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    Category Health/Medical

    Microchip used to Build a 1st-ever Artificial Kidney

    February 15, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    An example of the microchip filter being used inside Fissell's artificial kidney. Credit: Vanderbilt University

    An example of the microchip filter being used inside Fissell’s artificial kidney. Credit: Vanderbilt University

    Nephrologists are making major progress on a first-of-its kind device to free kidney patients from dialysis. He is building an implantable artificial kidney with microchip filters and living kidney cells that will be powered by a patient’s own heart. “We are creating a bio-hybrid device that can mimic a kidney to remove enough waste products, salt and water to keep a patient off dialysis,” said Fissell. Fissell says the goal is to make it small enough, roughly the size of a soda can, to be implanted inside a patient’s body.

    “It’s called silicon nanotechnology. It uses the same processes that were developed by the microelectronics industry for computers,” said Fissell...

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    Sweet Discovery in Leafy Greens holds Key to Gut Health

    February 15, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    sulfoquinovose (SQ)

    sulfoquinovose (SQ)

    A critical discovery about how bacteria feed on an unusual sugar molecule found in leafy green vegetables could hold the key to explaining how ‘good’ bacteria protect our gut and promote health. Leafy greens are essential for feeding good gut bacteria, limiting the ability of bad bacteria to colonise the gut by shutting them out of the prime ‘real estate’.

    Researchers identified a previously unknown enzyme used by bacteria, fungi and other organisms to feed on the unusual but abundant sugar sulfoquinovose (SQ) found in green vegetables. Each year, leafy green vegetables eg, spinach – produce the sugar on an enormous scale globally. The discovery could be exploited to cultivate the growth of ‘good’ gut bacteria...

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    Researchers identify ‘Neurostatin’ that may Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s disease

    February 14, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Schematic illustration of the drug discovery strategy described in this work. The strategy consists of four steps: (1) A fragment-based approach that allows the identification of small molecules that interact with the aggregation-prone system, here Aβ42, including FDA-approved molecules for drug repurposing. (2) An in vitro kinetic analysis that identifies the specific molecular steps in the Aβ42 aggregation mechanism responsible for the generation of toxic species. (3) A further kinetic analysis to determine the mechanism of inhibition associated with the molecules identified in step 1. (4) An evaluation of the effects of these molecules on the formation of toxic species in vivo. In particular, the inhibition of primary nucleation is predicted to delay the aggregation without affecting the total number of oligomers generated by the aggregation process, whereas inhibiting elongation or secondary nucleation is predicted either to increase or to decrease the number of toxic oligomers, respectively (see text).

    Schematic illustration of the drug discovery strategy described in this work. The strategy consists of four steps: (1) A fragment-based approach that allows the identification of small molecules that interact with the aggregation-prone system, here Aβ42, including FDA-approved molecules for drug repurposing. (2) An in vitro kinetic analysis that identifies the specific molecular steps in the Aβ42 aggregation mechanism responsible for the generation of toxic species. (3) A further kinetic analysis to determine the mechanism of inhibition associated with the molecules identified in step 1. (4) An evaluation of the effects of these molecules on the formation of toxic species in vivo...

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    Gene Switch may Repair DNA and Prevent Cancer

    February 13, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Highlights •5hmC is actively enriched at endogenous DNA damage sites in cancer cell lines •DNA damage induced by aphidicolin or microirradiation increases 5hmC locally •TET2 is required to create damage-associated 5hmC foci in HeLa cells •TET enzymes promote genome integrity under replication stress in mouse ES cells

    Highlights •5hmC is actively enriched at endogenous DNA damage sites in cancer cell lines •DNA damage induced by aphidicolin or microirradiation increases 5hmC locally •TET2 is required to create damage-associated 5hmC foci in HeLa cells •TET enzymes promote genome integrity under replication stress in mouse ES cells

    A team of scientists in Japan has found a DNA modification called 5hmC thought to be involved in turning genes on and off – localizes at sites of DNA damage and repair. They also found that a family of recently discovered enzymes, TETs for short, is important in maintaining 5hmC’s reparative role.

    To turn genes on or off, a methyl group can be added to or removed from DNA. During demethylation, the methyl group is converted to 5hmC as an intermediate step...

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