ATP tagged posts

Whether cells in the human body survive or die under stress depends, among other things, on their mitochondria. Scientists at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Freiburg have now shown that a sudden stop in energy production in mitochondria prevents normal cell death or so-called apoptosis and instead triggers an inflammatory response. The results of this research were published in the journal Immunity.

“We found that mitochondria provide a kind of decision-making aid: they regulate whether a cell undergoes clean, silent apoptosis or releases pro-inflammatory messenger substances,” explains Prof. Dr...

Researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) have developed a small-molecule drug that prevents weight gain and adverse liver changes in mice fed a high-sugar, high-fat Western diet throughout life.

“When we give this drug to the mice for a short time, they start losing weight. They all become slim,” said Madesh Muniswamy, Ph.D., professor of medicine in the health science center’s Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.

Findings by the collaborators, also from the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, were published Feb...

Obese fruit flies are the experimental subjects in a Nature Communications study of the causes of muscle function decline due to obesity. In humans, skeletal muscle plays a crucial role in metabolism, and muscle dysfunction due to human obesity can lead to insulin resistance and reduced energy levels.

Interestingly, studies in various animal models have shown that time-restricted feeding — a natural non-pharmaceutical intervention — protects against obesity, aging and circadian disruption in peripheral tissues such as skeletal muscle. However, the mechanisms underlying those benefits were not known.

In fruit flies — scientifically known as Drosophila melanogaster — obese Drosophila that are subje...

Illustration depicting biocell attached to CMOS integrated circuit with membrane containing sodium-potassium pumps in pore. Credit: Trevor Finney and Jared Roseman/Columbia Engineering

System combines biological ion channels with solid-state transistors to create a new kind of electronics. Researchers have, for the first time, harnessed the molecular machinery of living systems to power an integrated circuit from ATP, energy currency of life. They integrated a conventional solid-state complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit with an artificial lipid bilayer membrane with ATP-powered ion pumps, opening the door to creating entirely new artificial systems that contain both biological and solid-state components.

“We are excited at the prospect of expanding the palette...