Category Health/Medical

A false-colour scanning electron micrograph of a human egg cell (gold) surrounded by cumulus cells (orange). Cumulus cells are specialised cells that nourish the large egg cell while it grows in the ovarian follicle. Credit: Yorgos Nikas, Wellcome Images.

Yale researchers have identified molecular pathways involved in aging of human eggs. This research could eventually lead to treatments to correct age-related damage and improve fertility in women age 40 and older. The study examined the sharp decline in egg quality in women 40 and older and found that egg damage is linked to oxygen-deprived cells.

“More women are postponing childbearing, but with age, the cumulus cells that surround and nurture the eggs begin dying; we’ve found that this is caused by lack of oxygen,” said Pasquale Patrizi...

A hydrogel made at Rice University consists of custom peptide fibers with spaces – “missing teeth” – that can trap and deliver hydrophobic small-molecule drugs. Credit: I-Che Li/Rice University

Custom hydrogel traps water-avoiding molecules for slow delivery. A gap-toothed peptide created by bioengineers at Rice University may be an efficient way to deliver insoluble drugs to precise locations in the body. Rice bioengineer Jeffrey Hartgerink and his students made a hydrogel of what they call “missing tooth” peptide nanofibers. Gaps in the fibers are designed to hold drug molecules that have hydrophobic properties. The biodegradable gel can be injected where needed and releases the medication over time.

Hydrogels built of custom peptides are a specialty of Hartgerink’s lab, which has introd...

Left: human red blood cells, some of which are infected with the Babesiosis micro parasite. Right: tick. (Photo of tick © stevenwellingson – stock.adobe.com)

A novel combination therapy cures an emerging infectious disease, babesiosis, which is transmitted by the same ticks that transmit the agents of Lyme disease, said Yale researchers. This “radical” therapy not only clears the infection but also prevents the recurrence that often occurs with existing treatments.

Babesiosis is caused by the B. microti parasite, which is most often transmitted through tick bites. It is more common in the Northeast and northern Midwestern states, and likely is on the rise as infected ticks expand geographically...

Image: Based upon conserved snoRNA sequence elements, this large population of guide RNAs has been divided into two major families designated the box C/D and the box H/ACA snoRNAs. The primary function of the box C/D snoRNAs is to guide 2′-O-methylation of targeted rRNA nucleotides while the box H/ACA snoRNAs direct the conversion of specific uridine residues to pseudouridine.

Scientists have discovered unexpected functions of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that explain the cause of some genetic diseases and cancers. However, it is not clear how the change in snoRNA expression could lead to these diseases. Using RNA sequencing and molecular biology techniques, researchers found snoRNAs not only modify ribosomes, but can also regulate alternative splicing...