News by Subject Biology

The effectiveness of current treatments for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, could be improved by using approaches that wipe out the 'survival system' of cancer cells according to a study published in Nature Communications today. Researchers from the Babraham Institute, AstraZeneca and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre have demonstrated an approach, used in parallel with existing treatments, which is effective at triggering tumor cell death and delaying treatment resistance.

In a new study presented to heart specialists from around the world, researchers at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City found that simple 'nudges' in the form of texts, emails and phone calls, not only help patients fill that first statin prescription, but also continue to help them take their medications over the long term.

A new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, published by Elsevier, found that nearly two-thirds of infants (61%) and almost all toddlers (98%) consumed added sugars in their average daily diets, primarily in the form of flavored yogurts (infants) and fruit drinks (toddlers). Infants were 6-11 months, and toddlers were 12-23 months.

The biological actions of insulin are mediated by its receptor--the insulin receptor -- which is localized on the cell surface. In a new study, researchers based in Germany, Canada, and Finland show how insulin interacts with its receptor at a second binding site. The scientists hope that these new details concerning insulin-receptor interactions will ultimately expand the current models of insulin binding to its receptor and pave the way towards new approaches to structure-based drug design.

Like someone from Minnesota being dropped into an Arizona heat wave, giant kelp living in cooler, high-latitude waters were more vulnerable to excessive heat than kelp already living in warmer, Southern California waters, according to a study of Chilean and Californian kelp.

A team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently used the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility's Cray XK7 Titan supercomputer to model every building serviced by the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga--all 178,368 of them--and discovered through more than 2 million simulations that EPB could potentially save $11-$35 million per year by adjusting electricity usage during peak critical times.