I came across this article the other day about the possibility that memories might be stored on our DNA itself. I and most others were under the impression that memory storage probably had something to do with the physical interconnections between neurons, or that there was something else weird going on like bizarre quantum-level effects. [...]
Researchers at Yale University have found a new substance that is released by the stomach following the consumption of fatty food. Suppressing appetite and causing weight-loss in rats and mice, this substance might lead to novel obesity treatments for humans in future.
The team, headed by Professor Gerald I. Shulman, investigated substances known as N-acylphosphatidylethanolamines, or [...]
Researchers at the Harvard Medical School will be publishing details in the November 28 edition of Cell of a potential mechanism of aging that is conserved throughout the animal kingdom, from yeast to humans.
Professor David Sinclair and his team have discovered that aging may in fact be a case of gene regulation gone haywire, as [...]
Excessive blood concentrations of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), otherwise known as ‘bad cholesterol’, are implicated in cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and stroke. Now, a research team in Montreal at the Biochemical Neuroendocrinology Research Unit at the IRCM has revealed a novel way to reduce LDL levels, possibly diminishing the risks of cardiovascular disease by 88%.
Levels [...]
Alzheimer’s researchers at the UCLA Department of Neurology, in collaboration with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, have discovered a possible mechanism for how red wine might help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants, characterized by the presence of more than one phenol [...]
Good news for green-tea drinkers and supplementers like me. The Journal of Investigative Dermatology reported a few days ago on the mechanism of the inhibition of UVB-induced skin tumor development.
The article is reasonably technical, but I’ll summarize the results here:
Green tea polyphenol (GTP) supplementation in mice prevents photocarcinogenesis (i.e., skin cancer). I’ve not mentioned this [...]
The prestigious and excellent-for-a-laugh International Journal of Obesity reported today that fatness and stupidity are actually linked at a physiological level. Cortisol, a hormone released in moments of stress and as a result of obesity, causes a decline in cognitive performance.
In this experiment, they decided to induce stress by making their test subjects go skydiving! [...]
A nice article in the August issue of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism titled Effect of creatine supplementation and resistance-exercise training on muscle insulin-like growth factor in young adults looked at the effects on Insulin-like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) levels in people combining 30 minutes of exercise 3-5 times per week with [...]
A paper that became available today in Cell from the Spanish National Cancer Centre (CNIO) reports on the anti-aging effects of telomerase in cancer resistant mice.
Traditionally, the anti-aging effects of telomerase have been poorly explored because of its unfortunate cancer-promoting activity. Consequently, the researchers genetically engineered cancer-resistant mice by up-regulating their expression of [...]
Contrary to what that sad little voice in the heads of glassing victims says every morning when they look in the mirror, facial scars are perceived by western women to be signs of health and bravery, and confer somewhat more than a modicum of shagadelickness upon their bearers.
Facial scarring was downright sexy to these women [...]