Bodys

Incretin hormones, produced in our gut, play a pivotal role in managing metabolism and weight, akin to the function of drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, and Mounjaro. This natural weight loss system, activated by our dietary choices and the health of our gut microbiome, offers a built-in method for obesity and diabetes control. By focusing on nurturing our gut health through proper nutrition, we can unlock this natural mechanism, offering a sustainable approach to weight management that parallels the benefits of these modern…

Scientists in China have demonstrated a new kind of antidepressant could also have the potential to restore the body's ability to fight some types of cancer.In strategic combination with anti-tumor drugs, the oral antidepressant ansofaxine hydrochloride appears to inhibit colon cancer cell growth in cell cultures and in mice, strengthening the immune system and inducing a form of programmed cell death.Yet to be tested on humans, it's unclear how the results will translate as an actual cancer treatment.That said,…

January 1, 20243 min readThe larger a cell type is, the rarer it is in the body—and vice versa—a new study showsBy Clara Moskowitz, Jen Christiansen & Ni-ka Ford Credit: Ni-ka Ford and Jen ChristiansenMany aspects of our world, from the body mass of creatures in the animal kingdom to the population of cities across the globe, follow an intriguing mathematical pattern. Known as Zipf's law, the rule says that when something's size is doubled, that thing becomes about half as common. Researchers wondered whether the law…

Recent research by the University at Buffalo has uncovered a “suicidal” reaction in ion channel receptors, particularly TRPV1, which undergo dramatic and irreversible changes when activated by heat. This groundbreaking discovery, which defies previous expectations about receptor stability, could significantly impact the development of more effective pain relievers. Scientists have a ‘Suicidal’ mechanism discovered in ion channel receptors which enables the sensing of heat and pain. The ability to accurately detect heat…

A consortium of scientists has just published an atlas of remarkable images of three human organs, each vital in their own way, showing how cell types are arranged and interact.The result: Glittering, kaleidoscopic blueprints lit up by fluorescent dyes that reveal new intimacies about our bodies and reshape our understanding of human biology and disease like never before.As you can see in the diagram below, researchers generated the cell atlases in three ways.Single-cell atlases of (a) the placenta, (b) the intestine,…

Why does one song soar to the top of the charts while another plummets? The anatomy of a hit remains a stubborn a mystery that researchers and the music industry at large have been longing to solve. A new study suggests that the secret to distinguishing a hit lies in the brains of listeners—and that artificial intelligence can analyze physiological signals to reveal that secret. But other “hit song science” researchers aren’t ready to declare victory just yet. Researchers from Claremont Graduate University used a…

A biosensor developed by Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, the James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics, features superhydrophobic material that measures sweat vapor without absorbing water. Credit: Provided by Larry Cheng/Penn StateA new superhydrophobic biosensor enables the monitoring of “insensible” sweat (vaporized water loss from the skin), which was previously hard to measure. This sensor can be integrated into wearable tech for continuous tracking, aiding in assessing body…

A team of scientists in Isha Jain’s lab at Gladstone Institutes showed how chronically low oxygen levels, such as those experienced at 4,500 meters of elevation, rewire how mice burn sugars and fats. Credit: Michael Short/Gladstone InstitutesWhen mice are subjected to sustained, low levels of oxygen similar to those found at an altitude of 4,500 meters, their metabolism changes.In comparison to individuals residing at sea level, the two million individuals worldwide residing at an elevation of 4,500 meters or higher…

One of Apple’s most-recently released patents describes how a headset and another electronic device could determine all the different stages of a person standing up from a seated position.Screenshot: Apple / GizmodoApple’s latest patents all center around tracking your whole body. Two patents from Apple first filed in 2021 and 2022 and revealed Thursday describe various concepts for detecting a body’s every position and movement, all through existing Apple products. One of the patents mentionsusers wearing a “headset”…

Biological fluids are made up of hundreds or thousands of different proteins (represented by space-filling models above) that evolved to work together efficiently but flexibly. UC Berkeley polymer scientists are trying to create artificial fluids composed of random heteropolymers (threads inside spheres) with much less complexity, but which mimic many of the properties of the natural proteins (right), such as stabilizing fragile molecular markers. Credit: Zhiyuan Ruan, Ting Xu lab, UC BerkeleyArtificial intelligence has…