Body

A frontier lies deep within our cells.

Our bodies are as vast as oceans and space, composed of a dizzying number of different types of cells. Exploration reaches far, yet the genes that make each cell and tissue unique have remained largely obscure.

That's changing with the help of a team led by Gregorio Valdez, an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.

Studying mice, researchers have found a way to prevent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Blocking a path that delivers dietary fructose to the liver prevented mice from developing the condition, according to investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The study appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —A Purdue University-led research team has figured out how to disable a part of the SARS virus responsible for hiding it from the immune system; a critical step in developing a vaccine against the deadly disease.

The findings also have potential applications in the creation of vaccines against other coronaviruses, including MERS, said Andrew Mesecar, who led the research.

NEW YORK (June 2, 2014) -- Primary care doctors practicing in a model of coordinated, team-based care that leverages health information technology are more likely to give patients recommended preventive screening and appropriate tests than physicians working in other settings, according to research published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Athens, Ga. – New research by University of Georgia ecologists sheds light on exactly what happens to coral during periods of excessively high water temperatures. Their study, published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography, documents a coral bleaching event in the Caribbean in minute detail and sheds light on how it changed a coral's community of algae—a change that could have long-term consequences for coral health, as bleaching is predicted to occur more frequently in the future.

Washington, DC—The Endocrine Society today issued a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for the diagnosis and treatment of two types of rare adrenal tumors – pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas – that can raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and even death if left untreated.

The CPG, entitled "Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline," appeared in the June 2014 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM), a publication of the Endocrine Society.

PHILADELPHIA (June 3, 2014) – According to new research from the Monell Center, receptors for stress-activated hormones have been localized in oral taste cells responsible for detection of sweet, umami, and bitter. The findings suggest that these hormones, known as glucocorticoids, may act directly on taste receptor cells under conditions of stress to affect how these cells respond to sugars and certain other taste stimuli.

Why are e-cigarettes so popular among Americans who want to quit smoking, even though so little is known about their safety or effectiveness? The answer lies in their marketing – they are simply "cooler" than nicotine inhalers. So says Michael Steinberg of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in the USA, leader of a pilot study¹ about the perception and use of these nicotine delivery devices. The findings appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine², published by Springer.

DARIEN, IL – A new study suggests that night owls are more sedentary and feel that they have a harder time maintaining an exercise schedule.

TAMPA, Fla. (June 3, 2014) – Moffitt Cancer Center researchers, in collaboration with the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium, have developed a process to analyze mutated genes in lung adenocarcinoma to help better select personalized treatment options for patients. Adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer in the United States with approximately 130,000 people diagnosed each year.

Research published in the International Journal of Sustainable Development suggests that purportedly entertaining films that feature global warming and climate change can affect public understanding. But films are often bound up in problematic and limiting identity politics, which commonly reiterate racial, gender and sexual stereotypes positioning as they do white men as being the decision makers and the voice of authority.

URBANA, Ill. – When participants in a local Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program received vouchers for fruits and vegetables at area farmers markets, they ate a greater variety of vegetables and more often chose fruits or vegetables as snacks. But a survey comparing prices at grocery stores and farmers markets showed that better produce prices could be found in local supermarkets, says a new University of Illinois study.

June 3, 2014 – Community opioid overdose prevention programs (OOPPs)—including the use of naloxone for rapid drug reversal—can improve bystander responses to overdose of heroin and related drugs, according to a review in the June Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Scientists at New York University and the University of Melbourne have developed a method using DNA origami to turn one-dimensional nano materials into two dimensions. Their breakthrough, published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, offers the potential to enhance fiber optics and electronic devices by reducing their size and increasing their speed.

MADISON, Wis. — A grandfather clock is, on its surface, a simple yet elegant machine. Tall and stately, its job is to steadily tick away the time. But a look inside reveals a much more intricate dance of parts, from precisely-fitted gears to cable-embraced pulleys and bobbing levers.