Category Health/Medical

Researchers have developed a specialized type of glowing metal organic framework, or LMOF (molecular structure at center), that is designed to detect and remove heavy-metal toxins from water. At upper left, mercury (Hg) is taken in by the LMOF. The graph at lower left shows how the LMOF’s fluorescence is turned off as it binds up the mercury. Its properties make this LMOF useful for both detecting and trapping heavy-metal toxins. Credit: Rutgers University

X-ray study explores atomic structure of tiny traps for heavy metals. Tiny, glowing crystals that detect and capture heavy-metal toxins such as lead and mercury could prove to be a powerful new tool in locating and cleaning up contaminated water sources...

Image1: A platypus. The same hormone produced in the gut of the platypus to regulate blood glucose is also produced in their venom, researchers have found – and that hormone could be used in possible type 2 diabetes treatments. Image2: An echidna. The same hormone produced in the gut of the echidna to regulate blood glucose is also produced in their venom, researchers have found – and that hormone could be used in possible type 2 diabetes treatments.

Australian researchers have discovered remarkable evolutionary changes to insulin regulation in two of the nation’s most iconic native animal species – the platypus and echidna – which could pave the way for new treatments for type 2 diabetes in humans...

Bmal1/Clock complex activates transcription of genes containing E-box sequences in their promoters. Among these are Per1/2 and Cry1/2, which following dimerization can inhibit the activity of the Bmal1/Clock complex. Rev-Erb and Ror provide an additional stabilizing loop to fine-tune the expression of Bmal1. In addition to E-boxes, other clock regulatory elements (such as ROREs and D-boxes) are commonly found in the promoters of CCGs.

Disruptions of daily rhythms of the body’s master internal clock provide insight into the role of the brain’s internal time keeping system in the development of mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder MDD, which have been associated with disturbed daily (circadian) rhythms...

Multiple sensors and multiple downstream effectors of gut sensory systems, using the L cell as an example

A team of scientists from King’s College London and Imperial College London tested a high-fat diet, containing a fermentable carbohydrate, and a control diet on mice and looked at the effect on food intake of those with and without the FFAR2 receptor.

The results showed that mice fed the diet containing fermentable carbohydrate were protected against obesity. This protection was lost however, when the FFAR2 receptor was not present. Indeed, those with the receptor showed an increase of 130% in the satiety inducing gut hormone peptide YY, as well as an increased density of cells containing PYY, leading to an increased feeling of fullness.

Lead author of the study, Gavin Bewick from King...