Science

New lipid class may shed light on causes of dental disease

Researchers have made a discovery in mouth bacteria that might be linked via gut microbiota to disorders throughout the body.

From the journals: MCP

Protein profiles offer new insights into Duchenne muscular dystrophy. A novel fungal protease improves proteomic coverage. Expression of HLA-II shows promise for immunotherapy.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which organs age fastest of them all?

Using himself as a guinea pig, Michael Snyder has found that monitoring health baselines enables earlier disease diagnosis.

The top scientific breakthrough for 2020

The development of multiple vaccines against the virus that causes COVID-19 has been hailed as the breakthrough of 2020. But there were many more supporting discoveries that made this possible.

We scanned the DNA of 8,000 people to see how facial features are controlled by genes

Understanding the link between specific genes and facial features could be useful for treating facial malformations or for orthodontics.

What is chronic itching?

Itching has myriad causes and mechanisms, many of which remain elusive. Scientists are making headway on parsing its biological underpinnings, in hope of better treatments.

How flame retardants could impair neurodevelopment

The chemicals coating our furniture, electronics and construction materials may be more harmful than helpful to human health.

How a virus can affect memory: The role of HIV in HAND

Across disciplines and continents, scientists work to demystify the role of an HIV-secreted protein in neurodegeneration.

From the journals: JLR

Membrane organization in nerve cells. Targeting lipids in liver disease. Balancing longevity and starvation resistance. Read about recent papers on these topics in the Journal of Lipid Research.

COVID-19 vaccines focus on the spike protein, but there’s another target

Four different proteins form the overall structure of the coronavirus particle: spike, envelope, membrane and nucleocapsid. In a natural infection, our immune system recognises all four.

Instead of a colonoscopy

Researchers have found that testing for the bacterium Parvimonas micra in stool may present an alternative to an invasive diagnostic procedure to detect colon cancer.

From the journals: JBC

Sphingosine might block SARS-CoV-2. Exosite binding activates factor X. How does Fur sense iron? Read about papers on these and other topics in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.