When adult cells are turned into induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, their DNA does not change. What does change is the pattern of epigenetic marks on the DNA. Those epigenetic marks, of which methylation is the most important type, are what determines which genes will be expressed in a given cell.
Increasing the actions of the calcium pump SERCA1 may prove helpful in muscular dystrophies no matter which genetic mutation is causing the dystrophy, a study published in the Feb. 1, 2011, issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation showed.
The consequences of addiction, in both cold hard medical costs and sheer human misery, dwarf most other disorders. And among addictions, because it is legal, nicotine is one of the biggest ones. Even in the U.S., where smoking has been declining for decades, tens of millions of people still light up regularly, and tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death.
How and why cancer cells are metabolically different from normal cells in many ways has been getting a lot of attention over the past few years. (See BioWorld Today, May 3, 2010.)
Near-simultaneous recent announcements that London-based GlaxoSmithKline plc and AstraZeneca plc are dropping internal drug discovery efforts in various central nervous system (CNS) diseases has led to some talk of an overall big pharma retrenchment from those disorders.
Researchers have discovered that insulin-like growth factor 2 or IGF2, a protein so far best known for its growth-promoting actions during pregnancy, can strengthen memories and prevent forgetting.