Brain-building gene plays key role in gut repair​​

A gene with a colorful name – mindbomb 1 – plays a key role far beyond the brain. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that mindbomb 1 may be involved in repairing cells injured by infection or inflammation in the stomach and pancreas. Researchers also found hints that mindbomb 1 may have connections to cancer in those organs.

Painted turtle gets DNA decoded

Scientists have decoded the genome of the western painted turtle, one of the most abundant turtles on Earth, finding clues to their longevity and ability to survive without oxygen during long winters spent hibernating in ice-covered ponds.

Old drug offers new hope against rare, deadly childhood disease​

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is playing a leading role in one of the National Institutes of Health’s first clinical trials to improve treatments for rare and neglected diseases. In this case, the disease is Niemann-Pick Type C, a disorder that causes excess cholesterol to accumulate in the brain, liver and spleen. It affects about 500 children worldwide, leads to neurodegeneration, and usually causes death in the first two decades of life.

Cholesterol buildup links atherosclerosis and macular degeneration

A new study raises the intriguing possibility that drugs prescribed to lower cholesterol may be effective against macular degeneration, a blinding eye disease. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that age-related macular degeneration shares a common link with atherosclerosis. Both problems have the same underlying defect: the inability to remove a buildup of fat and cholesterol.
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