Many neurodegenerative diseases are set off by protein aggregation – one protein or another misfolds and clumps up, builds up, and eventually kills brain cells.

Back-to-back papers have reported new insights into the role of the melanocortin receptor, and proteins that modulate its signaling, melanocortin receptor accessory proteins (MRAPs) in the control of feeding.

Researchers have managed to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using only small molecules, obviating the need for transformation with oncogenes that has been one limit to such cells' clinical potential to date.

An emergency committee convened by World Health Organization (WHO) director-general, Margaret Chan, concluded that at this point, the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) does not warrant being declared a public health emergency of international concern.

Using the gene that normally shuts off one X chromosome in females, researchers have managed to silence the extra copy of chromosome 21 in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from Down syndrome patients.

Scientists have discovered that some bacteria have found a way to combine the advantages of sexual and asexual reproduction, using a process that its discoverers have termed "distributive conjugal transfer" to gain some of the advantages of sexual production while avoiding its drawbacks.

Maternal antibodies protect children from infections before birth. But in some instances, they can also do damage.

Last week, researchers described a mixture of gut bacterial strains that could induce the production of regulatory T cells in mice. Such T cells, which inhibit the function of other T cells, could be useful allies in taming autoimmune disease. And indeed, when animals with either colitis or allergic diarrhea were treated with the bacterial cocktails, their symptoms improved.

Protein clumps are anatomical calling cards of many neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer's disease has amyloid plaques and tau tangles, and another protein, alpha-synuclein, can clump in several neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia.

By taking an in-depth look at the transcription factor network of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, researchers have gained new insights into how the bacterium adapts to environmental changes, including conditions of low oxygen.