Tiny proteins known as micropeptides can play key roles in developmental biology. These molecules are encoded by equally little bits of DNA known as short or small open reading frames that often escape detection amidst an extraordinary number of meaningless … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recently published papers selected by Academy members
Category Archives: Medical Sciences
Journal Club: Newly found tiny peptides may have a big role
Categories: Biochemistry | Cell Biology | Genetics | Journal Club | Medical Sciences
Tagged lncRNA, micropeptide, non-coding RNA
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Diagnosing asthma from a single drop of blood
Asthma affects more than 300 million people worldwide, and over the past 30 years, the prevalence of asthma has risen significantly in many populations. Unfortunately, asthma is notoriously difficult to diagnose. Now scientists have developed a handheld device that could … Continue reading
Categories: Engineering | Medical Sciences
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Short fuse, short telomeres
Men who live a high-stress life—with few social resources, low levels of optimism, and above-average levels of hostility—show signs of the stress in their cells. The ends of their chromosomes, so-called telomeres which wear down naturally as a person ages, … Continue reading
Categories: Medical Sciences | Social Sciences
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Platelets as enzyme factories
The body of an average, healthy adult produces more than two hundred billion new platelets every day. The small cell fragments circulate through the blood stream, helping form blood clots and release growth hormones, for only a matter of days … Continue reading
Categories: Medical Sciences
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Drugs designed to target specific forms of iron might become disease fighters
Abnormal levels of a form of iron rise in the blood upon infection with parasites such as the ones behind malaria. Now scientists reveal they can design drugs that target this iron, report findings detailed in the Proceedings of the … Continue reading
Categories: Medical Sciences
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Some stress is important for a healthy heart
Stress is linked with heart disease. Perhaps counterintuitively, experiments in mice now reveal the absence of stress may cause them to die prematurely from heart failure, report results detailed this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. … Continue reading
Categories: Medical Sciences
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Microfluidics chip to predict heart attack risk
By the time an average American turns 35, two out of three individuals will have some number of fatty deposits–called atherosclerotic plaques–stuck to the insides of their blood vessels. As they age, if plaques continue to accumulate and grow, one … Continue reading
Categories: Medical Sciences
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An ad a day keeps the doctor away
During the commercial break of your favorite television show, the advertisements that play out in front of you don’t just influence your opinions of companies and shopping habits; the ads also could affect how your body responds to drugs. Watching … Continue reading
Categories: Medical Sciences | Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
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Making blood transfusions safer
Is blood safe for you? Blood transfusions are one of the most common procedures in medicine, but a host of recent studies have suggested many blood transfusions can actually inflict harm, such as heart attack, kidney injury, multi-organ failure and … Continue reading
Categories: Medical Sciences
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The physics of clogged arteries: A “micro” story
What do rubber tires from the earliest automobiles have in common with fatty atherosclerotic plaques inside blood vessels in the human body? The way they rupture, it turns out, is driven by the same physical processes. In the 1920s, rubber … Continue reading
Categories: Engineering | Medical Sciences
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