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Can Children Acquire Their Parents’ History of Fracture?

Boulis et al. | Sep 24, 2018

Can Children Acquire Their Parents’ History of Fracture?

While the genetic basis of hip fracture risk has been studied extensively in adults, it is not known whether parental history of bone fractures affects their children's fracture risk. In this article, the authors investigated whether a parental history of bone fractures influences the rate of fractures in their children. They found that adolescent children whose parents had a more extensive history of fractures were more likely to have a history of fractures themselves, suggesting that parents' medical histories may be an important consideration in future pediatric health research.

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Quantifying natural recovery of dopamine deficits induced by chronic stress

Josyula et al. | Oct 27, 2025

Quantifying natural recovery of dopamine deficits induced by chronic stress
Image credit: Shawn Day

Here the authors investigated the natural recovery of stress-induced dopamine-related gene deficits in C. elegans by measuring the expression of cat-2 (dopamine biosynthesis) and sod-2 (oxidative stress) following exposure to starvation or hydrocortisone. They found that the reversibility of sod-2 and the expression of cat-2 were highly dependent on the type and severity of the stressor, suggesting that the body's natural ability to recover from dopamine dysfunction has biological limitations.

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Impacts of the gut microbiota on arginine synthesis

Lane et al. | Aug 15, 2024

Impacts of the gut microbiota on arginine synthesis

In this article the authors looked at arginine synthesis across different bacteria commonly found in different regional diets. They found that B. megaterium and C. sporogenes both caused a higher pH to occur on their agar plates compared to other bacteria tested indicating a greater amount of arginine synthesis.

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The Cilium- and Centrosome-Associated Protein CCDC11 Is Required for Cytokinesis via Midbody Recruitment of the ESCRT- III Membrane Scission Complex Subunit CHMP2A

Ahmed et al. | Mar 14, 2018

The Cilium- and Centrosome-Associated Protein CCDC11 Is Required for Cytokinesis via Midbody Recruitment of the ESCRT- III Membrane Scission Complex Subunit CHMP2A

In order for cells to successfully multiply, a number of proteins are needed to correctly coordinate the replication and division process. In this study, students use fluorescence microscopy and molecular methods to study CCDC11, a protein critical in the formation of cilia. Interestingly, they uncover a new role for CCDC11, critical in the cell division across multiple human cell lines.

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Effects of common supplements on human platelet aggregation in vitro

Prabhakar et al. | Apr 16, 2025

Effects of common supplements on human platelet aggregation in vitro
Image credit: The authors

There is a need for safe and effective therapies to prevent platelet aggregation associated with cardiovascular diseases. Prabhakar and Prabhakar test to see whether dietary supplements claiming to reduce cardiovascular disease risk will affect aggregation of human platelets.

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The effect of music on teenagers in combatting stress and improving performance

Josyula et al. | Nov 16, 2024

The effect of music on teenagers in combatting stress and improving performance
Image credit: Stefany Andrade

Here, the researchers investigated how exposure to active versus passive music affects a teenager's ability to perform a challenging task, namely a Sudoku puzzle, under stressful conditions. Following testing 75 high school teenagers split into two group, the researchers found that singing in a choir (active music) yielded a greater improvement in performance compared to passive listening for brief time periods.

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