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    Category Health/Medical

    Enzyme Produced in Liver Promotes Obesity, Fatty Liver Disease and Insulin Resistance

    August 24, 2017, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    NAFLD patients have augmented plasma DPP4 activity. • Hepatocyte-specific DPP4 overexpression in mice. (1) promotes fatty liver disease. (2) induces hepatic insulin resistance. (3) reduces systemic levels of active GLP-1. (4) enhances adipose tissue expansion and inflammation.

    NAFLD patients have augmented plasma DPP4 activity.
    •Hepatocyte-specific DPP4 overexpression in mice.
    (1) promotes fatty liver disease.
    (2) induces hepatic insulin resistance.
    (3) reduces systemic levels of active GLP-1.
    (4) enhances adipose tissue expansion and inflammation.

    In mice given a high-fat diet, an increased production of the enzyme DPP4* by the liver promotes an increase in body fat, the development of fatty liver disease and insulin resistance. These were the findings of a current study by DZD-researchers in Potsdam and Tübingen...

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    High levels of ‘Good’ cholesterol linked to Excessive Mortality

    August 23, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    HDL cholesterol and risk of all-cause mortality in the general population. Based on 52 268 men and 64 240 women from the Copenhagen General Population Study and the Copenhagen City Heart Study combined. Hazard ratio (solid line) and 95% confidence interval (dashed lines) from age and study adjusted Cox regression using restricted cubic splines. The concentration of HDL cholesterol associated with lowest mortality was used as reference. The light blue area indicates the distribution of HDL cholesterol concentrations in men and women. CI, confidence interval; HDL, high-density lipoprotein.

    HDL cholesterol and risk of all-cause mortality in the general population. Based on 52 268 men and 64 240 women from the Copenhagen General Population Study and the Copenhagen City Heart Study combined. Hazard ratio (solid line) and 95% confidence interval (dashed lines) from age and study adjusted Cox regression using restricted cubic splines. The concentration of HDL cholesterol associated with lowest mortality was used as reference. The light blue area indicates the distribution of HDL cholesterol concentrations in men and women. CI, confidence interval; HDL, high-density lipoprotein.

    HDL might not be as good as we think...

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    Blood Test for Colitis Screening using Infrared technology could reduce dependence on Colonoscopy, study finds

    August 23, 2017, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    Woman working in a laboratory. He writes with a felt pen. Selective focus

    Protein secondary structure analysis of dried blood serum using infrared spectroscopy to identify markers for colitis screening. Journal of Biophotonics, 2017; e201700057 DOI: 10.1002/jbio.201700057

    A fast, simple blood test for ulcerative colitis using infrared spectroscopy could provide a cheaper, less invasive alternative for screening compared to colonoscopy, which is now the predominant test, according to a study between the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University...

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    Cyborg Bacteria Outperform Plants when turning Sunlight into Useful Compounds

    August 23, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Chemistry/Nanotechnology, Biology/Biotechnology, Environment/Geology

    Artist's rendering of bioreactor (left) loaded with bacteria decorated with cadmium sulfide, light-absorbing nanocrystals (middle) to convert light, water and carbon dioxide into useful chemicals (right). Credit: Kelsey K. Sakimoto

    Artist’s rendering of bioreactor (left) loaded with bacteria decorated with cadmium sulfide, light-absorbing nanocrystals (middle) to convert light, water and carbon dioxide into useful chemicals (right). Credit: Kelsey K. Sakimoto

    Photosynthesis provides energy for the vast majority of life on Earth. But chlorophyll, the green pigment that plants use to harvest sunlight, is relatively inefficient. To enable humans to capture more of the sun’s energy than natural photosynthesis can, scientists have taught bacteria to cover themselves in tiny, highly efficient solar panels to produce useful compounds. “Rather than rely on inefficient chlorophyll to harvest sunlight, I’ve taught bacteria how to grow and cover their bodies with tiny semiconductor nanocrystals,” says Kelsey K. Sakimoto, Ph.D....

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