science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Κυριακή 6 Ιανουαρίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Shifting the balance between good fat and bad fat
Gene Therapy Reprograms Scar Tissue in Damaged Hearts into Healthy Heart Muscle
Traumatic brain injury results in progressive brain deterioration

Shifting the balance between good fat and bad fat

Posted: 06 Jan 2013 05:55 AM PST

In many cases, obesity is caused by more than just overeating and a lack of exercise. Something in the body goes haywire, causing it to store more fat and burn less energy. But what is it? Sanford-Burnham researchers have a new theory—a protein called p62. According to a study the team published December 21 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, when p62 is missing in fat tissue, the body’s metabolic balance shifts—inhibiting “good” brown fat, while favoring “bad” white fat.

Gene Therapy Reprograms Scar Tissue in Damaged Hearts into Healthy Heart Muscle

Posted: 06 Jan 2013 05:46 AM PST

A cocktail of three specific genes can reprogram cells in the scars caused by heart attacks into functioning muscle cells, and the addition of a gene that stimulates the growth of blood vessels enhances that effect, said researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, Baylor College of Medicine and Stony Brook University Medical Center in a report that appears online in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Traumatic brain injury results in progressive brain deterioration

Posted: 05 Jan 2013 08:45 AM PST

Researchers studying the long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) using rat models, have found that, overtime, TBI results in progressive brain deterioration characterized by elevated inflammation and suppressed cell regeneration. However, therapeutic intervention, even in the chronic stage of TBI, may still help prevent cell death.

Long-term neurological deficits from TBI are associated with neuroinflammation, and may aggravate over time to more severe secondary injuries, making prevention and treatment a very complex task