Category Health/Medical

Your gut bacteria are chemical detectives—sniffing out nutrients and even feeding each other to keep your microbiome thriving. Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria that constantly “sense” their surroundings to survive and thrive. New research shows that beneficial gut microbes, especially common Clostridia bacteria, can detect a surprisingly wide range of chemical signals produced during digestion, including byproducts of fats, proteins, sugars, and even DNA. These microbes use specialized sensors to move toward valuable nutrients, with lactate and formate standing out as especially important fuel sources...

New research suggests the liver plays a previously unrecognized role in bone health, but only in males. A McGill University-led study published in Matrix Biology found that a protein made in the liver helps regulate bone growth in male mice, but not in females. The findings may help explain why men with liver disease are more likely to experience bone loss.

The protein, known as plasma fibronectin, is naturally present in blood at higher levels in men than in women, declines when the liver is damaged and builds up in bone to modulate bone formation...

This local biotech says it has found a way to trick cancer cells into destroying themselves with its molecular glue. Now it’s putting that claim to the test. After attracting global attention from researchers and billions of dollars from Big Pharma, Neomorph announced that it has begun its first clinical trial. The molecular glue aims to treat a form of kidney cancer.

The first trial will dose one patient with the molecular glue, NEO-811, to treat clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common kind of kidney cancer.

In San Diego County, roughly 500 people are diagnosed with kidney cancer each year—that’s more than one new case every day, according to the California Cancer Registry...

About 1 in 4 people suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. These include panic disorder with sudden, severe anxiety attacks; generalized anxiety disorder, in which sufferers worry about everyday things over a longer period of time that is difficult to control; and phobias of specific objects or situations. Despite their widespread prevalence, the biological basis of anxiety is still poorly understood.

More light is now being shed on the subject by an international research team that has conducted the largest genetic study on anxiety disorders to date...