Obesity is a hot topic among many modern first world issues, in part due to the complexity of the issue. It can result from a variety of possible genetic and environmental factors, and the relationship between these two factors can vary greatly for any given case of obesity.
Interesting Neurological Links Between Obesity and Drug Abuse
December 15th, 2011 · Guest Post, Neurology, Obesity
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The Role of NFIB in the Spread of Small Cell Lung Cancer
November 24th, 2011 · Cancer Biology, Guest Post
Cancer biology, in brief, is the study of the life and development of cancer cells. As the field has expanded, some aspects of the life of cancer cells have been targeted as key points of research — namely which mutation exactly is most directly responsible for the spread of cancer.
Recently, scientists at Massachusetts’ premiere research institution, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have discovered evidence that points to a specific gene they believe controls the spread of the mutated cells in an aggressive kind of cancer called small cell lung cancer.
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Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
September 14th, 2011 · Biotechnology & Methodology, Guest Post
We live in the era of technology. Technology is used in field whether it is related to biology, physics, computers, chemistry or any other. Today, we will look at supremely technical phenomena in the field of bio technology called Polymerase Chain Reaction.
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Estrogen and Prostate Cancer
September 7th, 2011 · Cancer Biology, Guest Post
The prostate: cancer prevalence
The prostate is a doughnut-shaped composite organ apart of the male reproductive system which is located under the bladder, and in front of the bowel. The prostate stores and secretes an alkaline fluid consisting of semen (20%-30%), spermatazoa, and seminal vesicle fluid. Spermatazoa expelled in prostatic fluid have better motility, longer survival and better protection over DNA than that expelled with seminal vesicular fluid.
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Epigenetic Differences Play a Role in Susceptibility to Stress and Depression
June 28th, 2011 · Epigenetics, Guest Post
Depression is one of the most common and most poorly understood health problems. About 10% of adults in the U.S. suffer from depression. The etiology of depression is largely unknown, however, environmental factors, such as chronic stress, can increase the chances that an individual will develop depressive symptoms. While most people encounter stressful events at some points in their lives, not all of these people suffer from depression. Until recently, the molecular mechanisms underlying the variability in susceptibility to depression remained unknown. A recent study published in Neuron discusses the role of epigenetics of neuronal cells in the etiology and pathophysiology of depression.
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Loss of lysine-specific demethylase 1 nonautonomously causes stem cell tumors in the Drosophila ovary
April 17th, 2011 · Stem Cell
A latest PNAS paper reporting that Lsd1, the histone lysine-specific demethylase 1, play roles in the niche of female germline stem cells and may nonautonomously affect germ cell via niche cell related signals. - GeneDog
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Apr 11. [Epub ahead of print]
Loss of lysine-specific demethylase 1 nonautonomously causes stem cell tumors in the Drosophila ovary.
Eliazer S, Shalaby NA, Buszczak M.
Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148.
AbstractSpecialized microenvironments called niches keep stem cells in an undifferentiated and self-renewing state. Dedicated stromal cells form niches by producing a variety of factors that act directly on stem cells. The size and signaling output of niches must be finely tuned to ensure proper tissue homeostasis. Although advances have been made in identifying factors that promote niche cell fate, the mechanisms that restrict niche cell formation during development and limit niche signaling output in adults remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the histone lysine-specific demethylase 1 (Lsd1) regulates the size of the germline stem cell (GSC) niche in Drosophila ovaries. GSC maintenance depends on bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signals produced by a small cluster of cap cells located at the anterior tip of the germarium. Lsd1 null mutant ovaries carry small germline tumors containing an expanded number of GSC-like cells with round fusomes that display ectopic BMP signal responsiveness away from the normal niche. Clonal analysis and cell type-specific rescue experiments demonstrate that Lsd1 functions within the escort cells (ECs) that reside immediately adjacent to cap cells and prevents them from ectopically producing niche-specific signals. Temporally restricted gene knockdown experiments suggest that Lsd1 functions both during development, to specify EC fate, and in adulthood, to prevent ECs from forming ectopic niches independent of changes in cell fate. Further analysis shows that Lsd1 functions to repress decapentaplegic (dpp) expression in adult germaria. The role of Lsd1 in regulating niche-specific signals may have important implications for understanding how disruption of its mammalian homolog contributes to cancer and metastasis.
PMID: 21482791 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Ecdysteroids affect Drosophila ovarian stem cell niche formation and early germline differentiation
March 28th, 2011 · Stem Cell
A latest article of EMBO J showing the role of ecdysone signalling in the regulation of female Drosophila GSC niche size.
It is interesting to see another related research about ecdysone and GSC control (link).
EMBO J. 2011 Mar 18. [Epub ahead of print]
Ecdysteroids affect Drosophila ovarian stem cell niche formation and early germline differentiation.
König A, Yatsenko AS, Weiss M, Shcherbata HR.
Max Planck Research Group of Gene Expression and Signaling, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany.
Abstract
Previously, it has been shown that in Drosophila steroid hormones are required for progression of oogenesis during late stages of egg maturation. Here, we show that ecdysteroids regulate progression through the early steps of germ cell lineage. Upon ecdysone signalling deficit germline stem cell progeny delay to switch on a differentiation programme. This differentiation impediment is associated with reduced TGF-β signalling in the germline and increased levels of cell adhesion complexes and cytoskeletal proteins in somatic escort cells. A co-activator of the ecdysone receptor, Taiman is the spatially restricted regulator of the ecdysone signalling pathway in soma. Additionally, when ecdysone signalling is perturbed during the process of somatic stem cell niche establishment enlarged functional niches able to host additional stem cells are formed.
PMID: 21423150 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Advances in Cancer Biology Help Reduce Cancer Risk, Great News in Health Science
February 13th, 2011 · Cancer Biology, Guest Post
It’s probably the most deadly disease known to mankind; it not only causes immense suffering and pain, but is also fatal in most cases. It’s extremely rare to find cancer survivors who’re completely cured of the disease, and even if they are, they have to live in the fear that it will strike anytime again, and with a vengeance that is harsh and almost sadistic. Scientists and researchers are constantly working on methods and ideas to help reduce the brunt of cancer’s effect on our bodies and psyches, and we’ve seen breakthroughs in many areas, from diagnosing the disease early to treating it without destroying healthy cells too. With advances in cancer biology, we now have hope that survivors of cancer can prevent a relapse and live a long and healthy life.
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Choosing the Right Medical Billing Service for Practice
December 25th, 2010 · Product Review
Medical billing service is a way to receive payments for seivices like healthcare and disease diagnosis. The appropriate medical billing services will efficiently handle with the processing and following-up of billing during medical practice. Healthcare professionals from many different specialties can benefit from physicians innovative solutions.
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The Fused/Smurf Complex Controls the Fate of Drosophila Germline Stem Cells by Generating a Gradient BMP Response
December 12th, 2010 · Stem Cell
A latest article in Cell, reports the Fused/Smurf complex in the shaping of the BMP gradient in the control of female GSC fate regulation in Drosophila. This work is done by Dr. Chen DH group at Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. Congrats to all the authors! – GeneDog
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