Articles in Information
Up Close With Opioid Receptors Researchers have taken the closest-yet look at the structures of opioid receptors, which play key roles in pain relief and addiction. The findings might aid development of safer painkillers and addiction-fighting medications. Structure of the κ-opioid receptor bound to the experimental drug JDTic is shown resting in a poppy […]
Risk in Red Meat? A new study adds to the evidence that eating red meat on a regular basis may shorten your lifespan. The findings suggest that meat eaters might help improve their health by substituting other healthy protein sources for some of the red meat they eat. Past research has tied red meat to […]
Carnivores Lack Taste for Sweets Some meat-eating mammals have lost their ability to taste sweetness in foods, and those that swallow their food whole may lack bitter and savory tastes. These new findings suggest that certain unneeded taste receptors may be lost through evolution. Cat-like fossa, a carnivorous mammal. Humans and other omnivores that eat […]
Worms Yield Insights into Brain Development Acorn worm embryos don’t have anything resembling a human brain. But researchers have found that developing worms have patterns of gene activity similar to those that direct our own brain development. The discovery suggests that genetic programs in creatures living more than 600 million years ago formed a scaffold […]
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Gorilla Genome Yields Surprises Researchers have completed a draft sequence of the gorilla genome. Their analysis reveals that people may be more closely related to gorillas than we realized. Kamilah. Image courtesy of the San Diego Zoo. Comparing the human genome sequence with those of other organisms helps us understand how we evolved and what […]
Nanocomplexes Label Cells for MRI Tracking Nanocomplexes can be used to label transplanted cells so they can be tracked by MRI, according to a new study. In the future, the technique might be used to monitor whether transplanted immune or stem cells reach their targets. Cell-based therapies have become a major focus in regenerative medicine […]
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Organ Transplants Without Life-Long Drugs A new method allowed kidney transplant recipients to eventually stop taking harsh immune-suppressing medications, even though they’d received mismatched organs. These preliminary findings may one day reduce the need for anti-rejection drugs and lead to more options for patients awaiting organ transplants. Organ transplants are life-saving, but finding well-matched donor […]
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Early Epigenetic Effects in Alzheimer’s Disease Repression of certain gene activity in the brain appears to be an early event affecting people with Alzheimer’s disease, a new study found. In mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, this blockade and its effects on memory were treatable. HDAC2 levels (red) are higher in cells from the hippocampus […]
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Diesel Exhaust and Lung Cancer Deaths in Miners In a study of miners, scientists found that heavy exposure to diesel exhaust increased the risk of death from lung cancer. The risk may also extend to other workers exposed to diesel exhaust, as well as people living in urban areas with higher diesel exhaust levels. […]
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How Sulfa Drugs Work Researchers have finally found out how sulfa drugs—the first class of antibiotics ever discovered—work at the molecular level. The finding offers insights into designing more robust antibiotic therapies. Bacillus anthracis. Image courtesy of CDC/ Dr. William A. Clark. Sulfa antibiotics were first used in the 1930s, and they revolutionized medicine. […]
