What we eat affects our health — and can alter how our genes function

"We found a direct link between eating fiber and modulation of gene function that has anti-cancer effects..."

16-Jan-2025 - Fiber is well known to be an important part of a healthy diet, yet less than 10% of Americans eat the minimum recommended amount. A new study from Stanford Medicine might finally convince us to fill our plates with beans, nuts, cruciferous veggies, avocados and other fiber-rich foods. The ...

Surprising findings: Many genes influence alcohol and tobacco consumption

Genetic risk factor scores could someday help identify people at high risk for substance misuse

12-Dec-2022 - Penn State researchers co-led a large genetic study that identified more than 2,300 genes predicting alcohol and tobacco use after analyzing data from more than 3.4 million people. They said a majority of these genes were similar among people with European, African, American and Asian ...

Utilizing CRISPR for better antibiotics

Drug screening with Mobile-CRISPRi

15-Jan-2019 - A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher and his collaborators at the University of California, San Francisco have repurposed the gene-editing tool CRISPR to study which genes are targeted by particular antibiotics, providing clues on how to improve existing antibiotics or develop new ...

Faulty immune receptor could be reason why many face HIV complications

10-Jan-2019 - For HIV patients, treatments that control the infection have come a long way. But many still struggle with a host of other disease-related complications such as neurocognitive disorders, cardiovascular issues, diabetes and chronic inflammation. Why these complications occur isn't exactly known, ...

An ATM that dispenses antioxidants

Dual role of protein that watches for cellular threats and repairs damage

12-Jul-2018 - One reason we're supposed to eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables is because they contain nutritious compounds called antioxidants. These molecules counteract the damage to our bodies from harmful products of normal cells called reactive oxygen species (ROS). Now, research led by a ...

Flu virus is protected by mucus when airborne, regardless of humidity

08-Jun-2018 - Mucus and other airway secretions that are expelled when a person with the flu coughs or exhales appear to protect the virus when it becomes airborne, regardless of humidity levels, a creative experiment conducted by the University of Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech discovered. The results refute ...

Malaria-causing parasite manipulates liver cells to survive

24-May-2018 - When the malaria-causing Plasmodium parasite first slips into the human bloodstream, injected by the bite of an infected mosquito, it does not immediately target red blood cells. Instead, it seeks refuge inside the liver and rapidly reproduces, copying itself as many as 30,000 times in the span ...

Discovery of how HIV hedges its bets opens the door to new therapies

14-May-2018 - A stem cell is one with infinite possibilities. So, for decades, scientists have puzzled over how the cell chooses to keep being a stem cell and continue dividing, or specialize into a specific cell type, like a heart or brain cell. The same type of decision is made by HIV. When the virus infects ...

Night owls have higher risk of dying sooner

13-Apr-2018 - "Night owls" - people who like to stay up late and have trouble dragging themselves out of bed in the morning - have a higher risk of dying sooner than "larks," people who have a natural preference for going to bed early and rise with the sun, according to a new study from Northwestern Medicine ...

Carefully crafted light pulses control neuron activity

22-Nov-2017 - Specially tailored, ultrafast pulses of light can trigger neurons to fire and could one day help patients with light-sensitive circadian or mood problems, according to a new study in mice at the University of Illinois. Chemists have used such carefully crafted light beams, called coherent ...