Shift work and jet lag disrupt not just sleep cycles, but feeding and digestive cycles as well. Such disruptions have been linked to risk of obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, infection, and other conditions. Now, researchers have identified an immune cell that helps set the daily rhythms of the gut. The findings open the door to new treatments for digestive ailments targeting such cells.
Read moreWound inflammation which results in impaired wound healing can have serious consequences for patients. Researchers have discovered a new defensive mechanism which enables our skin to actively kill bacteria. Central to this mechanism is a cellular messenger molecule known as 'interleukin 6', whose mode of action may be used in the future to prevent wound infections.
Read moreResearchers have developed a new way to deliver the DNA-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 into microorganisms in the lab, providing a way to efficiently launch a targeted attack on specific bacteria.
Read moreResearchers have identified the gene mutation responsible for a form of night blindness in dogs. Strategies to treat this condition, which affects a layer of neurons just below the primary photoreceptor cells, could also inform treatment of other diseases that rely on targeting this cell type.
Read moreBiomedical engineers have devised a machine learning approach to modeling the interactions between complex variables in engineered bacteria that would otherwise be too cumbersome to predict. Their algorithms are generalizable to many kinds of biological systems.
Read moreResearchers have developed a new and improved viral vector — a virus-based vehicle that delivers therapeutic genes — for use in gene therapy for sickle cell disease. In advanced lab tests using animal models, the new vector was up to 10 times more efficient at incorporating corrective genes into bone marrow stem cells than the conventional vectors currently used, and it had a carrying capacity of up to six times higher, the researchers report.
Read moreNuclear abnormalities such as nuclear blebs and micronuclei have devastating consequences for the genetic material and are associated with cancer or ageing. Scientists now revealed that the epigenetic enzyme MOF is crucial for the morphological integrity of the mammalian nucleus. Moreover, the study characterized the epigenetic landscape of nuclear abnormalities and discovered a formerly unknown epigenetic mechanism that seems to protect cells from additional damage.
Read moreResearchers have identified and confirmed the gene responsible for lutein esterification in bread wheat. The activity of this gene controls the timing of esterification in grain, which is related to storage and nutritional qualities of bread wheat and other grains.
Read moreEngineers have shown that the length of collagen fibers has a roll to play in the ability of normal cells to become invasive.
Read moreScientists have gained a new understanding of how tiny, ultra-resilient invertebrates known as tardigrades, or 'water bears,' are protected in extreme conditions. Tardigrades are found in water environments around the world — including mountainous, deep sea and Antarctic environments. The researchers discovered that a tardigrade protein named Dsup binds to chromatin — DNA inside cells — and forms a protective cloud against extreme survival threats such as radiation damage.
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