Category Health/Medical

This is a model of the TP53 sensor. The Sensor is symbolized as a ‘thermometer’ that displays the TP53 status in the cell. Credit: TU Dresden, Frank Buchholz

Molecular ‘detector’ recognizes most frequent cancer-mutation in cells, TP53 gene, and initiates to kill them. The alert goes on if the TP53 gene is mutated in cells. The molecular smoke detector works like a TP53 sensor, which monitors the correct function of the gene. A non-functional TP53 gene is going to activate the sensor, which initiates cell death. Results from this study from the research team of Prof. Frank Buchholz are now published in the journal Nature Communications.

Cancer is caused by changes in the human genome...

Omega-6 Content of Oils & Common Foods

The higher the serum linoleic acid level, the lower the CRP, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. Linoleic acid is the most common polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. The findings were published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It has been speculated that a high intake of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids may increase the risk of several chronic diseases by promoting low-grade inflammation, among other things. The reasoning behind this speculation is that in the human body, linoleic acid is converted into arachidonic acid (also an omega-6 fatty acid) which, in turn, is converted into various inflammation-promoting compounds.

C-reactive protein, or CRP, levels were measured from 1,287 healthy, 42-60 year-old ...

This image shows DAG (green-labeled peptide) targeting to the brain blood vessel (labeled red) in the hippocampus of the Alzheimer brain. Credit: Ruoslahti Lab, SBP

Peptide recognizes vasculature associated with brain inflammation. Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have identified a peptide that could lead to the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The discovery, published in Nature Communications, may also provide a means of homing drugs to diseased areas of the brain to treat AD, Parkinson’s disease, as well as glioblastoma, brain injuries and stroke.

“We have identified a peptide (DAG) that recognizes a protein that is elevated in the brain blood vessels of AD mice and human patients...

Woo-Yang Kim, Ph.D.

A breakthrough in finding the mechanism and a possible therapeutic fix for autism and intellectual disability has been made by a University of Nebraska Medical Center researcher and his team at the Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI). Woo-Yang Kim, Ph.D., associate professor, developmental neuroscience, led a team of researchers from UNMC and Creighton University into a deeper exploration of a genetic mutation that reduces the function of certain neurons in the brain.

“This is an exciting development because we have identified the pathological mechanism for a certain type of autism and intellectual disability,” Dr. Kim said...