Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Preliminary study shows potential of Manuka honey as a nutraceutical for breast cancer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study found that Manuka honey could potentially be an alternative, natural option for breast cancer prevention and treatment -- particularly for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, the most common subtype of breast cancer that accounts for about 70-80% of all breast cancer cases.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Probiotics during pregnancy shown to help moms and babies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Giving probiotics to pregnant mice can enhance both the immune system and behavior of the mothers and their offspring.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Quantum pumping in molecular junctions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new theoretical modelling technique that could potentially be used in the development of switches or amplifiers in molecular electronics.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Zebrafish use surprising strategy to regrow spinal cord      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study maps out a detailed atlas of all the cells involved in regenerating the zebrafish spinal cord. In an unexpected finding, the researchers showed that survival and adaptability of the severed neurons themselves is required for full spinal cord regeneration. Surprisingly, the study showed that stem cells capable of forming new neurons play a complementary role but don t lead the process.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Surprise finding in study of environmental bacteria could advance search for better antibiotics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers studying bacteria from freshwater lakes and soil say they have determined a protein's essential role in maintaining the germ's shape. Because the integrity of a bacterial cell's 'envelope' or enclosure is key to its survival, the finding could advance the search for new and better antibiotics.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Advancing modular quantum information processing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of physicists envisions a modular system for scaling quantum processors with a flexible way of linking qubits over long distances to enable them to work in concert to perform quantum operations. The ability to carry out such correlated or 'entangling' operations between linked qubits is the basis of the enhanced power quantum computing holds compared with current computers.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Beige fat cells with a 'Sisyphus mechanism'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new class of fat cells makes people healthier. The cells consume energy and produce heat through seemingly pointless biochemical reactions.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Molecular
Published

New mechanism of action kills cancer cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Conventional cancer drugs work by triggering apoptosis, that is programmed cell death, in tumor cells. However, tumor cells have the ability to develop strategies to escape apoptosis, rendering the drugs ineffective. A research team now describes a new mechanism of action that kills cancer cells through ferroptosis.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

A ketogenic diet could improve the response to pancreatic cancer therapy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a way to get rid of pancreatic cancer in mice by putting them on a high fat, or ketogenic, diet and giving them cancer therapy.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Exciting advance in stem cell therapy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new technique for mechanically manipulating stem cells could lead to new stem cell treatments, which have yet to fulfill their therapeutic potential.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Rewriting the evolutionary history of critical components of the nervous system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has rewritten the conventionally understood evolutionary history of certain ion channels -- proteins critical for electrical signaling in the nervous system. The study shows that the Shaker family of ion channels were present in microscopic single cell organisms well before the common ancestor of all animals and thus before the origin of the nervous system.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Starvation and adhesion drive formation of keratinocyte patterns in skin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cell-cell adhesion-induced patterning in keratinocytes can be explained by just starvation and strong adhesion researchers find.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Study reveals oleoyl-ACP-hydrolase underpins lethal respiratory viral disease      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Respiratory infections can be severe, even deadly, in some individuals, but not in others. Scientists have gained new understanding of why this is the case by uncovering an early molecular driver that underpins fatal disease. Oleoyl-ACP-hydrolase (OLAH) is an enzyme involved in fatty acid metabolism. A study shows that OLAH drives severe disease outcomes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Researchers ID body's 'quality control' regulator for protein folding      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Anyone who's tried to neatly gather a fitted sheet can tell you: folding is hard. Get it wrong with your laundry and the result can be a crumpled, wrinkled mess of fabric, but when folding fails among the approximately 7,000 proteins with an origami-like complexity that regulate essential cellular functions, the result can lead to one of a multitude of serious diseases ranging from emphysema and cystic fibrosis to Alzheimer's disease. Fortunately, our bodies have a quality-control system that identifies misfolded proteins and marks them either for additional folding work or destruction, but how, exactly, this quality-control process functions is not entirely known. Researchers have now made a major leap forward in our understanding of how this quality-control system works by discovering the 'hot spot' where all the action takes place.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Pre-surgical antibody treatment might prevent heart transplant rejection      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Anti-rejection regimens currently in use are broad immunosuppressive agents that make patients susceptible to infections. By using specific antibodies, it may be possible to just block the inflammation that leads to rejection but leave anti-microbial immunity intact.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Physics: General
Published

How mortal filaments' self-assemble and maintain order: Align or die      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A previously unknown mechanism of active matter self-organization essential for bacterial cell division follows the motto 'dying to align': Misaligned filaments 'die' spontaneously to form a ring structure at the center of the dividing cell. The work could find applications in developing synthetic self-healing materials.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

Taking a 'one in a million' shot to tackle dopamine-linked brain disorders      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With the help of a tiny, transparent worm called Caenorhabditis elegans, researchers have identified novel players in dopamine signaling by taking advantage of a powerful platform generated via the Million Mutation Project (MMP) for the rapid identification of mutant genes based on their functional impact. They can seek insights from simpler organisms whose genes bear striking similarity to those found in humans and where opportunities for genetic insights to disease can be pursued more efficiently and inexpensively.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular
Published

An appetizer can stimulate immune cells' appetite, a boon for cancer treatments      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The body has a veritable army constantly on guard to keep us safe from microscopic threats from infections to cancer. Chief among this force is the macrophage, a white blood cell that surveils tissues and consumes pathogens, debris, dead cells, and cancer. Macrophages have a delicate task. It's crucial that they ignore healthy cells while on patrol, otherwise they could trigger an autoimmune response while performing their duties.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Biology: Zoology
Published

A new mechanism for shaping animal tissues      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A key question that remains in biology and biophysics is how three-dimensional tissue shapes emerge during animal development. Research teams have now found a mechanism by which tissues can be 'programmed' to transition from a flat state to a three-dimensional shape.