Body

Highlights

Scientists at the Institut Pasteur, Inserm, the Collège de France and Pierre & Marie Curie University, working closely with scientists at the University of Auvergne, have recently discovered the function of pejvakin, a molecule that plays a vital role in the hearing system. The absence of this molecule appears to be responsible for noise-induced hearing loss, one of the most common causes of deafness. The scientists' discovery, which was published on November 5 in the journal Cell, offers new prospects for the treatment of this condition.

Religious parents are more likely to describe their children as empathetic and concerned about justice than are non-religious parents. But, new evidence reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on November 5 suggests that the opposite is in fact true.

HOUSTON - (Nov. 5, 2015) - Endometriosis - tissue usually found inside the uterus that grows outside - thrives because of altered cellular signaling that is mediated by estrogen, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the journal Cell.

"This is an age-old problem that affects many women," said Dr. Bert O'Malley, chair of molecular and cellular biology at Baylor and corresponding author of the report. "As we unravel its molecular underpinnings, we come closer to finding an effective treatment."

Sometimes, the molecules that make up life exhibit strange behavior. For instance, in simple organisms such as yeast, when genetic material becomes damaged, the affected DNA strands increase their motion, waving about inside the cell like a sail unfurled.

Over the years, scientists have seen more instances of such curious behavior during DNA repair--one of life's most fundamental processes--but whether it also happened in human cells was debated. Until now.

A new study from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet shows that new heart muscle cells in mice are mainly formed directly after birth. After the neonatal period the number of heart muscle cells does not change, and A new study from Sweden's Karolinska Institutet shows that new heart muscle cells in mice are mainly formed directly after birth. After the neonatal period the number of heart muscle cells does not change, and heart growth occurs only by cell size increase, similar to the human heart. The results are presented in the journal Cell.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Steroid hormones - hormones such as testosterone and estradiol - control various aspects of animal biology and are crucial for the proper functioning of the body. Produced and secreted by endocrine glands in the body, these cholesterol derivatives are released into the blood through which they are transported to cells of various organs where they mediate a wide variety of important physiological functions.

PHILADELPHIA - When peripheral nerves are damaged and their vital synaptic paths are disrupted, they have the ability to regenerate and reestablish lost connections. But what about when a nerve is severed completely, its original route lost? How does a regenerating axon, looking to reconnect with its proper target -- with so many possibilities and only one correct path to restore original functioning -- know which way to go?

AURORA, Colo. (Nov. 5, 2015) - A lack of sufficient sleep reduces the body's sensitivity to insulin, impairing the ability to regulate blood sugar and increasing the risk of diabetes, according to researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the University of Colorado Boulder.

The new study adds to a growing body of information linking a lack of sleep to a range of ailments including obesity, metabolic syndrome, mood disorders, cognitive impairment and accidents.

Professor Richard Baines and Dr Carlo Giachello used a genetically-altered fruit fly to show that when nervous system activity is suppressed by shining yellow light through its embryo, it will not go on to develop symptoms of the disease when it gets older.

Though the procedure has only been used on flies, the team believe the Medical Research Council funded research for the first time proves that the development of epilepsy can be stopped in its tracks if treated early enough.

A new study by the University of Colorado shows that the longer people are awake during the time their biological clock is telling them to sleep the worse their sensitivity to insulin, which is a precursor to diabetes.

Tours, France (Wednesday, November 5) -- An international team of scientists presented new evidence showing how cranberries are poised to be a compelling tool to help reduce antibiotic resistance and oxidative stress.

In the island chain called the Lesser Antilles, stretching from the Virgin Islands south to Trinidad and Tobago, a team of researchers lead by Theodore Schurr, an anthropology professor in the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences, is solving a generations-old mystery: Do indigenous communities still exist in the Caribbean region today?

It comes as no surprise to geographer Chris Funk that East Africa has been particularly hard hit with back-to-back droughts this year and last. In fact, he and colleagues at the UC Santa Barbara /U.S. Geological Survey's Climate Hazards Group (CHG) predicted the area's 2014 event based the increasing differential between extremely warm sea surface temperatures in the west and central Pacific Ocean.

Boston, MA - Researchers have identified a new regulatory pathway that may play an important role in basal-like breast cancer (BLBC), a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer often referred to as "triple negative." This pathway may serve as a target for the development of an effective therapeutic.

These findings appear in the journal Molecular Cancer Research.