Category Archives: Physiology

Heavy water tastes sweeter

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Carolyn Beans

In the 1930s, scientists discovered a heavier form of water. So-called “heavy water” (D2O) weighs more because the nucleus of each of its two hydrogen atoms contains not just a proton but a neutron as well. Known as deuterium, heavy … Continue reading →

Study finds clues to Alzheimer’s disease onset in the aging female brain

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Stephen Ornes

In the United States, women make up nearly two-thirds of all diagnosed cases of Alzheimer’s disease. On average, women live about 5 years longer than men, but that life expectancy discrepancy doesn’t likely account for such a large, sex-skewed prevalence … Continue reading →

Smaller salamander species associated with smaller genomes

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Carolyn Beans

The world’s tiniest salamanders are so small that some body parts appear to get short shrift. Those in the genus Thorius, for example, have heads that are “mind bogglingly small, maybe half the size of a pencil eraser,” says herpetologist … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Timed treatment fends off hardening of arteries in mice

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Charlotte Schubert

Timing is everything—including, possibly, when treating cardiovascular disease. By administering a drug-like compound in mice at a certain point during the circadian cycle, researchers were able to slow atherosclerosis while minimizing side effects, according to a recent study in Cell … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Phosphorylation has surprisingly big role in control of circadian clocks

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Jessica P. Johnson

The network of molecules that makes up the circadian clock, which governs the timing of cellular processes in most living things, has been well studied. But thus far, technological limitations have prevented researchers from elucidating exactly how the clocks orchestrate … Continue reading →

Modified hormone release patterns improve egg production

Posted on April 23, 2014 by pnas

Without changing overall levels of hormones, altering how hormones are packaged and shipped out from cells in the body can affect how they act. For women undergoing fertility treatments, delivering reproductive hormones in a new way could be key to … Continue reading →

Categories: Physiology | 1 Comment

Happiness is in your genes (partly)

Posted on May 29, 2013 by pnas

Feeling happy? Enjoying life? Our quality of life rides upon more than objective social or economic measures–our state of health, employment, or nourishment. Much of our satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) comes from how we feel about our lives, and this depends, … Continue reading →

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