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Category: biotech/medical – Page 6

New findings overturn 100-year-old assumption about common bacteria in the lungs

The human body is teeming with more than 35 trillion bacteria, coexisting in microbiomes inside the gut, mouth, lungs, skin and urogenital tract. While it’s now clear these microbes are associated with health and disease, scientists have only begun to uncover the full scale of their biology and functions.

In a striking example of just how much is still unknown, a new University of Michigan study overturns a 100-year-old assumption about one common bacterial resident of the lungs, Prevotella melaninogenica. The research is published in the Journal of Bacteriology.

The lab led by Ariangela Kozik, Ph.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at U-M Medical School and assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at U-M, is interested in Prevotella because the bacteria are commonly found in the respiratory tract and reportedly associated with all manner of chronic conditions, yet are also found in healthy people. The genus is also widely thought to be an obligate anaerobe, incapable of surviving in the presence of oxygen.

Deep brain stimulation strengthens reward signals after one 20-minute session, study finds

A study from Emory University School of Medicine suggests that a single 20-minute session of noninvasive deep brain stimulation, paired with mindful breathing, may strengthen the brain’s response to reward and reduce anxiety. Changes in reward-related brain activity remained detectable for approximately one week after the session.

3Dprinted devices could streamline the production of drugdelivery microparticles

MIT researchers have demonstrated a low-cost design of specialized electronic nozzles, called triaxial electrospray emitters, that could be used to manufacture time-release drug-delivery particles or self-healing materials efficiently and at scale.

Triaxial electrospray emitters use electricity to precisely dispense three liquids from microscopic nozzles to generate a steady stream with three distinct fluid layers. The liquid forms multilayered droplets, which can solidify into layered microparticles.

For instance, an array of triaxial electrospray emitters can be used to make three-layer drug-delivery nanoparticles. The outer layer might slowly erode in the stomach, revealing a second material that controls the release of a core material, which delivers medicine to a specific area of the intestines.

Curiosity has its own neural signal: Brain separates valuable information from water rewards in mice

Often, humans and other animals seek information that can help them complete tasks and attain desired rewards. In some cases, however, they seek information driven simply by curiosity and a desire to obtain knowledge for its own sake, even if it does not lead to external rewards.

Researchers at Columbia University, Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University recently created a new experimental paradigm for studying the neural processes associated with curiosity and the desire for knowledge in mice. This paradigm, outlined in a paper in Nature Neuroscience, allowed them to gain new insights into how the brain represents the value of information regardless of physical rewards.

“We wanted to understand the neural basis of our desire for knowledge—why we read books, explore, and have such a strong drive to find things out,” Jennifer J. Bussell, first author of the paper, told Medical Xpress. “Earlier experiments had suggested that the brain responds to information as if it is a reward, to such an extent that even the exact same neurons in the brain’s reward centers respond to predictions of juice and information.”

Cell biochemistry beyond membranes: Condensate physics reveals general rules for chemical responses

Basic biology courses teach that cells contain organelles—such as the nucleus, mitochondria and Golgi apparatus—set apart by lipid membranes to get things done. Recent cell biology research has revealed another organizational principle at work in cells across all orders of biology.

“Proteins and nucleic acids spontaneously organize themselves into blobs called condensates,” said Eric Dufresne, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences and of materials science and engineering at Cornell Duffield College of Engineering, who is working to understand how condensates work.

Droplet-like condensates form and dissolve as cells need them, bringing selected proteins, RNA and other molecules together to coordinate biochemical reactions, said Takumi Matsuzawa, a postdoctoral researcher in physics. “Their timely formation and dissolution are essential for normal cellular function, and disruptions to this process have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases,” including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Youth-associated protein helps restore healthy function in immune cells in the aging brain

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a role for the youth-associated protein TIMP2 in supporting the healthy function of microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells.

In a study published Aug. 12 in Nature Communications, they found that loss of TIMP2 caused microglia to develop several features associated with aging and neurodegeneration. Conversely, restoring TIMP2 in the blood of aged mice improved the ability of microglia to clear debris and reduced molecular markers associated with inflammation and other maladaptive states.

The findings provide new insight into how youth-associated factors may influence the aging brain and suggest that TIMP2 may help maintain healthy immune function in the brain as organisms age.

Ketamine and psychotherapy show promise as a combined approach to chronic neuropathic pain

Combining ketamine and psychotherapy is a safe and feasible approach with promising benefits for people experiencing chronic neuropathic pain, according to a new study by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital, the University of Toronto and York University.

“This is a novel treatment paradigm for a patient population that is suffering greatly,” says Akash Goel, the study’s lead author, a clinician-investigator at St. Michael’s Hospital, a site of Unity Health Toronto, and an assistant professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

The trial was conducted at St. Michael’s Hospital between 2023 and 2025 and enrolled 30 participants with chronic neuropathic pain who were randomly assigned to receive one of three treatments: ketamine infusions, weekly psychotherapy sessions or both. Each treatment program lasted 16 weeks.

Cells use a little-known molecule to protect themselves from iron overload

Iron is essential. Our cells need it to produce energy, carry oxygen throughout the body and power countless chemical reactions that sustain life. But this metal has a dark side. When too much of it is left free inside cells, it can trigger destructive reactions that break down DNA, proteins and even cell membranes.

Now, Whitehead Institute Member Ankur Jain, former postdoc Whitney Henry and graduate student Pushkal Sharma have discovered that cells rely on an unexpected protector against this threat: small molecules called polyamines.

The researchers’ detailed findings, published in the journal Cell, reveal that polyamines act like storage lockers for iron, safely holding the metal in a nonreactive state until cells need it.

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