Category Health/Medical

Romosozumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds and inhibits sclerostin. This increases bone formation and decreases bone resorption

Romosozumab associated with rapid and large reductions in risk of vertebral fracture compared to placebo. The results of a study presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) 2017 press conference showed that, in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, 12 months treatment with romosozumab was associated with rapid and large reductions in their risk of a vertebral fracture compared to placebo.

In those women receiving romosozumab, all clinical vertebral fractures occurred in the first 2 months of treatment; overall, the risk of a vertebral fracture was more than 5 times greater in the group of women given placebo...

Anti-diabetic action of all-trans retinoic acid and the orphan G protein coupled receptor GPRC5C in pancreatic β-cells

A new study suggests that vitamin A improves the insulin producing β-cell´s function. The researchers initially discovered that insulin-producing beta-cells contain a large quantity of a cell surface receptor for vitamin A. “There are no unnecessary surface receptors in human cells. They all serve a purpose but which, in many cases, is still unknown and because of that they are called “orphan” receptors...

In the periplasm — the space between the inner and outer membranes of a bacteria’s cell wall — defensive proteins that detect a poison assemble like barrel staves to form a tunnel between pumps in the cell’s inner and outer membranes to eject the intruders. Artist’s conception by Ace George Santiago. Credit: Ace George Santiago, Cornell University

By tagging a cell’s proteins with fluorescent beacons, Cornell researchers have found out how E. coli bacteria defend themselves against antibiotics and other poisons. When undesirable molecules show up, the bacterial cell opens a tunnel though its cell wall and “effluxes,” or pumps out, the intruders. “Dynamic assembly of these tunnels has long been hypothesized,” said Peng Chen, professor of chemistry and chemical biology. “Now we see them.”

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Photo: An artists’ rendition of microparticles flowing through a channel and passing through electric fields, where they are detected electronically and barcode-scanned. Ella Marushchenko and Alexander Tokarev/Ella Maru Studios

Rutgers researchers invent technology that could lead to wearable biosensors. Imagine wearing a device that continuously analyzes your sweat or blood for different types of biomarkers, such as proteins that show you may have breast cancer or lung cancer, exposure to dangerous bacteria, viruses and pollutants.

“This is really important in the context of personalized medicine or personalized health monitoring,” said Mehdi Javanmard, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rutgers University-New Brunswick...