Journal of Clinical Investigation

Lithium restores cognitive function in Down syndrome mice

Down syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is the leading cause of genetically defined intellectual disability. In the brain, Down syndrome results in alterations in the connections between neurons and a reduction ...

Neuroscience created Dec 03, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Identifying the molecular causes of vision loss in demyelinating disease

Demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), are frequently associated with the progressive loss of vision. The retinal nerve damage is thought to be caused by immune system-mediated inflammation; however, other ...

Ophthalmology created Jan 02, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

How to mend a broken heart: Advances in parthenogenic stem cells

Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction during which unfertilized eggs begin to develop as if they had been fertilized. It occurs naturally in many plants and a few invertebrate (some bees, scorpions, parasitic ...

Medical research created Feb 22, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Full wired: Planar cell polarity genes guide gut neurons

The enteric nervous system (ENS), the "little brain" that resides within the gut wall, governs motility, secretion, and blood flow in the human gastrointestinal tract. Failure of the ENS to develop normally leads to congenital ...

Medical research created Mar 08, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Creating a new weapon in the fight against malaria

Over 200 million people contract malaria each year, and according to the World Health Organization, an estimated 655,000 people died from malaria in 2010.

Medical research created May 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Marked for destruction: Newly developed compound triggers cancer cell death

The BCL-2 protein family plays a large role in determining whether cancer cells survive in response to therapy or undergo a form of cell death known as apoptosis. Cells are pressured toward apoptosis by expression of pro-apoptotic ...

Cancer created May 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Improving obesity-induced insulin sensitivity

In recent years, a growing body of evidence has linked inflammation to the development of insulin resistance. In insulin resistance, the hormone insulin is less effective in promoting glucose uptake from the bloodstream into ...

Overweight and Obesity created Jun 01, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New model of muscular dystrophy provides insight into disease development

Muscular dystrophy is a complicated set of genetic diseases in which genetic mutations affect the various proteins that contribute to a complex that is required for a structural bridge between muscle cells and the extracellular ...

Medical research created Aug 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Ovarian cancer cells hijack surrounding tissues to enhance tumor growth

Tumor growth is dependent on interactions between cancer cells and adjacent normal tissue, or stroma. Stromal cells can stimulate the growth of tumor cells; however it is unclear if tumor cells can influence the stroma.

Cancer created Sep 04, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Researchers iron out the link between serum ferritin and diabetes

Iron overload increases the risk for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes; however, the exact mechanisms that link the two are unknown.

Medical research created Sep 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Small proteins in the cornea protect against bacterial infection

When it comes to germ-busting power, the eyes have it, according to a discovery by University of California, Berkeley, researchers that could lead to new, inexpensive antimicrobial drugs.

Medical research created Sep 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

HIV-1 vaccine development: Pinning down a moving target

HIV-1 is a genetically diverse collection of viruses, making it a moving target in vaccine development.

HIV & AIDS created Nov 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Home field advantage: Intravaginal immunization may help protect against infection

Sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) enter the body through the mucosal epithelial cells and the ability to direct pathogen-clearing T-cells to points of infection may be the critical element in developing successful vaccines ...

Immunology created Nov 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2

Immune cell migration is impeded in Huntington's disease

Huntington disease (HD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease caused by a mutation in the huntingtin gene (htt). Though most of the symptoms of HD are neurological, the mutant HTT protein is expressed in non-neural cells ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Nov 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A code of silence in acute myeloid leukemia

The development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with a variety of genetic changes. Some of these alterations are epigenetic, wherein the sequence of the genes is unchanged, but chemical modifications to the ...

Cancer created Nov 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0