New treatment to combat obesity and heart disease
An interdisciplinary research team at The University of Texas at San Antonio has successfully developed an innovative inhibitor that shows promise in fighting obesity and potentially preventing heart disease. Francis Yoshimoto, an assistant professor in the UTSA College of Sciences’ Department of Chemistry, is leading a team that developed an anti-obesity drug that blocks the […]
Researchers feed worms a natural plant extract; watch them fatten, live 40% longer
A research team in the Louisiana State University Department of Biological Sciences led by Assistant Professor Adam Bohnert has published a landmark study linking greater metabolic health — achieved through a natural plant extract — with longer lifespans in C. elegans, commonly known as roundworms. Although worms and humans don’t appear to have much in […]
Research advances knowledge of the battle between viruses and human cells: Discovery of protective RNA mechanism informs pursuit to develop anti-viral drugs
In the long-term battle between a herpesvirus and its human host, a University of Massachusetts virologist and her team of students have identified some human RNA able to resist the viral takeover — and the mechanism by which that occurs. This discovery, described in a paper published Feb. 15 in Proceedings of the National Academy […]
Surprisingly high fraction of dead galaxies found in ancient galactic city: Why cluster’s galaxies are unlike those in all the other known protoclusters is a mystery
An international team of astronomers led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, has discovered an unusual massive cluster of young galaxies forming in the early universe. The newly discovered growing galactic metropolis, named MAGAZ3NE J095924+022537, is a newborn galaxy cluster, or protocluster, consisting of at least 38 member galaxies, and is about 11.8 […]
Genetically informed atlases reveal new landscapes in brain structure: Findings identify hundreds of new genomic loci that help explain how the brain is shaped
An international team of scientists has used atlases of the human brain informed by genetics to identify hundreds of genomic loci. Loci is plural for locus, and in genetics indicates the physical location of a gene or variant on a chromosome. The work was led by Chi-Hua Chen, PhD, associate professor in the Department of […]
Scientists unveil promising new approach to diabetes prevention: Experimental compound protects obese mice from diabetes-like metabolic changes
A team of scientists from Scripps Research has conducted promising early tests of a new strategy that might one day be used to prevent or treat type 2 diabetes. The scientists, whose results are reported in Nature Communications, tested an experimental compound called IXA4 in obese mice. They showed that the compound activates a natural […]
Complex three-dimensional kidney tissue generated in the lab from the scratch
A research team based in Kumamoto University (Japan) has created complex 3D kidney tissue in the lab solely from cultured mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. These organoids could lead the way to better kidney research and, eventually, artificial kidneys for human transplant. By focusing on an often-overlooked tissue type of organoid generation research, a type […]
Scientists discover new avian immunological pathway
A research team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has discovered a new immune pathway in chickens that viruses — such as those that tend to infect birds, humans, and animals and spread diseases like influenza or Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever — may be targeting. The discovery, which has implications also […]
New study sheds light on origins of life on Earth: Researchers explored the evolution of metal-binding proteins across billions of years
Addressing one of the most profoundly unanswered questions in biology, a Rutgers-led team has discovered the structures of proteins that may be responsible for the origins of life in the primordial soup of ancient Earth. The study appears in the journal Science Advances. The researchers explored how primitive life may have originated on our planet […]
NASA’s Webb Telescope reaches major milestone as mirror unfolds
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope team fully deployed its 21-foot, gold-coated primary mirror, successfully completing the final stage of all major spacecraft deployments to prepare for science operations. A joint effort with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency, the Webb mission will explore every phase of cosmic history — from within our […]