Circadian rhythms can influence drugs' effectiveness
Giving drugs at different times of day could significantly affect how they are metabolized in the liver, according to a new study from MIT.
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Giving drugs at different times of day could significantly affect how they are metabolized in the liver, according to a new study from MIT.
11 hours ago
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59
Alzheimer's disease causes significant problems with memory, thinking and behavior and is the most common form of dementia, affecting more than 50 million people around the world each year. This number is expected to triple ...
Apr 23, 2024
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In a study recently published in Nature, an international research team led by Karolinska Institutet and MedUni Vienna, addressed how and why acute heat exposure, in conditions reminiscent of a sauna session or limited exposure ...
Apr 23, 2024
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Metabolic health (normal blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, among other factors) influences the effectiveness of influenza vaccinations. Vaccination is known to be less effective in people with obesity compared ...
Apr 18, 2024
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A new study that including participants from the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim shows how the growth factor erythropoietin (EPO) protects and regenerates nerve cells in the brain. In particular, the important ...
Apr 18, 2024
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A mutation in a protein regulating natural killer (NK) cells' function is at the root of immune deficiency in some people with a rare genetic condition characterized by cognitive and developmental delay, seizures, and other ...
Apr 9, 2024
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If you've spent any time scrolling through the health and wellness corners of social media, you've likely come across many products claiming to improve your metabolism. But what exactly is your metabolism?
Apr 4, 2024
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Recent research underscores the critical role of adipocytes in storing fat, vital for organismal survival. Dysfunctional adipocytes can lead to metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease, highlighting ...
Apr 2, 2024
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Magnesium is a mineral critical to a wide range of biological functions, and a new study takes aim at how it's transported to address cardiac dysfunction and other diseases, opening new possibilities for treatment.
Mar 28, 2024
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to a group of disorders affecting the heart and blood vessels and is a leading cause of death globally. Lifestyle factors have been linked to the incidence of CVD and the inclusion of an ...
Mar 28, 2024
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Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms to maintain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories. Catabolism breaks down organic matter, for example to harvest energy in cellular respiration. Anabolism, on the other hand, uses energy to construct components of cells such as proteins and nucleic acids.
The chemical reactions of metabolism are organized into metabolic pathways, in which one chemical is transformed into another by a sequence of enzymes. Enzymes are crucial to metabolism because they allow organisms to drive desirable but thermodynamically unfavorable reactions by coupling them to favorable ones, and because they act as catalysts to allow these reactions to proceed quickly and efficiently. Enzymes also allow the regulation of metabolic pathways in response to changes in the cell's environment or signals from other cells.
The metabolism of an organism determines which substances it will find nutritious and which it will find poisonous. For example, some prokaryotes use hydrogen sulfide as a nutrient, yet this gas is poisonous to animals. The speed of metabolism, the metabolic rate, also influences how much food an organism will require.
A striking feature of metabolism is the similarity of the basic metabolic pathways between even vastly different species. For example, the set of carboxylic acids that are best known as the intermediates in the citric acid cycle are present in all organisms, being found in species as diverse as the unicellular bacteria Escherichia coli and huge multicellular organisms like elephants. These striking similarities in metabolism are most likely the result of the high efficiency of these pathways, and of their early appearance in evolutionary history.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA