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Scientists ID molecular 'switch' in liver that triggers harmful effects of saturated and trans fats

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers have identified a molecular mechanism in the liver that explains, for the first time, how consuming foods rich in saturated fats and trans-fatty acids causes elevated blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and increases one's risk of heart disease and certain cancers. In the Jan. 28 issue of Cell, scientists led by Bruce Spiegelman, PhD, rep...

Genetically modified natural killer immune cells attack, kill leukemia cells

Natural killer (NK) immune system cells can be genetically modified to brandish a powerful "on-switch" that prompts them to aggressively attack and kill leukemic cells. This finding, from researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, suggests a way to improve the outcome of children who receive treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or other blood cancers. Results of the...

UCSD discovery may help extend life of natural pesticide

A team led by biologists at the University of California, San Diego has discovered a molecule in roundworms that makes them susceptible to Bacillus thuringiensis toxin, or Bt toxin--a pesticide produced by bacteria and widely used by organic farmers and in genetically engineered crops to ward off insect pests. Their findings should facilitate the design and use of Bt toxins to prevent ins...

Insight into natural cholesterol control suggests novel cholesterol-lowering therapy

New work reported in the March issue of Cell Metabolism has provided insight into a key mechanism by which cells limit cholesterol synthesis. The finding suggests a novel approach to the development of cholesterol-lowering drugs that may boost the effect of statins, one of the most prescribed cholesterol inhibitors, according to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.<...

Genetically Modified Natural Killer Immune Cells Attack, Kill Leukemia Cells

Natural killer (NK) immune system cells can be genetically modified to brandish a powerful "on-switch" that prompts them to aggressively attack and kill leukemic cells. This finding, from researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, suggests a way to improve the outcome of children who receive treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or other blood cancers. Results of the...

Oceans more vulnerable to agricultural runoff than previously thought, study finds

Researchers have long suspected that fertilizer runoff from big farms can trigger sudden explosions of marine algae capable of disrupting ocean ecosystems and even producing "dead zones" in the sea. Now a new study by Stanford University scientists presents the first direct evidence linking large-scale coastal farming to massive algal blooms in the sea. Writing in the March 10 issue of th...

UCLA scientists store materials in cells natural vaults

In the realm of nanotechnology, or study of the tiny, scientists often aim to safely deliver and leave material in the human body without causing harm. A big challenge is how to design a package for this biomaterial that will be compatible with living cells and will not provoke an immune reaction. Previous efforts have relied upon viruses or artificial chemicals to house and deliver drugs or othe...

Man-made wetland's effectiveness similar to natural marsh

Researchers who studied a man-made wetland in Ohio for two years concluded that the created wetland filtered and cleaned water as well as or better than would a natural marsh. The wetland, which was built in an agricultural area, reduced levels of phosphorus by nearly 60 percent and nitrates by 40 percent. Phosphorus and nitrates are prime ingredients in both fertilizers and in water poll...

Conserved amino acids play both structural and mechanistic roles in sandwich-like protein

The question of whether amino acids in sandwich-like proteins are there to stabilize the structure or to speed up the protein-folding process is best answered by "all of the above," according to researchers at Rice University in Houston. This discovery, reported in today's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could benefit future research on treatments for disease...

Natural Killers Could Lead to New Hepatitis Treatments

Researchers have discovered that natural killer T (NKT) cells, the immune system's sentinels, patrol the labyrinthine blood vessels of the liver for invaders or signs of tissue damage and demonstrate a dogged behavior not seen before in other T cells. The new studies show that NKT cells crawl along vessel walls, even upstream against blood flow. They halt only when they receive a chemical...

Researchers pioneer new gene therapy technique using natural repair process

Harnessing the strength of a natural process that repairs damage to the human genome, a researcher from UT Southwestern Medical Center has helped establish a method of gene therapy that can accurately and permanently correct mutations in disease-causing genes. By artificially initiating a DNA repair process known as homologous recombinat...

Tsunami-damaged coral reefs should be left to recover naturally, say scientists

Coral reefs damaged in the Asian tsunami tragedy should be allowed to recover naturally before countries launch into expensive restoration plans, according to some of the world's leading scientists. The scientists, led by a researcher from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and who set out their views in an advisory brief for the World Bank, point to historical records of major coral...

Natural tumor suppressor in body discovered by UCSD medical researchers

A natural tumor suppressor that could potentially be turned on in certain cancer cells to prevent the formation of tumors has been discovered by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Located on chromosome 18 and called PH domain Leucine-rich repeat Protein Phosphatase (PHLPP, pronounced "flip"), the tumor suppressor is described in the April 1,...

Cultural norms not unique to human societies

Humans are not alone in their desire to conform to cultural norms, according to new study findings that confirm, for the first time, chimpanzees share the same conformist tendencies. Researchers, in determining how chimpanzee communities share and maintain traditions, discovered they possess a natural motivation to copy their peers well into adulthood and say that although other species show some...

Naturally occurring asbestos linked to lung cancer

Everyday exposure to naturally occurring asbestos increases the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma, according to a study by UC Davis researchers. Exposure to asbestos in the workplace, particularly in shipyards, has long been recogn...

Agricultural antibiotic use contributes to 'super-bugs' in humans

Doctors have become increasingly concerned by the problem of "super-bugs" - bacteria that have become resistant to standard antibiotics. It is well known that a high rate of antibiotic prescribing in hospitals contributes to the emergence of drug resistant bacteria. But for some antibiotics, an even more important factor contributing to such emergence, argues a team of researchers in the open acc...

North & South American researchers find architectural abnormalities in T. cruzi ribosome

A Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator from Albany, New York, and an HHMI international research scholar from Buenos Aires, Argentina have combined their expertise to identify two peculiar features of the protein-making machinery of the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Their findings could help scientists develop a safe and effective drug for the disease, whose cardiac complications k...

Agricultural workers at increased risk for infection with animal flu viruses

Farmers, veterinarians and meat processors who routinely come into contact with pigs in their jobs have a markedly increased risk of infection with flu viruses that infect pigs, according to a study funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While the findings are not entirely unexpected, the strikin...

Cornell finds natural selection in humans

The most detailed analysis to date of how humans differ from one another at the DNA level shows strong evidence that natural selection has shaped the recent evolution of our species, according to researchers from Cornell University, Celera Genomics and Celera Diagnostics. In a study published in the Oct. 20 issue of the journal Nature, Cornell scientists analyzed 11,624 genes, comparing h...

Oysters: The natural way to protect our shores

A study published in the latest issue of Restoration Ecology finds that in coastal Louisiana, oyster reefs help to deter erosion. Oyster reefs are self-sustaining, and are additionally attractive because they use native materials, have the potential for long-term growth, and contribute to overall ecosystem stability and quality. Oyster larvae move in groups and water-borne chemicals stimu...

Natural compound from 'pond scum' shows potential activity against Alzheimer's

A compound isolated from a cyanobacterium, a type of blue-green algae known as Nostoc, shows promise of becoming a natural drug candidate for fighting Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, according to an in vitro study by researchers in Switzerland. It is believed to be the first time that a potent agent against Alzheimer's has been isolated from cyanobacteria, commonly known as 'pon...

A new window into structural plasticity in the adult visual cortex

Neuroscientists have known for decades that the adult brain can reorganize neural pathways in response to new experiences, for example, by changing the firing pattern and responses of neurons. But it has remained an open question whether structural changes accompany this functional plasticity. In a new study published in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Wei-Chung Allen Lee and colleagues rep...

Meditation associated with structural changes in brain

The regular practice of meditation appears to produce structural changes in areas of the brain associated with attention and sensory processing. An imaging study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers showed that particular areas of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, were thicker in participants who were experienced practitioners of a type of meditation commonly...

New discovery: Molecular variation in one gene affects the growth of natural populations

For the first time, ecologists have been able to show that molecular variation in one gene may affect the growth of a population in its natural habitat. Research Professor Ilkka Hanski, University of Helsinki, and Dr Ilik Saccheri, University of Liverpool, UK, discovered that the population growth of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) is affected by the allelic composition of th...

Common bacteria pirate natural mechanism to get inside cells

Bacteria and viruses utilize a natural mechanism to get inside cells and grow, researchers say. These pathogens gain entry the same way millions of receptors on the cell's surface routinely do after they get activated, says Dr. Yehia Daaka, professor and Distinguished Chair in Oncologic Pathology at the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Daaka is corresponding author on an article published...

Natural selection at single gene demonstrated

Biologists seeking elusive proof of natural selection at the single-gene level have a powerful new tool at their disposal. Chris Toomajian, postdoctoral researcher in molecular and computational biology in the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, led a group that sought to replace the standard neutral model, a common but unrealistic test for natural selection, with a statistical meth...

HortResearch science reveals the natural potential of apples

Fruit lovers worldwide may soon enjoy new, healthier, tastier apples, following the release this week of crucial genetic data which fruit breeders say will help revolutionise the produce industry. Researchers at New Zealand's world renowned fruit science company HortResearch, announced today that they would complete the public release of the world's most extensive collection of apple DNA s...

Study shows that cells have a natural defense against HIV

Scientists here have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that cells use to fight off the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS. The study was led by...

Invasive exotic plants helped by natural enemies

Although conventional wisdom suggests that invasive exotic plants thrive because they escape the natural enemies that kept them in check in their native ranges, a new study in the journal Science suggests the opposite. Exotic plants that are in the presence of their natural enemies actually do better in their introduced ranges. The research from the Georgia Institute of Technology appears in the...

Chimpanzees can transmit cultural behavior to multiple 'generations'

Transferring knowledge through a chain of generations is a behavior not exclusive to humans, according to new findings by researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University and the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. For the first time, researchers have shown chimpanzees exhibit generational learning behavior similar to that in humans. Unlike previous findings that in...

Researchers seek to solve mystery of natural HIV control

An international, multi-institutional research consortium is seeking to discover how a few HIV-infected individuals are naturally able to suppress replication of the virus. The Elite Controller Collaborative Study ( ), the first large-scale haplotype-mapping study in pe...

Cultural transmission in bats: When listening for dinner, bats learn from their neighbors

In an exciting study that provides new understanding of how animals learn--and learn from each other--researchers have demonstrated that bats that use frog acoustic cues to find quality prey can rapidly learn these cues by observing other bats. While numerous examples are known of instances where predators can use so-called "social learning" to learn new visual and olfactory cues associated with...

Natural vitamin E tocotrienol reaches blood at protective levels

Two recent studies offer new evidence suggesting an alternative form of natural vitamin E can be taken by mouth and will reach the blood in humans at levels determined to protect against stroke and other diseases. Vitamin E occurs naturally in eight different forms. The primary vitamin E on drugstore shelves is called tocopherol, or TCP. But another natural form of vitamin E surfacing as...

Natural pine bark extract relieves muscle cramp and pain in athletes and diabetics

A study published in this month's issue of Angiology shows that supplementation with the pine bark extract Pycnogenol® (pic-noj-en-all) improves blood flow to the muscles which speeds recovery after physical exercise. The study of 113 participants demonstrated that Pycnogenol significantly reduces muscular pain and cramps in athletes and healthy, normal individuals. "With the millions of...

Study shows pine bark naturally decreases severe chronic venous insufficiency

Recent findings published in the journal of Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hematosis show a significant symptom reduction of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) in patients after supplementing with Pycnogenol® (pic-noj-en-all), an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree. Over 35 years of research on Pycnogenol® demonstrate the antioxidant's ability to improve blo...

Producing bio-ethanol from agricultural waste a step closer

Research conducted by Delft University of Technology has brought the efficient production of the environmentally-friendly fuel bio-ethanol a great deal closer to fruition. The work of Delft researcher Marko Kuyper was an important factor in this. His research in recent years has greatly improved the conversion of certain sugars from agricultural waste to ethanol. On Tuesday 6 June, Kuyper receive...

Cell death following blood 'reflow' injury tracked to natural toxin

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered what they believe is the "smoking gun" responsible for most tissue and organ damage after a period of blood oxygen loss followed by a sudden restoration of blood oxygen flow. Working with mice, the Hopkins team found that the sudden oxygen bath triggered by restored blood flow causes cells to make a chemical so toxic it kills the cells. The wo...

New technology used to construct the first map of structural variation in the human genome

Beyond the simple stream of one-letter characters in the human genome sequence lies a complex, higher-order code. In order to decipher this level of architecture, scientists have developed powerful new experimental and algorithmic methods to detect copy number variants (CNVs)--defined as large deletions and duplications of DNA segments. These technologies--reported today in the journal Genom...

A natural chemical found in strawberries boosts memory in healthy mice

Mothers have long exhorted their children to eat their fruit and vegetables. But once kids are beyond mom's watchful eye, the hated greens often go the way of Barbie dolls and power rangers. Now, there's another reason to reach for colorful fruits past adolescence. Fisetin, a naturally occurring flavonoid commonly found in strawberries and other fruits and vegetables, stimulates signaling...

Does natural selection drive the evolution of cancer?

The dynamics of evolution are fully in play within the environment of a tumor, just as they are in forests and meadows, oceans and streams. This is the view of researchers in an emerging cross-disciplinary field that brings the thinking of ecologists and evolutionary biologists to bear on cancer biology. Insights from their work may have profound implications for understanding why current...