News tagged with biological systems


Go with your gut: Research sheds light on how microbes can interact with drugs

Scientists are already working to develop treatments that can be tailored to an individual's genetics, but what about tailoring treatments based on the genetics of the trillions of microbes that live in a ...

Medical research created Feb 15, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

First animal model of recent human evolution

The first animal model of recent human evolution reveals that a single mutation produced several traits common in East Asian peoples, from thicker hair to denser sweat glands, an international team of researchers reports.

Genetics created Feb 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Imaging fish in 3-D
: Automated system for high-speed analysis of vertebrate larvae could aid drug development (w/ Video

Zebrafish larvae—tiny, transparent and fast-growing vertebrates—are widely used to study development and disease. However, visually examining the larvae for variations caused by drugs or genetic mutations is an imprecise, ...

Medical research created Feb 13, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Synthetic circuit allows dialing gene expression up or down in human cells

Scientists who built a synthetic gene circuit that allowed for the precise tuning of a gene's expression in yeast have now refined this new research tool to work in human cells, according to research published online in Nature Co ...

Genetics created Feb 12, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Link found between insulin sensitivity, cells' powerhouses

If findings of a new study in mice are any indication, it might be possible to fine-tune cellular powerhouses called mitochondria, tweaking one aspect to increase insulin sensitivity, reduce body and fat ...

Medical research created Jan 29, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gene sequencing project mines data once considered 'junk' for clues about cancer

Genome sequencing data once regarded as junk is now being used to gain important clues to help understand disease. The latest example comes from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric ...

Cancer created Jan 24, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers find causality in the eye of the beholder

We rely on our visual system more heavily than previously thought in determining the causality of events. A team of researchers has shown that, in making judgments about causality, we don't always need to use cognitive reasoning. ...

Neuroscience created Jan 10, 2013 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Dopamine-receptor gene variant linked to human longevity

(Medical Xpress)—A variant of a gene associated with active personality traits in humans seems to also be involved with living a longer life, UC Irvine and other researchers have found.

Neuroscience created Jan 03, 2013 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cholesterol boosts the memory of the immune system

The memory of the human immune system is critical for the development of vaccines. Only if the body recognizes a pathogen with which it has already come into contact in the case of a second infection, the ...

Immunology created Dec 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Helping the nose know: Researcher answers 100-year-old question about how olfactory feedback mechanism works

More than a century after it was first identified, Harvard scientists are shedding new light on a little-understood neural feedback mechanism that may play a key role in how the olfactory system works in the brain.

Neuroscience created Dec 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Scientists discover how HIV virus gains access to carrier immune cells to spread infection

Scientists from the AIDS Research Institute IrsiCaixa have identified how HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, enters the cells of the immune system enabling it to be dispersed throughout an organism. The new ...

HIV & AIDS created Dec 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research on blood vessel proteins holds promise for controlling 'blood-brain barrier'

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have shed light on the activity of a protein pair found in cells that form the walls of blood vessels in the brain and retina, experiments that could lead to therapeutic ...

Medical research created Dec 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Changes in the gut bacteria protect against stroke

(Medical Xpress)—Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg demonstrate that an altered gut microbiota in humans is associated with symptomatic atherosclerosis and stroke. ...

Medical research created Dec 05, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

New findings on glucagon synthesis

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have shown that the cells that produce glucagon are stimulated by the hormone itself. A previous study by the same group demonstrated that this principle also applies to insulin. ...

Medical research created Dec 03, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Loss of gene expression may trigger cardiovascular disease, researchers find

(Medical Xpress)—A Yale-led team of researchers has uncovered a genetic malfunction that may lead to hardening of the arteries and other forms of cardiovascular disease. The study appears in the journal Cell Reports.

Medical research created Nov 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast