They have also shown that any pancreatic β cells can be regenerated several times and that chemically-induced diabetes in mice can thus be "treated" repeatedly. The challenge for the researchers is now to show that these procedures can be applied to humans.
Their work is published online in the Developmental Cell journal dated 27 June 2013.
"Our study shows that innovations do not just spread randomly in primate groups but, as in humans, are shaped by the monkeys' social networks," Whiten said.
Research focused on the regulation of the adult stem cells that line the gastrointestinal tract of Drosophila suggests new models for the study of Barrett's esophagus. Barrett's esophagus, a risk factor for esophageal cancer, is a condition in which the cells of the lower esophagus transform into stomach-like cells. In most cases this transformation has been thought to occur directly from chronic acid indigestion when stomach contents flow back up into the esophagus.
STANFORD, Calif. — A chemical code scrawled on histones — the protein husks that coat DNA in every animal or plant cell — determines which genes in that cell are turned on and which are turned off. Now, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have taken a new step in the deciphering of that histone code.
A team led by UC San Francisco researchers has discovered a sensory system in the foreleg of the fruit fly that tells male flies whether a potential mate is from a different species. The work addresses a central problem in evolution that is poorly understood: how animals of one species know not to mate with animals of other species.
People punish generous group members by rejecting them socially — even when the generosity benefits everyone — because the "big givers" are nonconformists, according to a Baylor University study.
The study, published in Social Science Research journal, showed that besides socially rejecting especially generous givers, others even "paid" to punish them through a points system.
Engineers from Queen Mary, University of London have developed the world's most precise computer simulation of how red blood cells might travel around the body to help doctors treat people with serious circulatory problems.
Red blood cells have the important task of carrying oxygen around the body but make up less than half of the total blood volume – 45 per cent in men and 40 per cent in women.
Bethesda, Md. -- The American Physiological Society (APS) issued the following statement today in response to the announcement on the use of chimpanzees in medical research:
Researchers from McGill University, RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Wako, Japan) and the Institute for Molecular Science (Okazaki, Japan) have discovered a way to make the widely used chemical process of hydrogenation more environmentally friendly – and less expensive.
Two symposia focusing on the ecological dynamics of infectious diseases such as avian influenza, Yellow Fever, and Lyme will take place during the Ecological Society of America's 98th Annual Meeting, held this year in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One will look at human influences on viral and bacterial diseases through our alteration of landscapes and ecological processes, while the other will focus on the emerging field of eco-epidemiology that seeks to integrate biomedical and ecological research approaches to address human health threats.
Male sea lampreys may not be the best-looking creatures swimming in our lakes and streams, but they apparently have something going for them that the ladies may find irresistible.
Research by a team of Michigan State University scientists found that the males have a secondary sex characteristic that creates heat when they get near a female lamprey, something the females find hard to say no to.
A new method, which analyzes the sounds in a child's cough, could soon be used in poor, remote regions to diagnose childhood pneumonia reliably. According to Udantha Abeyratne from the University of Queensland in Australia and colleagues, this simple technique of recording coughs with a microphone on the patient's bedside table, has the potential to revolutionize the management of childhood pneumonia in remote regions around the world. Their work¹ is published online in Springer's journal Annals of Biomedical Engineering².
With the help of phylogenetic analysis, scientists describe three new fungus species from New Zealand. The new species belong to the widespread genus Gymnopus, part of the Omphalotaceae family, the most famous representative of which, the Shiitake mushroom, is the favorite of many. The study was published in the open access journal Mycokeys.
'Is it hot in here or is it just you?' Clichéd chat-up lines may serve some humans well, but other animals prefer more imaginative ways to captivate and attract potential suitors. Take, for example, the male sea lamprey, which will coax ovulating females into its nest by releasing enticing pheromones. Once comfortably in the nest, the male will then perform an interesting dance routine, rubbing the female's belly with a small bump of tissue on his back. Should the female be happy with what she sees and feels, the two will then spawn their gametes simultaneously.
People have differing abilities to release and react to insulin depending on ethnicity, according to a new study from researchers at Lund University in Sweden, Stanford University and Kitasato University.
The results show that healthy subjects of all ethnicities were able to maintain a normal glucose level, but did so in different ways.