Category Health/Medical

Researchers unveil a series of sensors, memory switches, and circuits that can be encoded in the common human gut bacterium. These basic computing elements will allow the bacteria to sense, memorize, and respond to signals in the gut, with future applications that might include the early detection and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease or colon cancer.

Researchers have previously built genetic circuits inside model organisms such as E coli. However, such strains are only found at low levels within the human gut. “We wanted to work with strains like B thetaiotaomicron that are present in many people in abundant levels, and can stably colonize the gut for long periods of time,” Lu says.

METHOD: A series of genetic parts was made th...

According to a new series of studies out of NYU Langone Medical Center, 2 chemicals increasingly used during manufacturing to strengthen plastic wrap, soap, cosmetics, and processed food containers have been linked to a rise in risk of high blood pressure and diabetes in children and adolescents.

Acetaldehyde accounts for most of the gaseous substances in cigarette smoke. “In cooperation with KT&G, KIST has developed a nano-catalyst filter coated with a manganese oxide-based nano-catalyst, which can be used in a smoking room to reduce and purify major harmful substances of cigarette smoke. The KIST-developed catalyst removes 100% of the particle substances of cigarette smoke, such as nicotine and tar, converting those into water vapor and carbon dioxide. According to the research team, the air cleaning equipment based on the newly-developed catalyst can purify over 80% of the cigarette smoke within 30 minutes and 100% of it within 1 hour in a 30 square meter smoking room, where 10 people are simultaneously smoking” said Dr...

Cytochrome oxidase C defects could be a biomarker for cancer screening. To see if the 2nd part of Warburg’s 1924 was correct (“defective mitochondrial function causing cells to be tumorigenic”), the Penn team took cell lines from the skeleton, kidney, breast and esophagus and used RNA molecules to silence the expression of select components of the mitochondrias’ cytochrome oxidase C, or CcO, a critical enzyme involved in oxidative phosphorylation. CcO uses oxygen to make water and set up a transmembrane potential that is used to synthesize ATP (energy source).

The biologists observed disrupting a single protein subunit of cytochrome oxidase C led to major changes in the mitochondria and cells themselves.”These cells showed all the characteristics of cancer cells,” Avadhani said...