http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (PhysOrg.com) -- Research from a new member of the bioengineering faculty at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering demonstrates that our cells metabolize nutrients in a very different manner than has long been thought. According to new research published in the journal Nature by Christian Metallo, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering, cells growing under conditions similar to those inside tumors prefer to convert amino acids to lipids rather than carbohydrates. The findings, published online on November 20, 2011, change our fundamental understanding of how cells metabolize glucose and glutamine in order to grow, which was thought to have been settled for more than 50 years. The discovery also means doctors could have a new targets for therapeutic drugs designed to stop cancer cell growth. http://phys.org/news241176832.html Biology Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:34:11 EST news241176832 By knocking out a key regulatory protein, scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland dramatically boosted insulin sensitivity in lab mice, an achievement that opens a new door for drug development and the treatment of diabetes. http://phys.org/news240150762.html Biology Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:32:55 EST news240150762 The Mediterranean diet has proven beneficial effects not only regarding metabolic syndrome, but also on its individual components including waist circumference, HDL-cholesterol levels, triglycerides levels, blood pressure levels and glucose metabolism, according to a new study published in the March 15, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study is a meta-analysis, including results of 50 studies on the Mediterranean diet, with an overall studied population of about half a million subjects. http://phys.org/news218738020.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:34:25 EST news218738020 As if the recent prediction that half of all Americans will have diabetes or pre-diabetes by the year 2020 isn't alarming enough, a new genetic discovery published online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) provides a disturbing explanation as to why: we took an evolutionary "wrong turn." In the research report, scientists show that human evolution leading to the loss of function in a gene called "CMAH" may make humans more prone to obesity and diabetes than other mammals. http://phys.org/news217780940.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:42:32 EST news217780940 In a preliminary study, researchers found that 50-minute cell phone use was associated with increased brain glucose metabolism (a marker of brain activity) in the region closest to the phone antenna, but the finding is of unknown clinical significance, according to a study in the February 23 issue of JAMA. http://phys.org/news217615851.html Medicine & Health Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:51:07 EST news217615851 In a paper appearing in the Sept. 16 online edition of Science, Matthew Vander Heiden assistant professor of biology and member of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and researchers at Harvard University report a previously unknown element of cancer cells' peculiar metabolism. They found that cells can trigger an alternative biochemical pathway that speeds up their metabolism and diverts the byproducts to construct new cells. http://phys.org/news203865483.html Medicine & Health Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:18:31 EST news203865483 People who sleep less than six hours a night may be three times more likely to develop a condition which leads to diabetes and heart disease, according to researchers at the University of Warwick. http://phys.org/news203080675.html Medicine & Health Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:40:05 EST news203080675 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have linked resveratrol, a chemical compound found in red wine, to improved health of patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), also known as “pre-diabetes.” http://phys.org/news197204894.html Medicine & Health Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:40:01 EST news197204894 Defects in insulin function - which occur in diabetes and obesity - could directly contribute to psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia. http://phys.org/news195236580.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:23:29 EST news195236580 A research team from China explored the mechanism underlying niacin's action on glucose metabolism, and the association between the US per capita niacin consumption and the obesity prevalence in the US. They found there is a close correlation between the niacin consumption and the obesity prevalence in the US population. The increased obesity prevalence in the US children in the past three decades may be to a large extent of a niacin fortification-related event. http://phys.org/news193572389.html Medicine & Health Thu, 20 May 2010 11:06:46 EST news193572389 Fine-tuning radiotherapy to take into account which parts of a patient's tumor are growing fastest could improve control of cancer while subjecting patients to lower doses of radiation, Dutch researchers reported today at the 2nd European Lung Cancer Conference. http://phys.org/news191834705.html Medicine & Health Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:40:01 EST news191834705 New research investigating neurological decline in a population of "super healthy" elderly subjects found that the decline in neurological function of the peripheral nervous system attributed to aging may be related to metabolic factors, such as blood sugar levels, even if these factors are within the normal range. http://phys.org/news190545230.html Medicine & Health Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:30:01 EST news190545230 A team of scientists led by Professor Adrian Krainer, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has discovered molecular factors in cancer cells that boost the production of an enzyme that helps alter the cells' glucose metabolism. The altered metabolic state, called the Warburg effect, promotes extremely rapid cell proliferation and tumor growth. Adrian Krainer, Ph.D. http://phys.org/news183394119.html Medicine & Health Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:49:00 EST news183394119 The neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) makes cameo appearances throughout the body, but its leading role is as the opening act in the stress response, jump-starting the process along the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that CRF also plays a part in the pancreas, where it increases insulin secretion and promotes the division of the insulin-producing beta cells. http://phys.org/news183380169.html Medicine & Health Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:56:26 EST news183380169 In two major studies published in Nature Genetics today, researchers use biological understanding to dissect the genetics of diabetes. An international team comprising researchers from more than 100 institutions analysed vast suites of genetic data from more than 100,000 people of European descent to uncover the associations. http://phys.org/news182957901.html Medicine & Health Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:38:51 EST news182957901 (PhysOrg.com) -- People with type 2 diabetes who have gastric bypass surgery often leave the hospital without the need for previously prescribed diabetes medications. http://phys.org/news181839236.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:59:01 EST news181839236 Facing the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes worldwide in the past few decades, one may ask what is wrong with humans. Geneticists tell us that the human genome has not changed markedly in such a short time. Therefore, something must be happening in our environment or diet. As a matter of fact, dietary pattern is known to be closely linked to the development of type 2 diabetes. The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes following worldwide food fortification with niacin suggests that type 2 diabetes may involve excessive niacin intake. http://phys.org/news180708417.html Medicine & Health Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:00:03 EST news180708417 For years, scientists have tried to determine the basis for discrepancies between race and the predisposition for development of diseases such as type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Could factors such as differences in lifestyle or access to health care play a role, or is there something else in play? http://phys.org/news179556345.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:00:01 EST news179556345 Even the anticipation of sweets may cause our muscles to start taking up more blood sugar, say researchers reporting in the December issue of Cell Metabolism. That message is delivered via neurons in the brain's hypothalamus containing the chemical known as orexin and the sympathetic nervous system, the studies in mice and rats suggest. http://phys.org/news178892306.html Medicine & Health Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:19:29 EST news178892306 Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine set out to address a question that has been challenging scientists for years: How do dietary restriction—and the reverse, overconsumption—produce protective effects against aging and disease? http://phys.org/news177772576.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:30:03 EST news177772576 Resveratrol, a molecule found in red grapes, has been shown to improve diabetes when delivered orally to rodents. Until now, however, little has been known about how these beneficial changes are mediated in the body. A new study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a journal of The Endocrine Society, shows that the brain plays a key role in mediating resveratrol's anti-diabetic actions, potentially paving the way for future orally-delivered diabetes medications that target the brain. http://phys.org/news174050258.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:19:02 EST news174050258 Researchers at the National Cancer Institute have identified a gene that may play a role in breast cancer metastasis to the brain, according to a report in Molecular Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://phys.org/news171031223.html Medicine & Health Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:41:22 EST news171031223 Systematic, progressive resistance training - also called strength training - is a safe and efficient way for middle-aged and older adults to improve their health. A Virginia Tech led research team that includes experts in behavior, exercise, physiology, and medicine is designing a program to help pre-diabetic adults begin and, most important, maintain resistance training in order to prevent diabetes. http://phys.org/news170423515.html Medicine & Health Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:10:01 EST news170423515 A cellular protein that may prevent nerve cells from dying also helps to improve insulin action and lower blood glucose levels, according to a study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in collaboration with scientists at University of California, Los Angeles. http://phys.org/news167458070.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:08:30 EST news167458070 A large study of patients with mild cognitive impairment revealed that results from cognitive tests and brain scans can work as an early warning system for the subsequent development of Alzheimer's disease. http://phys.org/news166768783.html Medicine & Health Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:45:56 EST news166768783 (PhysOrg.com) -- A flavonoid derived from citrus fruit has shown tremendous promise for preventing weight gain and other signs of metabolic syndrome which can lead to Type 2 Diabetes and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The study, led by Murray Huff of the Robarts Research Institute at The University of Western Ontario looked at a flavonoid (plant-based bioactive molecule) called naringenin. The findings are published online in the journal Diabetes. http://phys.org/news166703997.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:10:02 EST news166703997 Research led by the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) has identified a new gene associated with diabetes, together with a mechanism that makes obese mice less susceptible to diabetes. http://phys.org/news165808028.html Medicine & Health Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:47:44 EST news165808028 People who suffer from Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, a rare inherited cancer syndrome, develop gastrointestinal polyps and are predisposed to colon cancer and other tumor types. Carefully tracing the cellular chain-of-command that links nutrient intake to cell growth (and which is interrupted in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome), allowed researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies to exploit the tumors' weak spot. http://phys.org/news164338018.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:30:01 EST news164338018 Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and collaborators at Harvard Medical School have linked a specialized protein in human muscles to the process that clears glucose out of the bloodstream, shedding light on what goes wrong in type 2 diabetes on a cellular level. http://phys.org/news162739002.html Chemistry Thu, 28 May 2009 14:17:20 EST news162739002 Being overweight or obese is a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated risk factors; however, in patients with established CVD, obesity appears to play a protective role. In fact, data suggest obese patients with heart disease do better and tend to live longer than leaner patients with the same severity of disease, according to a review article published in the May 26, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. http://phys.org/news161887269.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 May 2009 17:41:32 EST news161887269