News tagged with molecular and cellular biology

Related topics: protein , brain , cells , neurons , mutations




Using precisely-targeted lasers, researchers manipulate neurons in worms' brains, take control of their behavior

In the quest to understand how the brain turns sensory input into behavior, Harvard scientists have crossed a major threshold. Using precisely-targeted lasers, researchers have been able to take over an animal's ...

Neuroscience created Sep 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Research shows mice brains are 'very wired up' at birth, suggests experience selects which connections to keep

Ask the average person the street how the brain develops, and they'll likely tell you that the brain's wiring is built as newborns first begin to experience the world. With more experience, those connections are strengthened, ...

Neuroscience created Jun 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Saturated fatty acids lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance

Excessive levels of certain saturated fatty acids cause mitochondria to fragment, leading to insulin resistance in skeletal muscle, a precursor of type 2 diabetes, according to a paper in the January issue of the journal ...

Medical research created Jan 20, 2012 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 8

Eat too much? Maybe it's in the blood

Bone marrow cells that produce brain-derived eurotrophic factor (BDNF), known to affect regulation of food intake, travel to part of the hypothalamus in the brain where they "fine-tune" appetite, said researchers from Baylor ...

Medical research created Feb 26, 2013 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study shows how neurons interact, could lead to new treatment for addiction

Harvard scientists have developed the fullest picture yet of how neurons in the brain interact to reinforce behaviors ranging from learning to drug use, a finding that might open the door to possible breakthroughs in the ...

Neuroscience created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Scientists discover mechanism that controls obesity, atherosclerosis and potentially cancer

Scientists from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have discovered a new signalling pathway that controls both obesity and atherosclerosis. The team demonstrated, for the first time, that mice deficient in ...

Medical research created Jul 03, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

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

Synthetic 'poop' can cure C. difficile infection, study finds

A synthetic "poop" developed at the University of Guelph can cure nasty gastrointestinal infections caused by Clostridium difficile, a toxin-producing bacterium.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jan 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Fatheads: How neurons protect themselves against excess fat

We're all fatheads. That is, our brain cells are packed with fat molecules, more of them than almost any other cell type. Still, if the brain cells' fat content gets too high, they'll be in trouble. In a recent study in mice, ...

Medical research created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Brainbow,' version 2.0: Researchers refine breakthrough system for producing images of brain, nervous system

(Medical Xpress)—The breakthrough technique that allowed scientists to obtain one-of-a-kind, colorful images of the myriad connections in the brain and nervous system is about to get a significant upgrade.

Neuroscience created May 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A brighter future for infertility treatment: study

(Medical Xpress) -- Male infertility could soon have a boost through new treatments at a sub-DNA 'epigenetic' level, according to researchers from The Australian National University.

Genetics created Dec 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Using rabies virus, researcher tracks inputs to dopamine neurons

A genetically-modified version of the rabies virus is helping scientists at Harvard to trace neural pathways in the brain, a research effort that could one day lead to treatments for Parkinson's disease and addiction.

Neuroscience created Jun 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers identify and block protein that interferes with appetite-suppressing hormone

Ever since the appetite-regulation hormone called leptin was discovered in 1994, scientists have sought to understand the mechanisms that control its action. It was known that leptin was made by fat cells, reduced appetite ...

Medical research created Apr 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Octopus' provides cancer breakthrough

A breakthrough in understanding a biological process that causes many common cancers including lung and breast cancer opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for the development of improved cancer drugs. ...

Cancer created May 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Findings suggest how cancer cells can become resistant to DNA damage-inducing treatments

An international team of scientists led by UC Davis researchers has discovered that DNA repair in cancer cells is not a one-way street as previously believed. Their findings show instead that recombination, an important DNA ...

Cancer created Oct 23, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast