London, October 18 (ANI): An research team in the U.S. has made a major advance in repeatedly generating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from the tiny number of keratinocytes attached to a single hair plucked from a human scalp.

Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, who led the study at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, said that the breakthrough provided a practical and simple alternative for the generation of patient- and disease-specific stem cells, which had been hampered by the low efficiency of the reprogramming process.

The researcher also said that the new process could spare patients invasive procedures to collect suitable starting material, as it only needs a single human hair.

"Having a very efficient and practical way of generating patient-specific stem cells, which unlike human embryonic stem cells, wouldn't be rejected by the patient's immune system after transplantation brings us a step closer to the clinical application of stem cell therapy," Nature Biotechnology quoted Dr. Belmonte, a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratory and director of the Center of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona, Spain, as saying.

Keratinocytes form the uppermost layer of skin and produce keratin, a tough protein that is the primary constituent of hair, nails and skin. They originate in the basal layer of the epidermis, from where they move up through the different layers of the epidermis and are eventually shed.

Dr. Belmonte insisted that it was still to be determined why keratinocytes appear to be much more malleable than other cell types.

"We checked a whole rainbow of cells and found keratinocytes to be the easiest to be reprogrammed. It is still not clear exactly why that is and knowing it will be very important for the technology to develop fully," he said. (ANI)

Washington, Oct 18 (ANI): In a mouse study, researchers have found that waste from gut bacteria activates a single molecule, and that in turn helps the host animals to control their weight.

The team of researchers including scientists from UT Southwestern Medical Center, have found that the waste products from gut bacteria, plays a large role in controlling whether the host animals are lean or fatty. The receptor molecule in the gut wall, called Gpr41, when activated, slows the movement of food through the intestine, allowing the animal to absorb more nutrients and thus gain weight. But, in the absence of this signal, the animals weigh less.

The study underlines that the host can use bacterial byproducts not only as a source of nutrients, but also as chemical signals to regulate body functions. It also points towards a potential method of controlling weight.

"It's quite possible that blocking this receptor molecule in the intestine might fight a certain kind of obesity by blocking absorption of energy from the gut," said Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa, professor of molecular genetics at UT Southwestern and a senior co-author of the study.

It is known that humans, like other animals, have a large number of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, which break up large molecules and helps the host in digesting and absorbing many of the resulting small molecules for energy and nutrients.

"The number of bacteria in our gut far exceeds the total number of cells in our bodies. It's truly a mutually beneficial relationship. We provide the bacteria with food, and in return they supply energy and nutrients," said Dr. Yanagisawa.

In their study on mice, the scientists took into account two species of bacteria that break up dietary fibers from food into small molecules called short-chain fatty acids.

It was earlier found that short-chain fatty acids bind to and activate Gpr41, but little was known about the physiological outcome of Gpr41 activation.

In the current study, communication between the bacteria and the hosts was disrupted in two ways: raising normal mice under germ-free conditions so they lacked the bacteria, and genetically engineering other mice to lack Gpr41 so they were unable to respond to the bacteria.

It was found that in both cases, the mice weighed less and had a leaner build than their normal counterparts even though they all ate the same amount.

The researchers also found that in mice without Gpr41, the intestines passed food more quickly.

They speculated that one action of Gpr41 is to slow down the motion that propels food forward, so that more nutrients can be absorbed. Thus, if the receptor cannot be activated, food is expelled more quickly, and the animal gets less energy from it.

Yanagisawa said that as mice without any trace of Gpr41 were still healthy and had intestinal function, the receptor may be a likely target for drugs that can slow, but not stop, energy intake.

The study is appearing online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)

London, Oct 18 (ANI): Women have been oblivious of the biggest threat linked with excessive alcohol consumption-increased risk of breast cancer, according to a survey. The YouGov survey cited that although majority of women associate liver disease or liver cancer with too much drinking, only one in five linked it to breast cancer.

The results of the survey involved almost 2,000 men and women.

While there are many risk factors behind the development of breast cancer, like family history and obesity, one can easily limit the amount of alcohol consumption to keep it in check, reports BBC.

A total of 82 percent of women in the survey were not aware of the connection between alcohol and breast cancer.

On the other hand, 95 percent linked it to liver disease, and 71 percent were aware it raised the risk of liver cancer.

The "lifetime risk" of developing breast cancer in alcohol addicts is almost one in nine.

However, this increase becomes five fold in women who drink one large glass of wine a day, which means 21 units of alcohol a week compared with the recommended 15.

Gulping down two glasses a night boosts this risk by one third, while the risk is raised to almost half on having three big glasses of wine. (ANI)

London, Oct 18 (ANI): Here's some bad news for ladies who can't get through the day without their coffee fix: the caffeine-fuelled drink can shrink the size of women's boobs, a shocking new research has revealed.

The beverage, which is best known for keeping people alert and sobering up drunks, has caused a stir by suggesting women who drink more than three cups a day could see their bra size drop.

Tests by cancer researchers found half of all women have a gene linking breast size to coffee intake.

Nearly 300 women were quizzed but Helena Jernstroem, of Lund University, said women should not worry too much.

"Coffee-drinking women do not have to worry their breasts will shrink to nothing overnight. They will get smaller, but the breasts aren't just going to disappear," the Daily Star quoted her, as saying.

"Anyone who thinks they can tell which women are coffee drinkers just from their bra measurements will be disappointed.

"There are two measurements for a bra - the cup size and the girth, so you wouldn't be able to tell," she added.

While caffeine may shrink women's breasts, the reaction is the reverse for coffee-slurping blokes - it can make their "moobs" swell.

On the plus side, the study showed regular hits of caffeine reduce the risk of women developing breast cancer. (ANI)