Existing drug can repair ion channel linked to epilepsy

14-Aug-2024 - Mutated variants of a particular ion channel cause difficult-to-treat epilepsy. A study now shows that a commonly used anaesthetic drug, propofol, can restore the function of this ion channel. The discovery was made by researchers at Linköping University and Weill Cornell Medicine. The findings ...

Circadian clocks play a key role in fat cell growth

11-Aug-2022 - Disruption of the circadian clocks that keep the body and its cells entrained to the 24-hour day-night cycle plays a critical role in weight gain, according to a pair of studies by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. One study, published June 27, inCell Reportsrevealed that stress caused by ...

How fructose in the diet contributes to obesity

“Fructose itself is not harmful. It's a problem of overconsumption. Our bodies were not designed to eat as much of it as we do.”

20-Aug-2021 - Eating fructose appears to alter cells in the digestive tract in a way that enables it to take in more nutrients, according to a preclinical study from investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. These changes could help to explain the well-known link between rising fructose ...

Can we repair the brain?

The promise of stem cell technologies for treating Parkinson's disease

19-Feb-2019 - Cell replacement may play an increasing role in alleviating the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) in future. Writing in a special supplement to the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, experts describe how newly developed stem cell technologies could be used to treat the disease and discuss ...

New model finds HIV acute phase infectivity may be lower than previously estimated

20-Mar-2015 - Previous calculations may have overestimated the importance of HIV transmission from recently infected individuals ("acute phase infectivity") in driving HIV epidemics, according to an article published by Steve Bellan of The University of Texas at Austin, and colleagues in this week's PLOS ...

First Map of New York City Subway System Microbes

Paints a Molecular Portrait of New York City's Balanced Microbial Ecosystem

10-Feb-2015 - The microbes that call the New York City subway system home are mostly harmless, but include samples of disease-causing bacteria that are resistant to drugs - and even DNA fragments associated with anthrax and Bubonic plague - according to a citywide microbiome map published today by Weill ...

Scientists decode 'software' instructions of aggressive leukemia cells

Researchers locate molecules that drive the development of 3 forms of deadly white blood cell cancers, pointing researchers to new potential therapeutic targets

02-Nov-2012 - A team of national and international researchers, led by Weill Cornell Medical College scientists, have decoded the key "software" instructions that drive three of the most virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). They discovered ALL's "software" is encoded with epigenetic marks, ...

Cornell: Alternative alpha-synuclein aggregates

New details about elusive protein structures could yield insight into Parkinson's disease

04-Nov-2010 - Proteins perform almost every function our bodies require for life. But, they also can misbehave in myriad ways. By retracing the history of each abnormal reaction, biochemists aim to determine the events that lead to disease and to intervene in the process. Collaborative research between ...

Researchers discover metabolic vulnerability in TB and potential drug target

14-May-2010 - Tuberculosis (TB) has been present in humans since ancient times. The origins of the disease date back to the first domestication of cattle, and skeletal remains show prehistoric humans (4,000 B.C.) had TB. The cause of tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), a slow-growing aerobic ...

Scientists design new drug type to kill lymphoma cells

12-May-2010 - Three researchers who are recipients of a collaborative grant from the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation have developed a new type of drug designed to kill non-Hodgkin lymphoma tumor cells. The breakthrough could lead to potential non-toxic therapies for cancer patients. The ...