Tag: Human Biology

Using cutting-edge technologies, researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, have developed the first genome-wide dataset on protein translation during fibroblast activation, revealing a network of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that play a key role in the formation of disease-causing fibrous tissue in the heart. Their findings, published in the journal Circulation, could help in the search

A new mathematical model describes how highly concentrated antibody solutions separate into different phases, similar to an oil and water mixture. This separation can reduce the stability and shelf-life of some drugs that use monoclonal antibodies, including some used to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer. A team of scientists from Penn State and MedImmune, LLC

Biomedical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin may have found a way for people to get better shuteye. Systematic review protocols — a method used to search for and analyze relevant data — allowed researchers to analyze thousands of studies linking water-based passive body heating, or bathing and showering with warm/hot water, with

Bone marrow transplants of hematopoietic stem cells have become standard treatment for a host of conditions including cancers of the blood and lymphatic systems, sickle cell anemia, inherited metabolic disorders, and radiation damage. Unfortunately, many bone marrow transplants fail due to rejection by the patient’s immune system or graft-versus-host disease (in which the transplanted marrow

Cells are incredibly adept at creating complex molecules, like therapeutics, and can do so much better than many of our best factories. Synthetic biologists look to re-engineer cells to make these molecules for specific needs, including pharmaceuticals and energy applications. But the trial-and-error process is difficult and time-consuming, and often competes with the cell’s other

Researchers at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion have revealed how a genetic message to produce healthy heart tissue is altered in the body during stress and aging to contribute to sudden cardiac death. The discovery published in today’s (Tuesday, May 28) Cell Reports centers on communication between heart cells and allows

An international consortium of scientists has analyzed protein-coding genes from nearly 46,000 people, linking rare DNA alterations to type 2 diabetes. The study, one of the largest known of its type, includes data from people of European, African American, Hispanic/Latino, East Asian, and South Asian ancestries. From this large cohort — roughly 21,000 individuals with

The Han Chinese are the world’s largest ethnic group, making up 91.6% of modern-day China. As DNA sequencing tools and statistical analyses software have advanced, scientists have been exploring the forces that helped shape the current genetic landscape of Han Chinese. Now, in a new study drawing from the largest study to date of three

A parasitic amoeba that causes severe gut disease in humans protects itself from attack by biting off pieces of host cells and putting their proteins on its own surface, according to a study by microbiologists at the University of California, Davis. “We’re very excited about how this ties into amoebic infection and into broader themes

The face you see in the mirror is the result of millions of years of evolution and reflects the most distinctive features that we use to identify and recognize each other, molded by our need to eat, breath, see, and communicate. But how did the modern human face evolve to look the way it does?

The origin of certain cancers in the sarcoma group is associated with a hitherto unknown interaction among different proteins. Findings now being presented create the opportunity to test new treatments of these forms of sarcoma. “We now know which mechanisms to shine the spotlight on,” says Pierre Åman, Professor of Tumor Biology at Sahlgrenska Academy,

What makes a biological clock tick? According to a new study from U of T Mississauga, the surprising answer lies with a gene typically associated with stem and cancer cells. In the first study of its kind for the field of circadian biology, UTM researchers used RNA sequencing to observe the expression of genes in

Controlling mosquito-borne illnesses, such as Dengue or West Nile virus, has historically been difficult due to a lack of effective vaccines and concerns about the environmental impact of insecticides. Thus, scientists have turned to manipulating Wolbachia, a parasitic bacterium within mosquitoes, as a way to control the reproductive fitness of mosquito populations that transmit human

A tree’s growth is dependent on nutrients from the soil and water, as well as the microbes in, on, and around the roots. Similarly, a human’s health is shaped both by environmental factors and the body’s interactions with the microbiome, particularly in the gut. Genome sequences are critical for characterizing individual microbes and understanding their

Viruses plague bacteria just as viruses like influenza plague humans. Some of the largest of these so-called bacteriophages have now been found in the human gut, where they periodically devastate bacteria just as seasonal outbreaks of flu lay humans low, according to a new study led by University of California, Berkeley, scientists. These “megaphages” —

Herpes viral infections use the ancient genetic material found in the human genome to proliferate, mimicking the same process tumors have been found to manipulate, Mount Sinai researchers have shown for the first time. These observations provide further insight about how herpes viruses can manipulate the immune system in ways that may drive neurodegenerative diseases

Medical researchers at Melbourne’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute have made a new discovery about how a baby’s sex is determined — it’s not just about the X-Y chromosomes, but involves a ‘regulator’ that increases or decreases the activity of genes which decide if we become male or female. The study, ‘Human Sex Reversal is caused

Researchers have discovered a human protein that helps fight the Ebola virus and could one day lead to an effective therapy against the deadly disease, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. The newly discovered ability of the human protein RBBP6 to interfere with Ebola virus replication suggests new ways to fight the infection. As

A powerful new biochemical platform is fueling the study of a family of enzymes that are promising targets for cancer treatment. Published today in Science Advances, the new method provides a high-resolution view of how these enzymes, called lysine methyltransferases, selectively mark proteins with chemical tags that alter their function. Because of their central role

When a cell divides — a process known as mitosis — its chromosomes need to be separated and evenly distributed into the newly created daughter cells. Although this is known to be extremely complicated and to feature a range of cellular components, many of its details remain unclear, which has hampered efforts to develop treatments