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    Category Health/Medical

    Protein that Extends Life of Yeast Cells

    September 6, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Gcn4 strongly represses translation in the long-lived RPKO strains and stresses. Quantification of global translation by Click-iT HPG for a different single and double KO strains, b glucose-starved (CR) and rapamycin-treated (RAPA) yeast cells. GCN4 deletion restores translation to the level of the wild-type strain in RPKO strains and also leads to increased translation in stressed cells. The significance of the two-tailed t-test between any given deletion strain and the wild-type strain is depicted above the respective bar. Mean values of the relative translation change between the GCN4 deletion strain and the respective parental strain are shown in parentheses. Error bars represent s.d. across three different biological replicates except glucose starvation where n = 2. The p-value for the two-tailed t-test is indicated by ‘*’: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. c Model for Gcn4 effect on translation and aging. Green lines indicate the findings in this study, black continuous lines denote previously established links, and the dashed line indicates a connection that remains to be studied

    Gcn4 strongly represses translation in the long-lived RPKO strains and stresses. Quantification of global translation by Click-iT HPG for a different single and double KO strains, b glucose-starved (CR) and rapamycin-treated (RAPA) yeast cells. GCN4 deletion restores translation to the level of the wild-type strain in RPKO strains and also leads to increased translation in stressed cells. The significance of the two-tailed t-test between any given deletion strain and the wild-type strain is depicted above the respective bar. Mean values of the relative translation change between the GCN4 deletion strain and the respective parental strain are shown in parentheses. Error bars represent s.d. across three different biological replicates except glucose starvation where n = 2...

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    Eating Meat Linked to Higher Risk of Diabetes

    September 5, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Meat, Dietary Heme Iron, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2017; 1 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwx156

    Meat, Dietary Heme Iron, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2017; 1 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwx156

    While a plant-based diet is generally considered healthier than a meat-based diet in preventing the risk of diabetes, not all meats affect the risk equally. As Professor Koh Woon Puay, Professor of Clinical Sciences at Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), and her team found out, higher intake of red meat and poultry is associated with significantly increased risk of developing diabetes, which is partially attributed to their higher content of heme iron in these meats. This study provides the basis for evidence-based dietary recommendations to the Singapore population in mitigating diabetes risk and reducing the healthcare burden of this chronic condition.

    These fi...

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    Mysterious Protein-folding molecule could trigger metabolic disorders

    September 4, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    CNPY2 is required for ER stress-induced Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Credit: Dr. Feng Hong of the Medical University of South Carolina.

    CNPY2 is required for ER stress-induced Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Credit: Dr. Feng Hong of the Medical University of South Carolina.

    The cell’s response to unfolded or misfolded proteins could be a cause, rather than a consequence, of metabolic disorders. The researchers identified a little-known molecule as the trigger for this response. There are links between protein-folding problems at the cellular level and a range of metabolic disorders, though it is unclear if those problems are causes or manifestations of such disorders. This study provides evidence that problems with protein folding contribute to certain metabolic disorders, according to Zihai Li, M.D., Ph.D...

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    Schizophrenia and Memory Deficits: Solving the mystery behind a most stubborn symptom

    September 4, 2017, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Snapshot of neuronal activity in a normal, healthy mouse (left) compared to a mouse genetically modified to mimic schizophrenia (right). Credit: Attila Losonczy/Columbia's Zuckerman Institute

    Snapshot of neuronal activity in a normal, healthy mouse (left) compared to a mouse genetically modified to mimic schizophrenia (right). Credit: Attila Losonczy/Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute

    A team of Columbia scientists has found that disruptions to the brain’s center for spatial navigation—its internal GPS—result in some of the severe memory deficits seen in schizophrenia. The new study in mouse models of the disorder marks the first time that schizophrenia’s effects have been observed in the behavior of living animals—and at the level of individual brain cells—with such high-resolution, precision and clarity...

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