Category Biology/Biotechnology

Specialized flavones found in S. baicalensis Georgi plant. (A) S. baicalensis Georgi plant. (B) The dried roots of S. baicalensis Georgi used in traditional Chinese medicine. (C) Structures of its major flavones. (D) The proposed pathway responsible for biosynthesis of 4′-deoxyflavones in S. baicalensis.

The Chinese skullcap, Scutellaria baicalensis – otherwise known in Chinese medicine as Huang-Qin – is traditionally used as a treatment for fever, liver and lung complaints. Previous research on cells cultured in the lab has shown that flavones, found in the roots of this plant, not only have beneficial anti-viral and antioxidant effects, but they can also kill human cancers while leaving healthy cells untouched...

The KCC-3 ion transporter, shown here in green, is expressed in glial cells but only near a particular neuron, shown in red. Credit: Laboratory of Developmental Genetics at The Rockefeller University/Cell

Glial cells nourish, protect, and support neurons, but their role is far from passive. A new study shows how they can change the shape of nerve endings by interacting with them through a previously unknown molecular pathway and distinguish between the different types of neurons they encase. More than half of our brains are made up of glial cells, which wrap around nerve fibers and insulate them allowing electrical and chemical impulses to travel faster. In the past, neuroscientists considered the glial cell an essential yet passive helper of nerve cells...

•Lipoprotein cholesterol supports tumor growth •Tumors increase VLDL/LDL levels •Ces3/TGH deficiency attenuates tumor-induced hyperlipidemia via inhibition of PCSK9 •Tumor growth was suppressed in Ces3/Tgh−/− mice

Several studies have recognized a link between obesity and cancer. Richard Lehner, professor of Pediatrics and investigator at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, has taken his research further to understand how tumour cells grow through scavenging very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and what mechanisms can be used to reduce the malignant cells’ growth.

The data gathered from their experiments suggest a feed-forward loop, in which tumours not only use lipids as “building blocks” to grow, but they can regulat...

Self-distancing moderates the relationship between heart rate variability (HRV) and wise reasoning (z-scores). Scatterplot with line of best fit and 95% CI.

The study suggests heart rate variation and thinking process work together to enable wise reasoning about complex social issues. The work by Igor Grossmann, professor of psychology at Uni of Waterloo, and colleagues based at Australian Catholic University breaks new ground in wisdom research by identifying conditions under which psychophysiology impacts wise judgment.

A growing consensus among philosophers and cognitive scientists defines wise judgment to include the ability to recognize the limits of one’s knowledge, to be aware of the varied contexts of life and how they may unfold over time, to acknowledge others’ points of view, an...