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
Journal Club
Highlighting recent, timely papers selected by Academy member labs
Category Archives: Medical Sciences
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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An antihistamine’s hidden talent: Fighting prion disease
When they screened a library of existing drugs for their ability to treat neurodegenerative prion diseases, one team of researchers was in for a surprise. Astemizole, an antihistamine that’s been used to treat seasonal allergies since the 1970s, lengthened the … Continue reading
Categories: Cell Biology | Medical Sciences
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Malnourishment in fetuses a risk factor for later diabetes
In the past century, Austria experienced three major famines. Now researchers suggest those born in these times of hunger suffered from excess risk for diabetes, according to a paper published in PNAS Early Edition. In 1918, at the end of … Continue reading
Categories: Applied Biological Sciences | Medical Sciences
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Gauging the potential of a “micro” window into disease
With every beat of a person’s heart, blood whooshes through their vessels, transporting blood cells, immune cells, oxygen, and nutrients throughout the body. Over time, as blood pulses in and out of the heart, it accumulates other materials—hormones, cells from … Continue reading
Categories: Applied Biological Sciences | Medical Sciences
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