading electron emission caused by the Coulombic interaction between highly excited atoms.

Tohoku University research could have implications for radiation therapy. Physical chemist Kiyoshi Ueda’s team used a free electron laser (FEL) at Japan’s SPring-8 Compact SASE Source test accelerator to investigate how electrons are ‘knocked out’ of neon atom clusters. Intense extreme ultraviolet FEL pulses were directed at the clusters and the resultant energy distribution of electrons knocked out of the clusters was measured using a ‘velocity map imaging spectrometer’.

Electrons inside a material absorb energy when the material is exposed to light. Normally, this energy is used to ‘knock electrons out’ of the material...

High-resolution model of six insulin molecules assembled in a hexamer. Credit: Isaac Yonemoto/Wikipedia

NZ researchers have uncovered a new mechanism that controls the release of insulin in the body, providing hope for those with a genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. The findings show for the first time that a protein, beta catenin is crucial for controlling the release of insulin from the pancreas to maintain stable blood sugar levels. They focused on a variant in a gene called TCF7L2. This variant has been known to science for about 10 years and is the biggest contributing factor for whether people are genetically susceptible to getting type 2 diabetes or not.

“We wanted to understand what happens in the body’s cells that are associated with TCF7L2 and how the processes that go on...

Researchers have shown that a metabolic pathway associated with slowing aging also drives brain cancer. In the image above, cancer stem cells in a mouse brain section glow fluorescent green, allowing researchers to study the effect of inhibiting the pathway on the ability of cancer stem cells to survive and proliferate. Credit: AMIT GUJAR AND ALBERT H. KIM

While a particular metabolic pathway shows potential to slow down the aging process, new research indicates a downside: That same pathway may drive brain cancer. The pathway, known as the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) pathway, is overactive in a most deadly form of brain cancer, glioblastoma, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis...

This image illustrates the beginning stages of an influenza infection and shows what happens after the influenza viruses enter the human body. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A team co-led by a University of California, Riverside professor, has found a long-sought-after mechanism in human cells that creates immunity to influenza A virus, which causes annual seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics.The research could have broad implications on the immunological understanding of human diseases caused by RNA viruses including influenza, Ebola, West Nile, and Zika viruses.

“This opens up a new way to understand how humans respond to viral infections and develop new methods to control viral infections,” said Prof. Shou-Wei Ding...