Press monitoring
Teaching Fat Cells to Burn Calories: New Target Against Obesity Involves Brown Fat
9.3.2012 | Press monitoring
In the war against obesity, one's own fat cells may seem an unlikely ally, but new research from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) suggests ordinary fat cells can be reengineered to burn calories. While investigating how a common drug given to people with diabetes works in mice, a UCSF team discovered that a protein called...
Yield from organically grown crops globally 20% lower than in conventional farming
7.3.2012 | Press monitoring
Globally speaking, the yield from crops from organic farming is on average twenty percent lower than from crops grown according to conventional farming methods. This is the finding of a so-called meta-study carried out by researchers at Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR. The study involved comparing 362 pieces of scientific research...
Research shows how the body senses a range of hot temperatures
6.3.2012 | Press monitoring
Research over the past 20 years has shown that proteins on the surface of nerve cells enable the body to sense several different temperatures. Now scientists have discovered how just a few of these proteins, called ion channels, distinguish perhaps dozens of discrete temperatures, from mildly warm to very hot. Researchers showed that the building...
Blockade of Learning and Memory Genes May Occur Early in Alzheimer's Disease: Treatable in Mice
5.3.2012 | Press monitoring
A repression of gene activity in the brain appears to be an early event affecting people with Alzheimer's disease, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found. In mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, this epigenetic blockade and its effects on memory were treatable. Dr. Tsai and her team found that a protein called histone...
Eat Your Broccoli: Another Mechanism Discovered by Which Sulforaphane Prevents Cancer
2.3.2012 | Press monitoring
Sulforaphane was identified years ago as one of the most critical compounds that provide much of the health benefits in cruciferous vegetables, and scientists also knew that a mechanism involved was histone deacetylases, or HDACs. This family of enzymes can interfere with the normal function of genes that suppress tumors. HDAC inhibitors, such as...
How Vitamin D Inhibits Inflammation
1.3.2012 | Press monitoring
Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered specific molecular and signaling events by which vitamin D inhibits inflammation. In their experiments, they showed that low levels of Vitamin D, comparable to levels found in millions of people, failed to inhibit the inflammatory cascade, while levels considered adequate did inhibit...
A blood test may eventually help diagnose depression
29.2.2012 | Press monitoring
A small, pilot study shows a new blood test accurately distinguishes patients diagnosed with depression from control participants. In a paper published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, a team including MGH researchers reports a test of nine biological measures, or "biomarkers," in a patient’s blood could determine whether they are depressed....
Scientists isolate egg-producing stem cells from adult human ovaries
28.2.2012 | Press monitoring
For the first time, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have isolated egg-producing stem cells from the ovaries of reproductive age women and shown these cells can produce what appear to be normal egg cells or oocytes. In the March issue of Nature Medicine, the team from the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology at MGH reports the...
Eating Citrus Fruit May Lower Women's Stroke Risk
27.2.2012 | Press monitoring
A compound in citrus fruits may reduce your stroke risk, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Eating higher amounts of a compound in citrus fruits, especially oranges and grapefruit, may lower ischemic stroke risk. Women who ate high amounts of the compound had a 19 percent lower risk of ischemic...
Researchers Make Living Model of Brain Tumor
24.2.2012 | Press monitoring
Researchers have created a living 3-D model of a brain tumor and its surrounding blood vessels. In experiments, the scientists report that iron-oxide nanoparticles carrying the agent tumstatin were taken by blood vessels, meaning they should block blood vessel growth. The living-tissue model could be used to test the effectiveness of nanoparticles...
