Category Health/Medical

2 non-biological cycles—HKG cycle and malonate cycle—could have come together to kick-start a crude version of the citric acid cycle. Image courtesy Greg Springsteen and Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy.

TSRI chemists have developed a fascinating new theory for how life on Earth may have begun. Their experiments demonstrate that key chemical reactions that support life today could have been carried out with ingredients likely present on Earth 4 billion years ago. “This was a black box for us,” said Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, PhD, associate professor of chemistry at TSRI and senior author of the new study. “But if you focus on the chemistry, the questions of origins of life become less daunting.”

For the new study, Krishnamurthy and this team focused on the citric acid cycle...

Swallowable Sensors reveal mysteries of Human Gut Health

First human trials of gas-sensing capsule reveal potential new immune system. The new technology and discoveries offer a game-changer for the 1-in-5 people worldwide who will suffer from a gastrointestinal disorder in their lifetime. They could also lead to fewer invasive procedures like colonoscopies. The ingestible capsule (the size of a vitamin pill) detects and measures gut gases – H2, CO2 and O2 – in real time. This data can be sent to a mobile phone. Professor Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, study lead and capsule co-inventor, said the trials showed that the human stomach uses an oxidiser to fight foreign bodies in the gut.

“We found that the stomach releases oxidising chemicals to break down and beat foreign compounds that are staying...

Lee et al. show that hair follicles can be generated from mouse pluripotent stem cells in a 3-D cell culture system. The hair follicles (red) grow radially out of spherical skin organoids and contain follicle-initiating dermal papilla cells (green cells) and hair shafts (cyan). Credit: Artwork by Jiyoon Lee and Karl Koehler

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have successfully developed a method to grow hairy skin from mouse pluripotent stem cells – a discovery that could lead to new approaches to model disease and new therapies for the treatment of skin disorders and cancers. This research marks the first demonstration that hair follicles can be grown in cultures of stem cells.

“The skin is a complex organ that has been difficult to fully recreate and maintain in culture ...

This is an illustration of the active state kappa opioid receptor bound to a morphine derivative (purple). Credit: Tao Che and Daniel Wacker, Roth Lab, UNC School of Medicine

Researchers show how to activate only one kind of brain receptor vital for pain relief, a key step in the creation of better pain medications. For the first time, scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and collaborators solved the crystal structure of the activated kappa opioid receptor bound to a morphine derivative. They then created a new drug-like compound that activates only that receptor, a key step in the development of new pain medications. The research shows a route toward creating opioids that relieve pain without causing the severe side effects at the heart of the opioid epidemic.