Loss of a Specific Enzyme Boosts Fat Metabolism and Exercise Endurance in mice

mouse exercise

Blocking the activity of a fat-regulating enzyme in the muscles of mice leads to an increased capacity for endurance exercise, according to the results of a new study. Sugars and fats are the primary fuels that power every cell, tissue and organ. For most cells, sugar is the energy source of choice, but when nutrients are scarce, such as during starvation or extreme exertion, cells will switch to breaking down fats instead.

The mechanisms for how cells rewire their metabolism in response to changes in resource availability are not yet fully understood, but new research reveals a surprising consequence when one such mechanism is turned off: an increased capacity for endurance (exercise.

In a study published in the Aug...

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Fundamentally new approach to Ultrasound Imaging.

North Carolina State University researchers have demonstrated a new technique for creating ultrasound images. The new approach is substantially simpler than existing techniques and could significantly drive down technology costs.

North Carolina State University researchers have demonstrated a new technique for creating ultrasound images. The new approach is substantially simpler than existing techniques and could significantly drive down technology costs.

“Conventional ultrasound devices have a receiver that detects ultrasonic waves and converts them into an electrical signal, which is then sent to a computer that processes the signal and converts it into an image,” says Xiaoning Jiang, co-corresponding author of a paper on the work and a Duncan Distinguished Professor of Mechanical...

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Extremely Young Galaxy is Milky Way Look-Alike

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Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, have revealed an extremely distant and therefore very young galaxy that looks surprisingly like our Milky Way. The galaxy is so far away its light has taken more than 12 billion years to reach us: we see it as it was when the Universe was just 1.4 billion years old. It is also surprisingly unchaotic, contradicting theories that all galaxies in the early Universe were turbulent and unstable. This unexpected discovery challenges our understanding of how galaxies form, giving new insights into the past of our Universe.

Galaxy is distorted, appearing as a ring of light in the sky...

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Immunotherapy-Resistant Cancers Eliminated in Mouse Study

Immune cells infiltrate a human tumor in the four colorized images above. In a mouse study, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that an antibody that targets the protein TREM2 empowers tumor-destroying immune cells and improves the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. WILLIAM VERMI/MARTINA MOLGORA

In a mouse study, researchers have found that an antibody that targets the protein TREM2 empowers tumor-destroying immune cells and improves the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment by stimulating the patient’s own immune system to attack cancer cells, yielding remarkably quick and complete remission in some cases...

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