A Compound Found in Turmeric Shows Potential for Treating Neurodegenerative Diseases

Turmeric is a plant native to southeast Asia, harvested for its rhizomes and used to flavour and colour Indian dishes.  It was used for thousands of years as a remedy for stomach and liver ailments, and for its antimicrobial properties when applied on skin to heal sores.  The two major bioactive compounds of turmeric are known as curcumin and aromatic turmerone (ar-turmerone).  Curcumin is believed to have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-tumor, and antioxidant activities, and has been used in folk medicine to treat cancer, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, arthritis, allergies, and other chronic illnesses.  However, not much is known about the properties of ar-tumerone.

Some studies have linked ar-turmerone with antitumor properties, via the induction of apoptosis and through the inhibition of tumor cell invasion.  Others still have looked at the anti-inflammatory properties of ar-tumerone in neural cells, suggesting it may be a useful in treating neurological diseases.  A recent open access study by a research group from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine at the Research Centre Juelich (Germany) looked at ar-turmerone in this role using neural stem cells.

More "Pointless" Research: the 2014 Ig Nobel Award Winners!

In August, I wrote about so-called pointless research and an organization that celebrates this research that makes you laugh, then makes you think.  Well, the 2014 winners of the Ig Nobel awards have been announced!  We've got people studying the physics behind slipping on a banana peel, the neuroscience of seeing faces in mundane items, the psychopathy of being a night owl, the dangers of being a cat lady, dogs facing their own mecca when they poop, a tasty way to treat nosebleeds, reindeer don't trust people dressed as animals either, and a fairly gross way to produce starter probiotic cultures for sausage-making (it may put you off sausages from now on).  Let's explore these interesting, improbable, and yes "pointless" findings!

Don't Skip the Gym: Wine is Definitely NOT Better Than Exercise

By now, the media has pounced on new research looking at resveratrol, a compound found in wine, and the comparison of its effects to exercise on different body systems.  Naturally, the running headline is that drinking wine is better for you than going to the gym.  Because that's what we need.  Interested in hearing what the study actually says?  Read on:

The Production of Circular RNA Competes with Normal RNA Processing in Cells

All of our genetic information is encoded in DNA.  In order for genes to be expressed as functional proteins in our cells, they must first be copied (or transcribed) into single-stranded RNA molecules, known as messenger RNA (mRNA).  These genetic instructions are then translated into amino acid sequences that make up proteins.  Recently, a new type of RNA was discovered that forms in a closed, continuous loop, rather than in a linear molecule - known as circular RNA (circRNA).  It turns out that circRNA are abundant in cells, but they are very poorly understood.  Despite this, these RNA molecules seem to play a role in the development and progression of degenerative diseases.  A recently published study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has given us a better idea of how circRNA are produced in the cell.

Science This Week (Sept 15-21, 2014)

Scientists discover the brain's "sleep node".

Studies in mice show the role of the mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases.

Biomedical implants heal bones faster.

Stem cells use molecular first aid kits to repair damage.

Monitoring Ebola in African Wild Apes using their waste. (Open Access)

Plant hormones regulate root nodule formation in legumes.

How pneumonia bacteria compromise heart health. (Open Access)

Using microbes to power up waste clean-up in rural areas.

Live vaccines are more effective, here's why. (Open Access)

Dogs can be pessimists too. (Open Access)

Peacocks' trains aren't such a drag after all.

Avocados: the ghost of evolutionary past.

So Finding Nemo wasn't all fiction: baby clownfish seen travelling hundreds of kilometers across open oceans. (Open Access)

Childbirth or being kicked in the balls: which hurts more?

Science This Week (Sept 8-14, 2014)

Using plants to produce proteins capable of fighting high blood pressure.

It's time for a massive global response to the Ebola outbreak.  Read more here.

Here's an evolutionary surprise: from worms to spinal discs.

The amount of gray matter in the brain may indicate level of risk tolerance.

Speaking of which, how is social media affecting your brain?  A fantastic video from the ever-wonderful ASAP Science:

The discovery of three extinct squirrel species points to the origins of mammals - it may have been much earlier than we thought.

Using stem cells, researchers have shown that the neural cells of people with schizophrenia secrete higher amounts of three neurotransmitters broadly implicated in psychological disorders. (Open Access)

Your blood type may affect your memory later in life.

The drivers causing rich bird biodiversity in the neotropics has been identified.

Female baboons with boyfriends live longer.

Researchers have identified an enzyme that may be the key to slowing the aging process. (Open Access)

T-cells do quite a bit of chattering - and this may be the key to producing more efficient vaccines.

Non-dominant hand use drove the evolution of human hand morphology.

Sloppier DNA Repair Mechanism Takes Over in Aging Mice

A neuron transfected with GFP (source)

As vertebrates age, DNA damage and mutations accumulate to the point where we begin to see "functional failure", causing cancers and other age-related illnesses.  Specifically, double-stranded breaks (DSBs) are the worst type of DNA damage, because they can lead to loss of genetic information and chromosomal rearrangement.  Cells do possess mechanisms to correct any damaged DNA, but when the repair machinery can't keep up with the DNA damage, the cells stop dividing (senescence) or they commit suicide (apoptosis).  But what is it that prevents DNA repair processes from keeping up as we age?  Researchers Vera Gorbunova and Andrei Seluanov of the University of Rochester (New York, USA) have discovered one reason (open access): the machinery ages too, and it is replaced with slower, less accurate parts.

Bee Bacteria may be an Alternative to Antibiotics

Raw honey has been used to treat infections for centuries, and today we are very aware of the extent of its antimicrobial properties, though we still don't know what it is exactly that makes honey so effective (the best idea right now is honey's osmolarity and hydrogen peroxide content).  Six years ago, a group of researchers in Sweden discovered a large, unexplored bacterial microbiota in the honey stomach of honeybees, which was made up of 40 lactic acid bacterial strains, 9 strains of Lactobacillus, and 4 strains of Bifidobacterium.  The researchers hypothesized that this microbiota, specifically the lactic acid bacteria (LAB), were responsible for the antimicrobial properties of honey.  The group report (in an open access study published this week) having finally found the answer.

Science This (Last) Week (Sept 1-7, 2014)

Studies in the coffee genome shows that caffeine evolved three separate times: in coffee, tea, and chocolate plants.

The first brain-to-brain communication between humans!

A puzzling animal species, discovered in Australia in 1980, is so unlike any organism alive today, that it may rewrite our ideas on the history of life! (Open Access)

Having plants in the office makes you happier and more productive.

How do animals see the world?

Speaking of which, birds use quantum mechanics to navigate during migration.

A really cool series discussing the effect of movies on the brain.

Neurons in our skin are performing very advanced calculations.

Molting insects experience a huge drop in breathing ability - almost like having the wind knocked out of you, but for days!

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is involved in honesty.

A team of researchers has turned E. coli into a renewable source for propane gas production. (Open Access)

A battery-free pacemaker powered by heartbeats.

Prost! Contaminating Particles Found in German Beers

Ah fall, hands down the best season!  Out come the sweaters and boots, the pumpkin spice lattes, thanksgiving, and of course Oktoberfest.  But folks partaking in the annual German beer celebration may be getting a bit more than they bargained for.  A new open access study looking at 24 different brands of German beer found a slew of contaminating substances, most notably microplastics.  This is the only study that has looked at the contamination of beer, but it is very likely that this problem is not limited only to German beers.