Researchers uncover mechanism by which hypothalamic neural signaling drives hunger responses to survive starvation.

The human body responds to starving conditions, such as famine, to promote the chance of survival. It reduces energy expenditure by stopping heat production and promotes feeding behavior. These “hunger responses” are activated by the feeling of hunger in the stomach and are controlled by neuropeptide Y (NPY) signals released by neurons in the hypothalamus.

However, how NPY signaling in the hypothalamus elicits the hunger responses has remained unknown. Sympathetic motor neurons in the medulla oblongata are responsible for heat production by brown adipose tissue (BAT). Researchers centered at Nagoya University have now tested whether the heat-producing neurons respond to the same hypothalamic NPY signals that control hunger responses. They injected NPY into the hypothalamus of rats and tested the effect on heat production. Under normal conditions, blocking inhibitory GABAergic receptors or stimulating excitatory glutamatergic receptors in the sympathetic motor neurons induced heat production in BAT. After NPY injection, stimulating glutamatergic receptors did not produce heat, but inhibiting GABAergic receptors did. The study was recently reported in Cell Metabolism.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is the root cause of many diseases that are bewildering in their variety and complexity. They include rare genetic disorders in children, some forms of heart disease, and most likely many cases of Parkinson’s disease.

Research on mitochondria started already in the late 19th century, but there are still many unsolved issues concerning their composition, their function and their relevance to health and disease. Director Howy Jacobs and his research group at the Institute of Biotechnology are amongst many scientists worldwide who seek to answer the open questions, in their daily work. Their main aim is to understand how mitochondria interact with other cellular components to maintain physiological homeostasis, and how mitochondrial defects lead to pathological states.

The genomes of the two least common species of human malaria parasites are revealed today in Nature by a team of scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their international collaborators. These sequences will enable improved surveillance and diagnosis of these rarer parasites that still cause more than 10 million malaria cases every year. The research has important implications for malaria eradication worldwide, and casts light on a malaria vaccine target.

Saturday, January 28, 2017 -

10:00am to 5:00pm

Sunday, January 29, 2017 -

10:00am to 5:00pm

The Natural History Museum of Utah | Rio Tinto Center | 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City

A researcher at the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country proposes analysing characteristics such as the location and visibility of Palaeolithic works to try to deduce their purpose Blanca Ochoa, a researcher in the UPV/EHU’s department of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology, proposes analysing the spaces in which the artistic figures of the Palaeolithic are represented to try and deduce the purpose of these expressions. In her study she observed chronological differences in the location of the drawings and engravings, which could indicate that the function and meaning of cave art gradually changed throughout the Upper Palaeolithic.

Malaria is one of the world’s most serious infectious diseases and affects more than 200 million people each year. Scientists at the University of Oslo have examined the bark from two African trees and found substances that can kill both the mosquitoes that transmit malaria, and the parasite itself.

Researchers have discovered minerals from 43 meteorites that landed on Earth 470 million years ago. More than half of the mineral grains are from meteorites completely unknown or very rare in today’s meteorite flow. These findings mean that we will probably need to revise our current understanding of the history and development of the solar system.

A Hokkaido University researcher has successfully developed a method to accurately manipulate gene expression by light illumination and demonstrated its usability by creating double-headed zebrafish.

It has been difficult to freely manipulate the timing and duration of gene expression using existing gene manipulation technologies, which depend on organism’s gene regulating mechanism. In recent years, methods using light to regulate gene expression have been developed, but deemed insufficient to manipulate embryonic development. This is due to a time lag of several hours that occurs from light irradiation to the start/cessation of protein production. Existing photocontrol technologies also require genetic modification, a process that is not only time-consuming but also strictly regulated by the Cartagena Protocol.

More than 100 billion micrometeorites (MMs) fall to Earth each year. Until now, scientists believed that these particles could only be found in the cleanest environments, such as the Antarctic. In their new paper for Geology, M.J. Genge and colleagues show that, contrary to that expectation, micrometeorites can be recovered from city rooftops (for this example, primarily in Norway) and that, unlike those from the Antarctic, they are the youngest collected to date.

More than 100 billion micrometeorites (MMs) fall to Earth each year. Until now, scientists believed that these particles could only be found in the cleanest environments, such as the Antarctic. In their new paper for Geology, M.J. Genge and colleagues show that, contrary to that expectation, micrometeorites can be recovered from city rooftops (for this example, primarily in Norway) and that, unlike those from the Antarctic, they are the youngest collected to date.