Category Health/Medical

Dr. Joshua Mendell CREDIT: UT Southwestern Medical Center

A gene called NORAD has been found to help maintain the proper number of chromosomes in cells, and that when inactivated, causes the number of chromosomes in a cell to become unstable, a key feature of cancer cells.

Previously, genes that encode the recipe for making proteins have been implicated in maintaining the proper number of chromosomes in a cell. The NORAD gene, however, does not encode a protein. Instead, NORAD produces a long noncoding RNA, a type of molecule that was not previously known to be important in chromosome maintenance.

Researchers began studying this particular molecule because the RNA kicks into action after DNA is damaged; they therefore termed it Noncoding RNA Activated by DNA Damage, or NORAD.
The scientist...

Stephen LaVoie at the University of Georgia studies inorganic mercury, which is known to cause neurological, kidney and autoimmune diseases. Credit: Dorothy Kozlowski/University of Georgia

Inorganic mercury, which was previously thought to be a less harmful form of the toxic metal, is very damaging to key cell processes. This study is the first to compare the effects of inorganic and organic mercury compounds at the biochemical, physiological and proteomic levels in any model organism.

Inorganic mercury from the ore cinnabar was used for centuries against infections; in modern times, humans synthesized organic mercurials as antimicrobials, such as merthiolate...

Schematic drawing illustrating the location of serotoninergic neurons in the adult zebrafish brain (lateral view). 5-HT-immunoreactive cells are also present in the retina (not shown). The main projections originating from the raphe populations are indicated. AP, area postrema; Cer, cerebellum; Hyp, hypothalamus; MO, medulla oblongata; NLV, nucleus lateralis valvulae; OB, olfactory bulb; PG, preglomerular complex, Po, preoptic region; PT, posterior tuberculum; SC, spinal cord; Tel, telencephalon; TeO, tectum opticum; Th, thalamus; V, ventral telencephalic area.

Researchers create 1st complete model of serotonin’s role. Serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT], is an important neuromodulator of brain development and the structure and function of neuronal circuits...

Examination of thousands of genes from nearly 150 human brains shows the circadian rhythm of gene activity changes with aging, according to a first-of-its-kind study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. It suggest also that a novel biological clock begins ticking only in the older brain.

A 24hr circadian rhythm controls nearly all brain and body processes, such as the sleep/wake cycle, metabolism, alertness and cognition. These daily activity patterns are regulated by certain genes that are found in almost all cells, but have rarely been studied in the human brain. “Studies have reported that older adults tend to perform complex cognitive tasks better in the morning and get worse through the day,” Dr. McClung said...