Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

Innovations to fix our food systems could have unintended consequences

Protein derived from organic waste to feed livestock could decrease demand for soybean meal. This could lead to less deforestation caused by soy farming.

11 Dec 2020

$2.5 million funding helps researchers to advance tools for predicting readmission in diabetic patients

Each year in the United States, more than 1 million patients with diabetes make return trips to the hospital for diabetes-related illness, often being readmitted within 30 days of their initial hospitalization.

10 Dec 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mediates acute lung pathology in mice

A study shows that the viral spike protein is adequate by itself to induce macrophage activation in pulmonary tissue and induce acute inflammation.

10 Dec 2020

Study provides a detailed understanding of the interplay between obesity and cancer

Obesity has been linked to increased risk for over a dozen different types of cancer, as well as worse prognosis and survival.

9 Dec 2020

Modulation of oral microbiota impacts the cardiovascular benefits of sport

Exercise plays a key role in maintaining good physical and mental health throughout life. There is an increasing amount of scientific evidence that some of the immune system and metabolism benefits provided by sport are related to the thousands of millions of bacteria that colonize the digestive tract, from the mouth to the intestines, known as microbiota.

9 Dec 2020

Lipid metabolite in human breast milk can benefit the offspring in early postnatal period

A lipid metabolite called 12,13-diHOME is in human breast milk and appears to be associated with beneficial infant weight gain and body composition in the early postnatal period.

9 Dec 2020

OU Health Sciences Center receives federal grant for opioid management in older adults

Chronic pain can be quite common among older adults as they face conditions such as arthritis and neuropathy. Treating pain in older adults requires special considerations, however, especially when it comes to opioids.

8 Dec 2020

Lipid storm in severe COVID-19 linked to high COX/LOX pathway activity

A potentially valuable new study discusses the role of lipids in the hyper-inflammatory phenomena that take place within the lungs of patients with severe or critical COVID-19. Involving a large variety of specialized lipids with biological activity, this process includes the generation and release of pro and anti-inflammatory lipids.

8 Dec 2020

Researchers identify new mechanism through which plants can regulate gene expression

Just like other organisms, plants must respond dynamically to a variety of cues over their lifetime. Going through different developmental stages, or altering their form in response to a drought or drastic temperature change requires altering which of their genes are expressed into proteins and when those processes occur.

8 Dec 2020

Degenerative process can be reversed by practicing regular aerobic exercise, shows study

Adipose tissue is not just a simple reservoir of energy for periods of food scarcity. It contributes significantly to regulation of the metabolism, releasing various molecules into the bloodstream, including microRNAs that modulate the expression of key genes in different parts of the organism, including the liver, pancreas, and muscles.

8 Dec 2020

Free radicals may be important for the brain to remain adaptable

Reactive oxygen molecules, also known as "free radicals", are generally considered harmful. However as it now turns out, they control cellular processes, which are important for the brain's ability to adapt - at least in mice.

5 Dec 2020

Blood type not associated with the effects of plant-based diet

A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics by researchers with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine--a nonprofit of 12,000 doctors--debunks the "blood type diet" by finding that blood type was not associated with the effects of a plant-based diet on body weight, body fat, plasma lipid concentrations, or glycemic control.

5 Dec 2020

Rice biochemist discovers hidden structure in essential metabolic machinery

In his first year of graduate school, Rice University biochemist Zachary Wright discovered something hidden inside a common piece of cellular machinery that's essential for all higher order life from yeast to humans.

5 Dec 2020

Exhaled breath can aid in the diagnosis of cancer

The air we exhale contains information that can assist with the diagnosis of disease. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Project Hub for Microelectronic and Optical Systems for Biomedicine MEOS are now developing solutions designed to enable the analysis of breath gas for this purpose. Although their research focuses on the early detection of cancer, the same principle could also be applied to distinguish between COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.

4 Dec 2020

FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific launches Sterile Express Media Service

FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Inc., today announced the launch of Sterile Express Media Service (SEMS), for small-scale, rapid production of non-GMP media tested for sterility.

4 Dec 2020

Researchers uncover potential glycine-based treatment for NAFLD

A new study further implicates low levels of the amino acid glycine in development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD. It also suggests addressing this might hold the key to a future treatment for the disease.

3 Dec 2020

Study shows beneficial effects of blackcurrants on post-meal glucose response

Blackcurrants have a beneficial effect on post-meal glucose response, and the required portion size is much smaller than previously thought, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows.

3 Dec 2020

Researchers create first map of microbiome of dental black plaque in adults

The dark pigmentations that appear around the gums on dental enamel have a bacterial origin and there is currently no definitive therapy to remove it entirely.

3 Dec 2020

CNRS develops new patented technique that reveals energy status of cells

A procedure that may help personalise anticancer therapies has just been developed by the CNRS, INSERM, and Aix-Marseille University scientists at the Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, in association with colleagues from the University of California San Francisco and the Marseille Public University Hospital System (AP-HM), with support from Canceropôle Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

2 Dec 2020

Cancer cells exhibit metabolic changes that make them vulnerable to ferroptosis

If there is a silver lining in cancer's chaotic biology, it's that the same traits that give cancer cells a growth advantage often present opportunities for sabotaging them.

2 Dec 2020