JCI table of contents, February 2, 2004
... the central nervous system as the primary site of action for leptin's effects on metabolic improvement in l...ssion of the enzyme SCD-1 as a mechanism of leptin action to improve fatty liver degeneration. These findings may have profound effects on the progression of ...Research news from Tufts University, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy: February 2004
...a physician, I'd recommend that the most important action is for people is to stop smoking but those who do continue to smoke put themselves at high risk if using high doses of beta-carotene." Beta-carotene is still promising as an anti-cancer nutrient, but the protective dose seems to be best obtained fro...New mode of action discovered for tamoxifen
... of Iowa researchers have discovered a new mode of action for tamoxifen, which could lead to better targetin...ts as an anti-estrogen, meaning that it blocks the action of the hormone estrogen. Normal breast cells grow in response to estrogen in a controlled fashion. H...Understanding urinary tract infections
...s that plague many women. To image the bacteria in action through a videomicroscope, researchers made the bacteria glow by adding a phosphorescent green protein. The movies show the bacteria rapidly changing themselves and their interactions with each other to collectively hijack bladder cells and use them ...Research reveals brain has biological mechanism to block unwanted memories
... that could have injured him. "Our ability to stop action is so ubiquitous we don't know we're doing it," Anderson said. "This idea is that the neurobiological mechanism that we have evolved to control overt behavior might be recruited to control internal actions such as memory retrieval as well." Anderson ...Endurance of plants under quartz rocks possible model for life on early Earth, Mars
...ugars using atmospheric carbon dioxide through the action of light on green chlorophyll molecules. The algae's demonstration of high temperature resilience presented a paradox, because chlorophyll molecules themselves normally begin to degrade at about 167 degrees, according to Schlesinger, who is a bioge...JCI table of contents, January 2, 2004
...n sensitivity. TITLE: Inhibition of growth hormone action improves insulin sensitivity in liver IGF-1deficient mice AUTHOR CONTACT: Derek LeRoith National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Phone: 301-496-8090 Fax: 301-480-4386 E-mail...MIT helps unlock life-extending secrets of calorie restriction
...denine dinucleotide) inhibits Sir2 by blocking the action of NAD. During calorie restriction, levels of NADH decline in cells. This decrease in NADH allows NAD to better activate Sir2 and thereby extend life span. "These findings provide a simple model for activation of Sir2 and extension of life span by c...New roles for protein modifications in cell migration
...rst to reveal the function of glycosylation in the action of an ADAM-family protease, a finding of potential significance to the study and treatment of human autoimmune diseases and other disorders that involve defects in ADAM-family protein function. Interactions between the basement membrane of the migra...Quark Biotech generates a cholesterol-free mouse
...scover novel drugs and understand the mechanism of action of existing drugs for metabolic diseases and cancer, among others." The study supports for the first time in a complex organisms model the "sterol synergism" theory, which points out the interchangeability of certain sterols, that up to now had only ...Scripps Research receives $3 million anonymous donation
...neurocircuitry that is involved in the reinforcing action of alcohol, and they have begun to identify how this circuitry changes when a person becomes an alcoholic. They also established several working laboratory models that mimic the transition from social drinking to dependence and that are useful for pr...Researchers uncover pathway that could lead to plant generation of human-like protein
.... Researchers had found that the trigger for this action was the lack of specific sugar groups called sialic acids, attached to the sugar chains on protein molecules. When these groups are present on the proteins, the body does not act to rid itself of them. Without the sugar groups, however, the immune sy...Scientists identify molecular step that causes intoxication
...channel in the living animals, inhibiting neuronal action and leading to the decreased speed and motor control. BK channel mutants, on the other hand - worms that either lacked the channels or had non-functional ones - were virtually immune to the effects of alcohol. The scientists conclude that the B...Chemical gradient steers nerve growth in spinal cord
...and complicated one. It relies on the coordinated action of several signaling systems, each controlling one part of the journey then handing off to a different set of cues. Substances known as Netrin-1 and Sonic hedgehog, for example, tell the axons from commissural neurons to grow from the back of the spi...Beetles could prove a hit with the aircraft industry
...igh-pressure jet of boiling liquid in a rapid-fire action called pulse combustion. Building on work by Professor Tom Eisner at Cornell University, the new project will set out to improve understanding of the beetle's unique pulse combustion and nozzle ejection mechanism. It also aims to identify how combust...New advances in thrombosis help further understanding of disease prevention
...ce of vitamin K and converted into thrombin by the action of various activators in the clotting of blood) and an increased risk for venous thrombosis. "Before we start testing for these genetic disorders prior to prescribing E+P, we will need to study this area further," Cushman said. Enoxaparin Treatme...New understanding of insulin's complexities needed to conquer diabetes
...olecular links between obesity, peripheral insulin action and the function of insulin-producing beta cells, ...tes. "We found that IRS2 not only mediates insulin action in muscle, liver and fat, but that it is also essential for beta-cell function," said White. "That w...Link between alcohol consumption and muscle damage in females
...ehyde (a toxic intermediate compound formed by the action of alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme during the metabolism of alcohol), rather than alcohol, is the principal pathogenic perturbant. A New Study In an attempt to better understand the pathology induced by alcohol on a common muscle, a team of researche......ssrooms had radon measurements exceeding the USEPA action level and more than half of the schools had one or more classrooms above the action level. Three schools had particularly high levels of indoor radon in numerous classrooms, and the sc...Unraveling a protein, researchers uncover mechanics of anti-cancer agent
... Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, have identified the action of anastellin, a natural agent that is showing promise blocking metastasis of cancer cells and enhancing wound healing. That anastellin is derived from the cell adhesion protein fibronectin found in the extracellular matrix surrounding cells was know...