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A widely used probiotic stimulates bone formation in mice, and could feasibly represent a new approach to preventing or treating osteoporosis in human patients, according to research by Emory University researchers. Studies by Roberto Pacifici, Ph.D., and colleagues showed that in young, healthy female mice, treatment using Latobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) prompted other intestinal bacteria toRead more

Researchers at The Wistar Institute and colleagues say they have successfully engineered novel DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies (DMAbs) targeting Zaire Ebolavirus that were effective in preclinical models. Their study (“In Vivo Delivery of Synthetic Human DNA-Encoded Monoclonal Antibodies Protect against Ebolavirus Infection in a Mouse Model”), published online in Cell Reports, showed that DMAbs were expressed overRead more

Unlike healthy cells or mature cancer cells, the stem cells that sustain cancer rely on energy derived from protein or, more precisely, amino acids. This unique dietary preference, say scientists based at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, makes cancer stem cells uniquely vulnerable to drugs that inhibit amino acid uptake. Such drugs could killRead more

Fiber, fiber, and more fiber! If you want to have a healthy gut and strong heart you must eat your fiber – at least that’s what the inundating marketing campaigns tell us on a daily basis. Thankfully, most scientific evidence also currently supports that diets rich in fiber are associated with an array of positiveRead more

Researchers say they have defined a possible mechanistic link that explains how zinc deficiency could contribute to autism. Their study (“Shank and Zinc Mediate an AMPA Receptor Subunit Switch in Developing Neurons”), published in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, shows how zinc shapes the synapses between brain cells that form during early development, via a complexRead more

Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City have found that patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) also show signs of asymptomatic brain injury. They reported the results of their study at the American Heart Association Scientific Session conference in Chicago.   The team enrolled 246 patients in the study: 198 with atrialRead more

Long thought to suppress cancer by slowing cellular metabolism, the protein complex AMPK also seemed to help some tumors grow, confounding researchers. Now, Salk Institute researchers have solved the long-standing mystery around why AMPK can both hinder and help cancer. The lab of Reuben Shaw, Ph.D., director of the Salk Cancer Center and the paper’sRead more

Scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the U.K., and Duke University in the U.S., report new insights into the mechanisms by which the pathogenic bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis hijacks the human host cells in which it replicates. Their finding, which they say “unveils a remarkable case of protein moonlighting,” suggests that one ChlamydiaRead more

Immunotherapy has been a life-saving intervention for an array of diseases, particularly cancer. However, the treatments are not suited for every patient and can lead to serious side effects and even death. Understanding which patients would be best served by immunotherapy treatments is quickly becoming an essential factor in designing treatment strategies. As such, investigatorsRead more

CRISPR-Cas9 has the reputation for being “snip happy,” for cutting and cutting a genomic site until one of the cell’s DNA repair systems finally skips a beat, leaving the site imperfectly repaired – scarred, really. Although scarred DNA has its purposes, it isn’t the same thing as precisely edited DNA.   According to a newRead more