Washington, DC—Exposure to cold temperatures can convert white fat tissue from the thighs and belly to beige fat that burns calories for heat, but this biological response is hampered in obese people, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Known as brown adipose tissue (BAT), brown fat is a particular kind of fat tissue that burns energy and glucose to generate heat. Babies and small animals rely on brown fat to stay warm. Brown fat's energy expenditure helps to prevent obesity in rodents. While ...

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute report that decaffeinated coffee drinking may benefit liver health. Results of the study published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, show that higher coffee consumption, regardless of caffeine content, was linked to lower levels of abnormal liver enzymes. This suggests that chemical compounds in coffee other than caffeine may help protect the liver. Coffee consumption is highly prevalent with more than half of all Americans over 18 drinking on average three cups each day ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass--A long-sought goal of creating particles that can emit a colorful fluorescent glow in a biological environment, and that could be precisely manipulated into position within living cells, has been achieved by a team of researchers at MIT and several other institutions. The finding is reported this week in the journal Nature Communications. The new technology could make it possible to track the position of the nanoparticles as they move within the body or inside a cell. At the same time, the nanoparticles could be manipulated precisely by applying a magnetic ...

(SALT LAKE CITY)—A University of Utah-led study using X-rays and neutron beams has revealed the inner workings of a master switch that regulates basic cellular functions, but that also, when mutated, contributes to cancer, cardiovascular disease and other deadly disorders. Learning more about how the Protein Kinase A (PKA) switch works will help researchers to understand cellular function and disease, according to Donald K. Blumenthal, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Utah (U of U) College of Pharmacy who led the study. ...

A supernova is the cataclysmic death of a star, but it seems its remnants shine on. Astronomers have found a pulsating, dead star beaming with the energy of about 10 million suns. This is the brightest pulsar -- a dense stellar remnant leftover from a supernova -- ever recorded, and was seen using NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. Lawrence Livermore LLNL researchers were involved in the design and testing of the NuSTAR X-ray optics. "You might think of this pulsar as the 'Mighty Mouse' of stellar remnants," said Fiona Harrison, the NuSTAR principal ...

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Super Typhoon Vongfong as it tracked through the Philippine Sea on Oct. 9. Instrument aboard Aqua captured visible and infrared images of the now Category 4 Super Typhoon. Two instruments aboard NASA's Aqua satellite provided visible and infrared data on the Super Typhoon: The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument, respectively. MODIS captured a visible image of Super Typhoon Vongfong on Oct. 9 at 04:25 UTC (12:25 a.m. EDT) that showed two concentric eyewalls with ...

Neurodevelopmental disorders such as Down syndrome and autism-spectrum disorder can have profound, lifelong effects on learning and memory, but relatively little is known about the molecular pathways affected by these diseases. A study published by Cell Press October 9th in the American Journal of Human Genetics shows that neurodevelopmental disorders caused by distinct genetic mutations produce similar molecular effects in cells, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all therapeutic approach could be effective for conditions ranging from seizures to attention-deficit hyperactivity ...

VIDEO: Behavior experiments in which flies were given the choice between wild-type and mutant fermentation headspace in the middle of the experiment, and they migrate accordingly. Click here for more information. The familiar smell of beer is due in part to aroma compounds produced by common brewer's yeast. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports on October 9th have discovered why the yeast (formally known as S. cerevisiae) make that smell: the scent attracts ...

Oxytocin has been called the "love hormone" because it plays an important role in social behaviors, such as maternal care and pair bonding. In a study published by Cell Press on October 9th in the journal Cell, researchers uncover oxytocin-responsive brain cells that are necessary for female social interest in male mice during estrus—the sexually receptive phase of their cycle. These neurons, found in the prefrontal cortex, may play a role in other oxytocin-related social behaviors such as intimacy, love, or mother-child bonding. "Our findings suggest that social ...

Oxytocin, the body's natural love potion, helps couples fall in love, makes mothers bond with their babies, and encourages teams to work together. Now new research at Rockefeller University reveals a mechanism by which this prosocial hormone has its effect on interactions between the sexes, at least in certain situations. The key, it turns out, is a newly discovered class of brain cells. "By identifying a new population of neurons activated by oxytocin, we have uncovered one way this chemical signal influences interactions between male and female mice," says Nathaniel ...

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have uncovered a molecular process in the brain known to control eating that transforms white fat into brown fat. This process impacts how much energy we burn and how much weight we can lose. The results are published in the Oct. 9 issue of the journal Cell. Obesity is a rising global epidemic. Excess fatty tissue is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, neurological disorders, and cancer. People become overweight and obese when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, and excess calories ...

Harvard stem cell researchers today announced that they have made a giant leap forward in the quest to find a truly effective treatment for type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects an estimated three million Americans at a cost of about $15 billion annually: With human embryonic stem cells as a starting point, the scientists are for the first time able to produce, in the kind of massive quantities needed for cell transplantation and pharmaceutical purposes, human insulin-producing beta cells equivalent in most every way to normally functioning beta cells. Doug Melton, ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (October 9, 2014) – Within almost every human cell is a nucleus six microns in diameter—about one 300th of a human hair's width—that is filled with roughly three meters of DNA. As the instructions for all cell processes, the DNA must be accessible to the cell's transcription machinery yet be compressed tightly enough to fit inside the nucleus. Scientists have long theorized that the way DNA is packaged affects gene expression. Whitehead Institute researchers present the first evidence that DNA scaffolding is responsible for enhancing and ...

BOSTON – The surprising discovery of a previously unidentified class of lipid molecules that enhance insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control offers a promising new avenue for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. The new findings, made by a team of scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Salk Institute, are described in the October 9 online issue of the journal Cell. "We were blown away to discover this completely new class of molecules," says senior author Barbara Kahn, MD, Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine ...

Beer yeasts produce chemicals that mimic the aroma of fruits in order to attract flies that can transport the yeast cells to new niches, report scientists from VIB, KU Leuven and NERF in the reputed journal Cell Reports. Interestingly, these volatile compounds are also essential for the flavor of beverages such as beer and wine. Kevin Verstrepen (VIB/KU Leuven): "The importance of yeast in beer brewing has long been underestimated. But recent research shows that the choice of a particular yeast strain or variety explains differences in taste between different beers and ...

A key mechanism behind diabetes may start in the brain, with early signs of the disease detectable through rising levels of molecules not previously linked to insulin signaling, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published today in the journal Cell Metabolism. Past studies had found that levels of a key set of protein building blocks, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), are higher in obese and diabetic patient, and that this rise occurs many years before someone develops diabetes. Why and how BCAA breakdown may be ...

NEW YORK, NY (October 9, 2014)—Using an innovative algorithm that analyzes gene regulatory and signaling networks, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found that loss of a gene called KLHL9 is the driving force behind the most aggressive form of glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer. The CUMC team demonstrated in mice transplants that these tumors can be suppressed by reintroducing KLHL9 protein, offering a possible strategy for treating this lethal disease. The study was published today in the online issue of Cell. The team used ...

VIDEO: Salk researchers explain how a new class of lipids may be tied to diabetes. Click here for more information. LA JOLLA—Scientists at the Salk Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston have discovered a new class of molecules—produced in human and mouse fat—that protects against diabetes. The researchers found that giving this new fat, or lipid, to mice with the equivalent of type 2 diabetes lowered their elevated blood sugar, ...

New Rochelle, NY, October 9, 2014—Excessive and often lethal blood levels of bilirubin can result from mutations in a single gene that are the cause of the metabolic disease known as Crigler-Najjar syndrome type 1 (CNS1). A new gene therapy approach to correcting this metabolic error achieved significant, long-lasting reductions in bilirubin levels in a mouse model of CNS1 and is described in an Open Access article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Human Gene Therapy website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/hum.2013.233. ...

TIFTON, GA – Weed control is one of the most challenging aspects of organic crop production. Most growers of certified organic crops rely heavily on proven cultural and mechanical weed control methods while limiting the use of approved herbicides. A new study of herbicides derived from clove oil tested the natural products' effectiveness in controlling weeds in Vidalia® sweet onion crops. "Cultivation with a tine weeder and hand weeding are the primary tools currently used for weed control in organic sweet onion (Allium ceps)," explained scientist W. Carroll ...

IZMIR, TURKEY – Tomatoes are known to be rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C, lycopene, β-carotene, and phenolics. Antioxidants, substances capable of delaying or inhibiting oxidation processes caused by free radicals, are of interest to consumers for their health-related contributions, and to plant breeders for their ability to provide plants with natural resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. While tomato domestication and breeding programs have typically focused on traits such as fruit weight, color, shape, and disease resistance, scientists are now ...

In an analysis of more than 8,000 episodes of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, there were no significant differences in the risk of death when comparing patients exhibiting less susceptibility to the antibiotic vancomycin to patients with more vancomycin susceptible strains of S. aureus, according to a study published in JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with the IDWeek 2014 meeting. Staphylococcus aureus is among the most common causes of health care-associated infection throughout the world. It causes a wide range of infections, ...

PHILADELPHIA – Hospitalized children go home sooner and are less likely to be readmitted when the hospital has an antibiotic stewardship program that's dedicated to controlling antibiotic prescriptions and treatment, according to a study being presented at IDWeek 2014™. The study is the first to show the benefits of such programs on children's health. Antibiotic stewardship programs are increasingly being used to manage how and when antibiotics are being prescribed in hospitals and other health care facilities across the country. Often led by epidemiologists or ...

An international team of chemists has discovered a new piece to the puzzle of how a powerful base used in organic synthesis, cesium carbonate, plays a pivotal role during a catalytic reaction. The research, published by the Journal of the American Chemical Society, was led by Jamal Musaev, a theoretical chemist at Emory University, and Ken Itami, an experimental chemist from Nagoya University in Japan. Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, also contributed to the findings. Many organic chemistry reactions are acid/base reactions, involving the exchange of positively ...

NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Tropical Cyclone Hudhud on Oct. 9 and took a picture of the storm that showed it was still somewhat elongated, but more organized than the previous day. Another NASA satellite provided the hint of a developing eye. Warnings for winds, rain and surf are already in effect for the northern Andhra Pradesh coast and south Odisha coastline of eastern India as Hudhud approaches. Tropical Cyclone Hudhud formed on Oct. 8 and began moving from east to west across the Bay of Bengal, Northern Indian Ocean. On Oct. 9 at 07:45 UTC (3:45 a.m. EDT), ...