Genomic regulatory map of the zebrafish
Peer-Reviewed Publication
The zebrafish is an important model organism for studying things like genetic diseases. A regulatory map of its genome has been successfully created using high-throughput experiments and AI methods, a team led by Uwe Ohler now reports in Cell Genomics and Nature Machine Intelligence.
For more than 30 years, scientists have been trying to unravel the mystery of how a key biological molecule self assembles into a rogue protein-like substance known as amyloid, which is thought to play a role in the development of type-2 diabetes - a disease that affects 300 million people worldwide. A team of scientists at the University of Leeds has, for the first time, been able to identify the step-by-step changes that take place in the molecule known as human islet amyloid polypeptide, or hIAPP, as it changes into amyloid.
Infections with several pathogens simultaneously increase the risk of cervical cancer—these results from a study conducted on artificial 3D tissue models at the University of Wuerzburg.
What determines the switch from bone formation to resorption has been unclear. Researchers at Osaka University show that intercellular communication via extracellular vesicles from bone-making osteoblasts is a key factor for this switch through a microRNA-mediated mechanism.
Myocardial ischemia (MI) is a prevalent heart-related metabolic disorder. A team of researchers from China have confirmed that MI-affected heart muscles suffer an energy metabolism blockage from glycolysis to the tricarboxylic acid cycle, resulting in excessive metabolite accumulation. Bilobalide, an active component found in extracts of the native Chinese tree species Ginkgo biloba, alleviates this condition and may find use as an effective anti-MI medicine in the future.
little was known about when and from where phosphorylated α-synuclein accumulation is induced after α-synuclein aggregates are injected into the mouse brain. To clarify this, we injected α-synuclein aggregates formed in vitro into the hippocampus of wild-type mice and examined the appearance of phosphorylated α-synuclein at 3, 5, and 14 days after injection.
On a weekly basis, Finnish agility dogs go on walks more than their North American cousins, indicates a study conducted at the University of Helsinki. Warming dogs up before and cooling them down after agility runs is an established practice among Finnish competitors.