Category Biology/Biotechnology

Image: Old C. elegans expressing a specific alternative splicing event tagged by either green or red fluorescent protein, well-fed (left) or on dietary restriction (right). Worms on dietary restriction maintain a youthful splicing pattern (as seen in young worms) compared to the well-fed worm population at the same age. Credit: Image courtesy of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

For the 1st time, a causal link between RNA splicing and aging has been revealed. The finding sheds light on the biological role of splicing in lifespan and suggests that manipulating specific splicing factors in humans might help promote healthy aging...

2-hour moderate-intensity exercise in the exercise trial; Early PP, early postprandial period; Late PP, late postprandial period.

The researchers also found timing of exercise may play a role in how beneficial it is for your metabolism. The study’s senior author, Katarina Borer, said the study illustrates that small changes can make a difference, such as watching the kinds of foods you eat and not exercising at an inappropriate time. The study reported that when people ate 3 meals containing just 30% carbohydrates over a 24-hour period, they had a 30% reduction in their after-meal insulin resistance and insulin levels. People who are resistant to insulin have a higher risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

When people ate 3 meals containing 60% carbohydrates over 24 hours, there was no s...

The atomic structure of influenza A virus nucleoprotein. Credit: Jane Tao/Rice University

A new type of vaccine may allow for a new approach to generating live virus vaccines which could conceivably be adapted to any type of virus. Published in the journal Science, the Peking University team outlines how they modified an influenza virus causing it to incite an immune response without a risk of infection.

Most vaccines today contain viruses that have been killed or weakened to the point that they are unlikely to cause an infection when injected into a healthy patient. Such vaccines work by causing the immune system to target similar viruses if found in the body before they have a chance to multiply, causing an infection...

Graphic depicts the tethered enzymes and free-floating enzymes. Credit: Cornell University

Just like workers in a factory, enzymes can create a final product more efficiently if they are stuck together in one place and pass the raw material from enzyme to enzyme, assembly line-style. That’s according to scientists at Cornell’s Baker Institute for Animal Health, the first team to recreate a 10-step biological pathway with all the enzymes tethered to nanoparticles. They were inspired to study how nanoparticles could gain biological functions through the enzymes that drive sperm tails, which turn sugar into lactate and energy so quickly that sperm can speed along at 5 body lengths/s

“Sperm have a highly efficient energy-producing system,” said Chinatsu Mukai, a postdoctoral research associate...