Bile Acids Are Not Just for Digestion – Professors Phillip Hylemon and Huiping Zhou, Virginia Commonwealth University

Dec 19, 2018 | biology, health and medicine

Original Article Reference

https://doi.org/10.26320/SCIENTIA228

About this episode

Over the last two decades, bile acids have gone from being thought of as mere helpers during digestion of fats and fat-soluble vitamins, to crucial players in the signalling pathways operating in the liver. Professor Phillip Hylemon and Professor Huiping Zhou, from the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA, lead two of the main research groups worldwide trying to unveil these pathways and the repercussions of these in terms of disease.
 

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International LicenseCreative Commons License

What does this mean?

Share: You can copy and redistribute the material in any medium

or format

Adapt: You can change, and build upon the material for any

purpose, even commercially.

Credit: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the

license, and indicate if changes were made.

Related episodes

Charles Frison-Roche | The Hidden Architects of Movement: The Role of MBNL Proteins in Movement

Charles Frison-Roche | The Hidden Architects of Movement: The Role of MBNL Proteins in Movement

Researchers have made a significant advancement in understanding an important component of the nervous system: the neuromuscular junction, a crucial connection between nerves and muscles. A recent study performed by Charles Frison-Roche of the Center of Research in Myology in the Sorbonne University, Paris, and colleagues, reveals the role of proteins known as Muscleblind-like proteins, or MBNL proteins for short, which help to regulate motor coordination by helping to maintain neuromuscular junction stability. This discovery is potentially very useful, as loss-of-function of MBNL proteins is a hallmark of a genetic condition called Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (or DM1 for short). DM1 disrupts muscle control, leading to muscle weakness, problems with balance, and other symptoms that can get progressively worse over time. MBNL proteins, and their role in the neuromuscular junction, may represent new treatment targets in DM1.

Unmasking a Silent Killer: How the LiverRisk Score is Changing the Rules of Liver Disease Detection

Unmasking a Silent Killer: How the LiverRisk Score is Changing the Rules of Liver Disease Detection

Liver disease is a significant health challenge globally. It can often progress unnoticed for years until it becomes life-threatening. Cirrhosis is the final stage of chronic liver diseases, and it can be caused by conditions such as viral hepatitis, excessive alcohol consumption, or metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease, which is linked to conditions such as obesity or diabetes. Once cirrhosis has set in, the tissue in the liver becomes permanently scarred, reducing its function, and this can progress to liver failure or liver cancer. Often, these conditions are not diagnosed in sufficient time for effective treatment. Happily, a new risk assessment tool called the LiverRisk score, developed by the LiverScreen Consortium, could pave the way for early liver disease diagnosis, potentially allowing clinicians to intervene before irreversible liver damage occurs. The LiverRisk score helps to identify those who are at risk of severe liver complications in the future. The diagnostic tool is designed to be easy to use, and is based on clinical markers that are widely available from routine blood tests.

Dr Sandra Goritschnig – Dr Pasquale Tripodi | The Science of Greens: Using Genetic Insights to Cultivate Better, Stronger Lettuce

Dr Sandra Goritschnig – Dr Pasquale Tripodi | The Science of Greens: Using Genetic Insights to Cultivate Better, Stronger Lettuce

In recent years, rapid advancements in techniques for genetic analysis and manipulation have enhanced our potential to understand and improve crop diversity. An innovative project led by Dr. Pasquale Tripodi of the Italian Council for Agricultural Research and Economics and Dr Sandra Goritschnig of the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources marks a significant advance in the study of lettuce genetics. Their recently published research platforms a highly sophisticated technique to analyse genetic diversity within lettuces called Single Primer Enrichment Technology, or SPET for short. This approach provides a highly detailed view of lettuce genetics and also has significant implications for agricultural resilience and crop selection and breeding.

Dr. Serena Kuang | Inside the Kidney’s ‘Countercurrent’ Mystery: A New Model for Teaching and Studying Water Balance

Dr. Serena Kuang | Inside the Kidney’s ‘Countercurrent’ Mystery: A New Model for Teaching and Studying Water Balance

Our kidneys filter blood to remove waste and can regulate water balance. We’ve all experienced that when we’re thirsty urine becomes concentrated, signalling us to drink more water. When we drink excess water, we urinate more frequently, and the urine is diluted. The kidneys’ ability to concentrate or dilute urine according to our body’s need relies on countercurrent multiplication (or CCM), a complex process that generates a salt concentration gradient in the kidney. However, CCM is challenging to teach and understand. Dr. Serena Kuang, a researcher and educator at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, has developed a more understandable CCM model and clears up errors in existing explanations making CCM easier to understand and teach.

Increase the impact of your research

• Good science communication helps people make informed decisions and motivates them to take appropriate and affirmative action.

• Good science communication encourages everyday people to be scientifically literate so that they can analyse the integrity and legitimacy of information.

• Good science communication encourages people into STEM-related fields of study and employment.

• Good public science communication fosters a community around research that includes both members of the public, policymakers and scientists.

• In a recent survey, 75% of people suggested they would prefer to listen to an interesting story than read it.

Step 1

Upload your science paper

Step 2

SciPod script written

Step 3

Voice audio recorded

Step 4

SciPod published