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Category: biotech/medical – Page 45

Researchers discovered that the mRNA modification m6A triggers rapid degradation, regulating protein production. This breakthrough could inform drug development to manage protein-related diseases.

Messenger ribonucleic acids (mRNA) are like the architects of our bodies. They carry precise blueprints for building proteins, which are read and assembled by their cellular partners, the ribosomes. Proteins are essential for our survival, as they regulate cell division, bolster the immune system, and make our cells resilient against external threats.

Just like in real-world construction, some cellular blueprints require extra instructions—such as when a protein needs to be produced rapidly or when corrections are needed for a flawed design. In our bodies, this role is fulfilled by RNA modifications. These small chemical changes function like detailed annotations, offering additional guidance to specific parts of the mRNA for optimal protein production.

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A study published in Cell Reports Medicine reveals that bowel movement frequency significantly influences physiology and long-term health, with the best outcomes linked with passing stools once or twice a day.

Previous research has suggested associations between constipation and diarrhea with higher risks of infections and neurodegenerative conditions, respectively.

But since these findings were observed in sick patients, it remained unclear whether irregular bathroom visits were the cause or result of their conditions.

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Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital have developed a new approach, which combines advanced screening techniques with computational modeling, to significantly shorten the drug discovery process. It has the potential to transform the pharmaceutical industry.

The research, published recently in Science Advances, represents a significant leap forward in drug discovery efficiency. It was featured on LegalReader.com.

https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2024/09/uc-college-of-medic…aster.html

Legal Reader seeks to provide the latest legal news & commentary on the laws that shape our world.

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Li, Y.; Hecht, S.S. Metabolic Activation and DNA Interactions of Carcinogenic N-Nitrosamines to Which Humans Are Commonly Exposed. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23, 4559. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23094559

AMA Style

Li Y, Hecht SS. Metabolic Activation and DNA Interactions of Carcinogenic N-Nitrosamines to Which Humans Are Commonly Exposed. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022; 23:4559. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23094559

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Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that stimulates a patient’s immune system to attack tumours.

While promising, its effectiveness varies among patients.

The new VUB technology helps identify in advance which patients are likely to benefit from this treatment.

The study introduces an innovative tracer targeting CD163, a molecular receptor on tumour-associated macrophages—immune cells that support tumour growth and protection.

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DOI: Abstract We are living in a historical period in respect to the deterioration in public health, as we experience the rise of the catastrophic obesity epidemic and mental health crisis in recent decades, despite the great efforts from the scientific and medical community to seek health solutions and to try to find cures to the enormous human suffering and economic costs resulting by this collapse in public health. This trend has reached such a critical level that it jeopardizes society when over 40% of the population is obese in the United States, suffering grave medical health conditions, even as the expenditure on public health is rising exponentially to over 20% of gross domestic product. This should point to a monumental failure in our fundamental understanding of basic human biology and health. This article suggests that our current Western reductionist scientific paradigm in both biology and medicine has proved impotent and failed us completely. Therefore, the current cultural health crises require a more holistic approach to human biology and health in terms of chronobiological trends. The emerging neuroscience of brain energy metabolism will be considered as a holistic model for understanding how solar cycles affect our civilization and drive our sex and growth hormones and neurotransmitters that shape both our physical and mental health.

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Children with hereditary deafness regained their hearing thanks to a type of gene therapy, a new study published on Wednesday found.

In a clinical trial, co-led by investigators from Mass Eye and Ear, a specialty hospital in Boston, six children who had a form of genetic deafness called DFNB9 were examined.

This deafness is caused by mutations of the OTOF gene. This mutation fails to produce a protein known as otoferlin, which is necessary for the transmission of sound signals from the ear to the brain, according to the researchers.

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A recent study from Stanford’s Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute has shed light on the interplay between two key brain chemicals, dopamine and serotonin, revealing their opposing roles in shaping our decisions and learning processes. Published in Nature, the research demonstrates for the first time that dopamine and serotonin operate as a “gas and brake” system, jointly influencing how we learn from rewards. The findings have broad implications, from understanding everyday decision-making to developing treatments for neurological and psychiatric conditions such as addiction, depression, and Parkinson’s disease.

Dopamine and serotonin are crucial to many aspects of human behavior, including reward processing and decision-making. Both neurotransmitters are also implicated in a variety of mental health disorders. While previous research has established their individual roles—dopamine is linked to reward prediction and seeking, while serotonin promotes long-term thinking and patience—the precise nature of their interaction has remained unclear.

Two competing theories have sought to explain their dynamic: the “synergy hypothesis,” which posits that dopamine focuses on immediate rewards and serotonin on long-term benefits, and the “opponency hypothesis,” suggesting the two act in opposition, with dopamine encouraging impulsive action and serotonin promoting restraint. The Stanford researchers aimed to directly test these theories using advanced experimental methods.

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