G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a very large receptor family targeted by a very large number of endogenous ligands, as well as a respectable fraction of FDA-approved drugs.
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are stem cells that have been generated from adult cells through the application of Yamanaka factors, a cocktail of transcription factors named after iPSC pioneer Shinya Yamanaka. Such rejuvenated cells could potentially be a great source of autologous cells for transplantation.
Researchers from Emory University have identified microbiome-produced metabolites that extended healthspan in aged flies, worms, and mice, without affecting lifespan. Much of anti-aging research has been focused on lifespan extension, but in many cases, extending lifespan in animals has not extended their healthspan, meaning that the net result of lifespan extension is that they have spent more time frail or sick.
By studying both postmortem brains of depressed humans and animal models of stress-induced depression, researchers have discovered that the gene expression patterns associated with depression are very different in males and females.
Researchers from the Dutch VU University Medical Center have adapted the mathematical algorithms that are used to describe the behaviors of schooling fish and swarming birds to identify RNA biomarkers in blood samples that were capable of diagnosing early and late stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and distinguishing such patients from patients with inflammatory conditions.
Researchers have identified a chemical class, the hexahydroquinolines (HHQs), that were effective both at killing the malaria parasite both in the stage when it causes illness, and the stage when it is transmissible from humans to mosquitoes.
Comparative sequencing of primary breast tumors and metastases has revealed that the cells that seed metastases break off from the primary tumor relatively late in tumor development, and as a result, are usually genetically similar to the primary tumor at the time of diagnosis.
