Alanine catabolism as a targetable vulnerability for MYC-driven liver cancer.
Montoya et al. uncover a role for alanine as a conserved metabolic substrate for MYC-driven liver cancer. GPT2 is a therapeutic target for MYC-overexpressing liver tumors.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 211
Ancient DNA reveals pervasive directional selection across West Eurasia
The researchers found that natural selection has played a much larger role in determining which traits survived or declined since the Ice Age, identifying 479 genetic variations that were greatly impacted — many more than the 20 previous instances of directional selection.
Analysis of 15,836 ancient West Eurasian genomes reveals hundreds of instances of directional selection, showing that sustained changes in allele frequency were widespread, rather than being rare over this period as previously assumed.
Scientists stunned as bacteria rewire DNA machinery to shape cells
Cyanobacteria—ancient microbes that oxygenated Earth and made complex life possible—are still revealing surprises billions of years later. Scientists have now discovered that a molecular system once used to separate DNA has been repurposed into something entirely different: a structure that shapes the cell itself.
The Future of Medicine Isn’t Treatment- It’s Prevention
What if we stopped managing disease…and started eliminating it entirely?
Horner’s Syndrome: Clinical and Radiographic Evaluation
Horner’s syndrome (HS) occurs when there is interruption of the oculosympathetic pathway (OSP). This article reviews the anatomy of the OSP and clinical findings associated with lesions located at various positions along this pathway. The imaging findings of lesions associated with HS at various levels of the OSP, classified as preganglionic HS (first-and second-order neuron HS) or postganglionic HS (third-order neuron HS), are demonstrated.
How understanding bioenergetics can help our brain health
‘Practices that reduce perceived threat – mindfulness, social support, time in nature, deliberate recovery periods – are not indulgences. They are forms of energetic repair.’
The energy systems in our brains are implicated in how clearly we think, how resilient we feel, and how well we adapt to uncertainty. Understanding them can help us better care for our bodies as we age.
In this sharp and insightful essay, Hannah Critchlow takes you through the many ways in which our brains generate and use energy, and offers some helpful recommendations for looking after your brain health. Read or listen now.
In an era preoccupied with cognitive enhancement and artificial minds, it is worth remembering that intelligence depends on sustaining delicate energetic equilibria. To care for our bodies, our relationships and our environment is, in a literal sense, to care for the energy that makes thought possible.
The evolutionary merger that gave rise to mitochondria offers a final lesson. Complexity and intelligence did not emerge from domination but from partnership. Within us, ancient bacteria still labour – not as servants but as collaborators. Every thought we have, every spark of imagination, is powered by this quiet cooperation at the cellular level. Intelligence, in any form, is a partnership with energy itself.
One takeaway is that a brain fit for the 21st century may be one that understands – and respects – its bioenergetic foundations.