Despite widespread bacterial resistance, the broad-spectrum antibiotic tetracycline is still commonly used in animal feed and as antimicrobial therapy in the developing world. Tetracycline inhibits mitochondrial translation, and because mitochondria are essential to the processes of spermatogenesis and sperm motility, male reproductive traits may be especially sensitive to its effects. Jeanne A. Zeh and colleaguesContinueContinue reading “Tetracycline reduces sperm viability”
Category Archives: research news
Pure oxygen for pain relief
Chronic pain affects about 76 million people in the US and is usually treated with analgesic drugs (such as morphine, ibuprofen, etc.). But because these medications do not provide complete or sustained relief, alternative solutions for chronic pain management are greatly needed. In the search for alternatives, Yangmiao Zhang and Raymond M. Quock (Washington StateContinueContinue reading “Pure oxygen for pain relief”
Skin: a new frontier in protective immunity
Immune cells in the circulatory system are widely believed to be responsible for protection against pathogens. When an antigen is detected, immune cells produce antibodies to destroy it. Once the antigens are destroyed, antibody production ceases, but the cells ‘remember’ the antigen to help prevent future re-infection. These ‘memory cells’ are therefore an essential componentContinueContinue reading “Skin: a new frontier in protective immunity”
The root of male pattern baldness
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA), more commonly known as male pattern baldness, occurs in almost 80% of men during their lifetimes. Despite this high prevalence, little is known about its causes or potential treatments. George Cotsarelis (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia) and colleagues sought to identify genetic factors involved in the condition by comparing gene expression levels inContinueContinue reading “The root of male pattern baldness”
Primate model brings new hope for stroke treatment
Despite much promising animal research on protecting the brain after stroke, no treatments have yet proven to be effective in humans. This disconnect has contributed to both a lack of confidence in the relevance of animal models for certain types of medical research and a growing concern that stroke-related brain damage may not be avoidableContinueContinue reading “Primate model brings new hope for stroke treatment”
Deprived of females, male flies hit the bottle
The idea that a man slighted by the opposite sex might console himself with a stiff drink isn’t especially original, but showing that this social interaction and behavioral outcome occur the same way in fruit flies is a new development in understanding the complexity of reward behavior in the brain. Lab Anim. (NY) 41, 112ContinueContinue reading “Deprived of females, male flies hit the bottle”
Blocking CD47 to stop tumor growth
CD47 is a protein flag normally expressed on the surfaces of certain cells, such as circulating blood stem cells, to protect them from an organism’s immune system. About 10 years ago, Irving L. Weissman (Stanford University School of Medicine, CA) and colleagues showed that certain types of cancer, especially leukemia and lymphoma cells, also expressedContinueContinue reading “Blocking CD47 to stop tumor growth”
Fructokinase isoforms face off in metabolic syndrome
Dietary intake of fructose is associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in humans, and fructose intake can induce metabolic syndrome in rats and in humans. These effects seem to be independent of excessive energy consumption and increased body weight. To investigate the mechanism linking fructose intake with metabolic syndrome, a researchContinueContinue reading “Fructokinase isoforms face off in metabolic syndrome”
Retrieving new information on ichthyosis
Ichthyosis is a broad term for a group of hereditary skin disorders with various presentations, usually including scaling of the skin. Some forms are relatively mild, whereas others are quite severe. Previous research has identified several genes and gene regions that are associated with some forms of ichthyosis, but for other forms, the underlying geneticContinueContinue reading “Retrieving new information on ichthyosis”
Human Y chromosome isn’t wasting away
Some time ago, the future of the human Y chromosome was called into question. After all, other species, such as mole voles and spiny rats, have lost their Y chromosomes, and sex-determination responsibilities have fallen to other chromosomes. In fact, the human Y did not start off as a sex-determining chromosome either. Human X andContinueContinue reading “Human Y chromosome isn’t wasting away”
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