Category Biology/Biotechnology

Bacteria that have the potential to abet breast cancer are present in the breasts of cancer patients, while beneficial bacteria are more abundant in healthy breasts, where they may actually be protecting women from cancer. These findings may lead ultimately to the use of probiotics to protect women against breast cancer.

In the study, Reid’s PhD student Camilla Urbaniak obtained breast tissues from 58 women who were undergoing lumpectomies or mastectomies for either benign (13 women) or cancerous (45 women) tumors, as well as from 23 healthy women who had undergone breast reductions or enhancements. They used DNA sequencing to identify bacteria from the tissues, and culturing to confirm that the organisms were alive.

Streptococcus thermophilus

Women with breast cancer had elevated levels ...

Tumor cells in the placebo-treated mice grew rapidly. Tamoxifen prevented the tumors from growing. CDB4124 initially caused the tumors to regress, but after 35 days, the tumors began growing again. The combination of tamoxifen and CDB4124 caused tumors to shrink 70 percent by day 60. Credit: The Greene Laboratory

One of the first clues pathologists look for in tissue from a newly diagnosed breast cancer patient is the estrogen receptor. They also look for the presence of progesterone receptors, primarily to confirm that the estrogen receptor is active. In the June 24 issue of Science Advances, however, researchers radically upgrade the significance of the progesterone receptor.

When exposed to estrogens and progestins, these receptor proteins interact with different sets of binding sites i...

Schematic overview of the endogenous regulators and molecular targets of SIRT3.

Exercise and fasting do not change the location of a key enzyme involved in energy production, a study in Experimental Physiology found. SIRT3 is an important enzyme involved in fat metabolism and energy production. Located within the mitochondria of skeletal muscle, it targets certain proteins and altering their activity.

To determine if SIRT3’s location within muscle cells changes, healthy young men were split into two groups with one being subjected to endurance exercise for an hour and the other fasting for 48 hours. The researchers then took skeletal muscle biopsies at various time points post exercise and fasting and isolated the mitochondria...

Biomimetics: the epidermis of a rose petal is replicated in a transparent layer which is then integrated into the front of a solar cell. Credit: Illustration: Guillaume Gomard, KIT

Scientists increase the efficiency of solar cells by replicating the structure of petals. With a surface resembling that of plants, solar cells improve light-harvesting and thus generate more power. Scientists of KIT reproduced the epidermal cells of rose petals that have particularly good antireflection properties and integrated the transparent replicas into an organic solar cell. This resulted in a relative efficiency gain of 12%.

Photovoltaics works in a similar way as the photosynthesis of plants...