News tagged with metabolic functions

Metabolic errors can spell doom for DNA

Many critical cell functions depend on a class of molecules called purines, which form half of the building blocks of DNA and RNA, and are a major component of the chemicals that store a cell’s energy. ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 31, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New test spots early signs of mucopolysaccharidoses -- inherited metabolic disorders

A team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, have developed a simple, reliable test for identifying biomarkers for mucopolysaccharidoses ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jan 08, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Fruit fly intestine may hold secret to the fountain of youth

One of the few reliable ways to extend an organism's lifespan, be it a fruit fly or a mouse, is to restrict calorie intake. Now, a new study in fruit flies is helping to explain why such minimal diets are ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 02, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (17) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Researchers flip the switch between development and aging in C. elegans

When researchers at the Buck Institute dialed back activity of a specific mRNA translation factor in adult nematode worms they saw an unexpected genome-wide response that effectively increased activity in specific stress ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 05, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

How microbes take out the trash

(PhysOrg.com) -- The molecular machinery bacteria use to rid themselves of toxic substances including antimicrobial drugs has been studied in detail by a UA-led team of researchers. A better understanding ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 10, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Self-administered light therapy may improve cognitive function after traumatic brain injury

At-home, daily application of light therapy via light-emitting diodes (LEDs) placed on the forehead and scalp led to improvements in cognitive function and post-traumatic stress disorder in patients with a traumatic brain ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Mar 17, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Researchers find blood-brain barrier damaged by disease

A study into the effects of Sanfilippo Syndrome type B (MPS III B) has found that the barrier responsible for protecting the brain from the entry of harmful blood-borne substances is structurally and functionally damaged ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Mar 08, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The connection between a cell's cytoskeleton and its surface receptors

New findings from researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto may shed light on the mechanisms that regulate the organization of receptors on the cell surface, ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Mar 06, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Gut bacteria can control organ functions

Bacteria in the human gut may not just be helping digest food but also could be exerting some level of control over the metabolic functions of other organs, like the liver, according to research published this week in the ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Feb 28, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Cell phone use may have effect on brain activity, but health consequences unknown

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 ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Feb 22, 2011 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Metabolic syndrome linked to memory loss in older people

Older people with larger waistlines, high blood pressure and other risk factors that make up metabolic syndrome may be at a higher risk for memory loss, according to a study published in the February 2, 2011, online issue ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Feb 02, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Case study on Alzheimer's disease looks at progression before and after death

A case study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet sheds light on the pathological course of Alzheimer's disease. The brain of the first Alzheimer's patient to display amyloids demonstrable with a PET ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 14, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The couch potato effect: Deletion of key muscle protein inhibits exercise

Daniel Kelly, M.D., and his colleagues at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) at Lake Nona have unveiled a surprising new model for studying muscle function: the couch potato mouse. While these mice ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Nov 30, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Diabetes may clamp down on cholesterol the brain needs

The brain contains more cholesterol than any other organ in the body, has to produce its own cholesterol and won't function normally if it doesn't churn out enough. Defects in cholesterol metabolism have been linked with ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Nov 30, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Acupuncture changes brain's perception and processing of pain

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers have captured pictures of the brain while patients experienced a pain stimulus with and without acupuncture to determine acupuncture's effect on how the brain ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Nov 30, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 9 | with audio podcast