Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

Researchers identify target to prevent hardening of arteries

The hardening of arteries is a hallmark of atherosclerosis, an often deadly disease in which plaques, excessive connective tissue, and other changes build up inside vessel walls and squeeze off the flow of ...

Cardiology created May 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A cautionary tale on genome-sequencing diagnostics for rare diseases

Children born with rare, inherited conditions known as Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation, or CDG, have mutations in one of the many enzymes the body uses to decorate its proteins and cells with sugars. Properly diagnosing ...

Genetics created May 10, 2013 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Patients' skin cells transformed into heart cells to create 'disease in a dish'

Researchers use skin cells from patients with an inherited heart condition to recreate the adult-onset disease in a laboratory dish—producing the first maturation-based disease model for testing new therapies.

Medical research created Jan 27, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Junk DNA' drives embryonic development

An embryo is an amazing thing. From just one initial cell, an entire living, breathing body emerges, full of working cells and organs. It comes as no surprise that embryonic development is a very carefully ...

Genetics created Dec 03, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 21 | with audio podcast

Differences between 'marathon mice' and 'couch potato mice' reveal key to muscle fitness

Researchers discovered that small pieces of genetic material called microRNAs link the two defining characteristics of fit muscles: the ability to burn sugar and fat and the ability to switch between slow- ...

Medical research created May 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers unravel molecular roots of Down syndrome

Sanford-Burnham researchers discover that the extra chromosome inherited in Down syndrome impairs learning and memory because it leads to low levels of SNX27 protein in the brain.

Medical research created Mar 24, 2013 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

How belly fat differs from thigh fat—and why it matters

Men tend to store fat in the abdominal area, but don't usually have much in the way of hips or thighs. Women, on the other hand, are more often pear-shaped—storing more fat on their hips and thighs than in the belly. Why ...

Medical research created Jan 11, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (14) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Shifting the balance between good fat and bad fat

In many cases, obesity is caused by more than just overeating and a lack of exercise. Something in the body goes haywire, causing it to store more fat and burn less energy. But what is it? Researchers at ...

Medical research created Jan 04, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Brain enzyme is double whammy for Alzheimer's disease

The underlying causes of Alzheimer's disease are not fully understood, but a good deal of evidence points to the accumulation of β-amyloid, a protein that's toxic to nerve cells. β-amyloid is formed ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created Aug 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Chemical reaction keeps stroke-damaged brain from repairing itself

Nitric oxide, a gaseous molecule produced in the brain, can damage neurons. When the brain produces too much nitric oxide, it contributes to the severity and progression of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases ...

Medical research created Feb 04, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Newly identified tumor suppressor provides therapeutic target for prostate cancer

Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have identified how an enzyme called PKCζ suppresses prostate tumor formation. The finding, which also describes a molecular chain ...

Cancer created Apr 01, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Making it easier to make stem cells

The process researchers use to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)—a special type of stem cell that can be made in the lab from any type of adult cell—is time consuming and inefficient. To ...

Medical research created Sep 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

How some prostate tumors resist treatment—and how it might be fixed

Hormonal therapies can help control advanced prostate cancer for a time. However, for most men, at some point their prostate cancer eventually stops responding to further hormonal treatment. This stage of ...

Cancer created Mar 18, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Diabetic fruit flies support buzz about dietary sugar dangers

Regularly consuming sucrose—the type of sugar found in many sweetened beverages—increases a person's risk of heart disease. In a study published January 10 in the journal PLOS Genetics, researchers at San ...

Genetics created Jan 17, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Molecule's structure reveals new therapeutic opportunities for rare diabetes

Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have determined the complete three-dimensional structure of a protein called HNF-4α. HNF-4α controls gene expression in the liver and pancreas, ...

Medical research created Mar 13, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast