http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Medical Xpress)—Waging an immunological war against a pathogen is not the body's only way to survive an infection. Sometimes tolerance, or learning to live with an invader, can be just as important. In tolerance the body lessens or repairs the damage that the pathogen causes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-infections.html Immunology Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:50:01 EST news286438914 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists have discovered a hormone that causes the body's insulin-producing factories, beta cells, to churn out more of themselves. Having enough insulin is critical to regulating the amount of sugar in the blood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-scientists-insulin-producing-cells-self-replicate.html Medical research Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:21:30 EST news286438883 (Medical Xpress)—Free-floating pieces of DNA in a cell's watery interior can mean bad things: invading viruses, bacteria, or parasites, ruptured cellular membranes, or disease. Genetic material is meant to be contained in a cell's nucleus or key organelles, and when it's loose, it's a sign for the immune system that something is wrong. Now, Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have discovered the molecular pathway responsible for detecting loose bits of DNA outside a cell's nucleus in the cytosol and setting off the resulting immune reaction. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-scientists-mechanism-triggers-immune-responses.html Medical research Fri, 21 Dec 2012 06:35:16 EST news275294102 (Medical Xpress)—A few years ago, scientists discovered an unexpected layer of information woven into the genetic code – a nucleotide called 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, or 5hmC. Its meaning was unknown at the time, but a new analysis suggests that a regulatory protein called MeCP2, known for its involvement in the nervous system disorder Rett Syndrome, recognizes 5hmC in the brain and facilitates activation of the genes in which it is most abundant. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-epigenetic-decoder-scientists-rett-syndrome.html Medical research Fri, 21 Dec 2012 06:32:24 EST news275293937 (Medical Xpress)—The human brain likes to make predictions about how the world works. Imagine, for example, that you move to a new town. At first, you don't know where to go for dinner. But after weeks of trying different restaurants, you pick a favorite, a little Thai place that makes the best green curry. Several months later, however, you notice the curry isn't as spicy and the vegetables seem undercooked. At first you give your favorite place the benefit of the doubt. But after a few more so-so dinners, you suddenly realize that something must have changed—perhaps the owner hired a new chef—and your notion that this is the best place around is no longer valid. So you begin searching for a new favorite restaurant. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-beliefs.html Neuroscience Tue, 09 Oct 2012 06:58:05 EST news268983677 (Medical Xpress) -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Friedhelm Hildebrandt has discovered that genetic mutations that impair cells’ ability to repair damaged DNA can cause chronic kidney disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-kidney-disease-linked-defects-cells.html Genetics Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:14:47 EST news263535279 The 20 proteins in the Wnt family are some of the most important proteins in controlling how an organism develops and grows, but for 30 years scientists have not known what these vital proteins actually look like. The proteins have eluded standard visualization techniques, in large part because they do not dissolve well in the water-based liquids normally used for biochemical studies. But once Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator K. Christopher Garcia, and Claudia Janda, a post-doctoral fellow in his Stanford University School of Medicine lab, thought of an approach to make the proteins behave better, they succeeded in solving the first structure of a Wnt protein. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-molecular-picture-protein-family-vital.html Medical research Thu, 31 May 2012 14:00:18 EST news257688856 (Medical Xpress) -- Antidepressant medications such as Prozac have helped improve mood and lessen anxiety in millions of people with major depression. But scientists know surprisingly little about how these drugs work. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-key-brain-cell-antidepressant-action.html Medical research Fri, 25 May 2012 08:34:23 EST news257153646 (Medical Xpress) -- When an animal is born, its early experiences help map out the still-forming connections in its brain. As neurons in sensory areas of the brain fire in response to sights, smells, and sounds, synapses begin to form, laying the neuronal groundwork for activity later in life. Not all parts of the brain receive input directly from the external world, however, and researchers have wondered how these regions build their wiring early in development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-positive-feedback-brain.html Neuroscience Wed, 16 May 2012 09:25:12 EST news256379095 (Medical Xpress) -- In 1883, Swedish chemist Olof Hammarsten discovered that milk proteins called caseins contain not just the known building blocks of proteins, but also the chemical phosphate. It was the first hint that phosphates – which are now considered critical regulators of protein function -- are tacked onto proteins. Today, scientists know that enzymes called kinases can control protein function by attaching phosphates to proteins produced inside cells. Hundreds of kinases have been discovered and characterized, but the kinase that phosphorylates casein was never pinned down—until now. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-century-long-protein-chance-discovery-bone.html Medical research Thu, 10 May 2012 17:02:29 EST news255888136 In a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, memory problems stem from an overactive enzyme that shuts off genes related to neuron communication, a new study says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-epigenetic-culprit-memory-decline.html Medical research Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:00:07 EST news249734266 A new drug, MDV3100, is improving the survival rate in men with advanced prostate cancer, results of a large, phase III clinical trial show. The drug is designed to block a type of cellular receptor that drives progression of prostate cancer. Based on the strength of the data from the phase III trial, it is anticipated that the biopharmaceutical company Medivation, which licensed MDV3100, will file a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration later this year. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-drug-survival-patients-drug-resistant-prostate.html Cancer Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:06:15 EST news247287958 Everyone knows exercise is good for you. We’re told time spent on the treadmill can reduce our risk of diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disorders. But exactly how exercise provides this protection is a bit of a mystery. A new study finds that exercise prompts cells to break down unwanted proteins and other cellular junk to produce more energy. The process, called autophagy, may explain how exercise fends off metabolic disorders like diabetes and protects against other diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-triggers-beneficial-cellular-recycling.html Medical research Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:04:40 EST news246121430 (Medical Xpress) -- After a challenging two-decade hunt, scientists have pinpointed the gene responsible for a rare disease that causes seizures in infancy and sudden, uncontrollable movements in adolescence and early adulthood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-gene-hunters-rare-movement-disorder.html Genetics Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:10:02 EST news243248263 (Medical Xpress) -- It’s been said that there are two kinds of eating: eating to survive, or satisfy hunger, and eating for pleasure. The pathways in the brain that control each urge have been studied independently. But now, research by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Jeffrey M. Friedman of Rockefeller University provides evidence that the two pathways are closely intertwined. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-hunger-hormones-food-appeal.html Neuroscience Fri, 25 Nov 2011 11:30:02 EST news241441253