In a recent talk at the NIH, the University of Alabama's David Sweatt gave an overview of how epigenetic mechanisms affect memory formation, as well as very early stage suggestions on how the insights his team has gained into such mechanisms might be targeted therapeutically.
In two separate studies, researchers have identified new links between immunity and metabolism, showing that exercise activates immune cells that can turn energy-storing white fat into one type of energy-burning brown fat.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) released the abstracts for its upcoming 74th scientific sessions last Friday, a week ahead of the conference's kickoff in San Francisco.
CHICAGO – To the typical attendee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting last week, a shortage of clinical data would not appear to be an obvious or pressing problem. Attending the meeting usually means deciding, at any given moment, which two or three interesting presentations to forego for an even more interesting presentation.
New studies this week gave new insights into the molecular mechanisms behind Parkinson's disease, and possibly mitochondrial disorders more generally, that could help develop treatments for the disorder.
CHICAGO – The most frequent argument about whether targeted therapies are worth it is about money – in the crudest terms whether the slim survival benefit of such drugs justifies their fat price tag. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2014 has declared value to be one theme of this year's annual meeting.
CHICAGO – Melanoma was the first cancer type in which immunotherapy went from promise to breakthrough, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) went back to those roots in its Monday press briefing, highlighting studies that explored the use of immunotherapy's founding father, Yervoy (ipilimumab, Bristol-Myers Squibb) in new ways, as well as other promising immunotherapies.
Two separate draft catalogs of the human proteome have brought new insights into the relationship between genes and proteins, identifying both proteins that were transcribed from supposedly noncoding regions of the genome, and genes that never got turned into proteins even though they had all the bells and whistles that flag them as bona fide protein-coding genes.
BOSTON – At the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology last week, the spotlight was on bugs that might turn into the next pandemic. But it was also clear that some of the next emerging threats are already here.
It has been known for some time now that a simple – but not an easy – way to live longer is to eat less. Caloric restriction extends the life span of organisms from worms to primates, suggesting that the method works, as well, for the rare human who is willing and able to stick to it.
