Humans continue to be threatened by viral diseases such as Ebola, Zika, and Coronavirus. Such emerging/re-emerging virus outbreaks may be caused by cross-species viruses transmitted from wild animals to humans. In order to achieve cross-species transmission, the new host must be exposed to the virus in the old host. Next, the virus acquires certain mutations that may be beneficial for replication in the new host. Finally, by continuing to…
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A Special Protein May Help SARS-CoV-2 to Spread Rapidly in Host Cells!
Recently, in a research report published in The FASEB Journal, scientists from Colorado State University and other institutions discovered that a special kind of virus-encoded by SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that induces COVID-19) protein may be directly related to the rapid spread of viruses in the human body. Now scientists have begun to reveal the key features of the SARS-CoV-2 virus through the use of basic research tools and bioinformatics analysis,…
Herpes Virus Is One of the Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease!
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common forms of dementia. More than 30 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for the disease, only drugs that relieve the symptoms of the patient; in a recently published dissertation, the author (Professor Ruth Itzhaki of the University of Manchester) proposed a new method for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers pointed out that some…
Two Articles Revealed a Specific Gene That Makes the Human Brain Big—NOTCH2NL
Over the past 3 million years, the evolution of larger brains has played an important role in our ability to think, solve problems, and develop cultures. However, it has always been a mystery for us to become genetic changes in the human brain. In two papers published in Cell, two groups of researchers identified a gene family, NOTCH2NL, which appears to play an important role in the human-specific cortical development…
Ways to Promote Durable Weight Loss in Obese Patients Found
Recently, in a study published in Nature Medicine, researchers from Charite Medical College in Berlin successfully treated obese patients due to hereditary defects. The new drugs developed by the researchers not only benefit patients, but also help them understand the basic signal pathways that regulate the satiety of this new drug. Gene mutations that encode leptin receptors induce individuals to become extremely hungry during the first few months of…
Cell: Special Cancer Protein Brings Hope for New Targeted Cancer Therapies
Highlights The oncogenic Gαs mutation R201C allows GDP-bound Gαs to activate adenylyl cyclase GDP-bound Gαs(R201C/C237S) adopts an active state in its crystal structure The R201C mutation activates Gαs by stabilizing an intramolecular H-bond network Loss-of-function mutations R228C and R265H destabilize the GTP active state of Gαs A few days ago, researchers from Howard Houston Medical School discovered a novel protein mutation in pituitary tumors, which may subvert the traditional concept,…
JEM: Prevent Exhaustion in Immune Cells Boosts Immunotherapy
If you are an immune cell ready to fight cancer, you’d better eat some breakfast. Because the tumor microenvironment is a harsh place, and tumor cells are always ready to make you exhausted. Improvement of highly specific immune fighter in vivo: The ability of T cells to attack tumors has achieved clinically significant advances in tumor immunotherapy. However, this method is only effective in 10-30% of patients. One reason…
Breakthrough! Scientists Decipher The Fifteen Years’ Unresolved Secrets of IL-23, Revealed The Key Mechanism of Autoimmune Disease!
Recently an international team led by Professor Savvas Savvides at the VIB-UGent Inflammatory Research Center revealed the key molecular mechanisms of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Crohn’s disease. By focusing on the immunomodulatory factor IL-23, they found that its proinflammatory activity is strongly dependent on its receptor IL-23R for its structural activation. The research was published in Immunity recently. Psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease…
Is That True, Women Are More Likely to Survive Than Men?
Current research shows that women live longer than men. And a recent study found baby girls are more likely to survive in famine, epidemics and other unfortunate circumstances, why this happened? The research found that advantage of women may have existed very early. Researchers believe that despite the small differences in gender behavior in infancy, the fact that women also have the advantage in infancy suggests that biology, at…
Browning of Subcutaneous White Adipose Tissue Provides Outstanding Opportunity for Treatment of Obesity
In a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers from Caroline College and other institutions studied mice to elucidate the molecular mechanism of conversion of energy-storing white fat into energy-consuming brown one. Obesity is a major health problem for the global population, affecting people of all ages and increasing the risk of many diseases in humans, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancers; although obesity…