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Credit: FEFU press office
Scientists from the Pacific Quantum Center of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) figured out how the AFV3-109 protein with slipknot structure folds and unfolds depending on temperature. The protein is typical for the viruses of the oldest single-celled organisms that can survive in the extreme conditions of underwater volcanic sources - archaea. The research outcome appears in
PLOS ONE.
Using numerical methods and applying quantum field theory that is unique for the study of proteins, the FEFU scientists have probed into the folding topology (scheme) of the AFV3-109 protein featured with a slipknot. The research unfolded in several unexpected and intriguing results.
For those trying to live a healthy lifestyle, the choice between sugar and artificial sweeteners such as saccharin can be confusing. A new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The Ohio State University College of Medicine found the sugar substitute saccharin doesn t lead to the development of diabetes in healthy adults as previous studies have suggested.
The first step in treating cancer is understanding how it starts, grows and spreads throughout the body. A relatively new cancer research approach is the study of metabolites, the products of different steps in cancer cell metabolism, and how those substances interact.
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Stiffness in our tissues causes tension in our cells. Research from the Buck Institute, the University Health Network (University of Toronto), Stanford University, and the University of Alberta shows that stiffness impacts the innate immune system by upping its metabolism. The findings suggest the cellular tension likely sets off an inflammatory loop that contributes to the development of chronic diseases of aging. Publishing in
Cell Reports, Buck Associate Professor Dan Winer, MD, and colleagues present an emerging way of looking at how the immune system functions, possibilities for new immunotherapeutics, and a call for scientists to reconsider the way they do research.
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Thanks to major progress in the understanding and management of rare congenital diseases and syndromes, many patients with these rare disorders are now living longer lives. With this progress it has become apparent that many non-skeletal rare diseases have an impact on bone mass, bone quality and/or bone metabolism, with potentially severe repercussions for quality of life in adults.
The new paper Bone fragility in patients affected by congenital diseases non skeletal in origin , published in
Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Skeletal Rare Diseases Working Group (SRDWG), provides a first taxonomic classification of selected non-skeletal rare congenital disorders with an impact on bone physiology on the basis of phenotypes. The diseases have been described according to the systemic disease; genetic defect; pathophysiology of bone phenotype; and therapy, where available.