Ana Rodríguez, Author at Baylor College of Medicine Blog Network

More than an anticoagulant; heparin also promotes appetite in mice

November 9, 2017 AgRP neurons, anticoagulant, appetite control, heparin, hypothalamus, weight control, weight gain

Naturally-produced heparin is well-known for its role as an anticoagulant. Heparin is also widely used as a medication to prevent blood clotting. “In addition to

From The Labs

Image of the Month: The underappreciated astrocyte

November 8, 2017 astrocyte, brain cancer, glial cells, Neurological disorders

The brain has billions of cells of which only 30 percent are neurons. Astrocytes are the predominant cell type of the remaining 70 percent. Surprisingly,

From The Labs

Device that induces a mild localized ‘fever’ could treat vascular involvement in cancer

November 2, 2017 CorleyWare device, hyperthermia, Innovation in cancer treatment, innovative technology, Metastasis, pancreatic cancer, positive margin

The prognosis of a cancer patient relies significantly on the ability of the surgeon to remove all the tumor, including a cancer-free boundary, leaving what

From The Labs

Next-generation probiotics might join the fight against gut bacterial infections

October 31, 2017 C. difficile, fecal transplant, Gastrointestinal diseases, good bacteria, L. reuteri, probiotics

Clostridium difficile infections are the most common cause of diarrhea associated with the use of antibiotics. If these bacteria attempt to invade the human gut,

From The Labs

Lunatic Fringe gene and the renewable brain

October 30, 2017 hippocampus, Lunatic Fringe, neural sem cells, neurons, Notch signaling, Renewable brain

The discovery that the brain can generate new cells – about 700 new neurons each day – has triggered investigations to uncover how this process

From The Labs

A powerful, fast experimental approach identifies potentially safer substitutes for BPA

October 27, 2017 Bisphenol A, BPA, Cancer, high throroughput technologies, Integrated Microscopy Core, non-estrogenic compounds

Health concerns about bisphenol A (BPA), or BPA substitutes, have emerged because, according to a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, BPA is widespread in

From The Labs

A Milestone for From the Labs

October 9, 2017

Over the weekend a few weeks back, From the Labs reached a milestone, 200,000 lifetime views. We are delighted and thankful for the support of

From The Labs

Image of the Month: An activated human NK cell

October 2, 2017 Cancer, Gata2, immune system, myelodysplastic syndrome, NK cells, viral infections

NK or natural killer cells are members of the immune system critical for the control of viral infections and cancer. Research at the Emily

From The Labs

“Off-the-shelf” cells are safe and effective to treat viral infections

September 29, 2017 BK virus, bone marrow transplant, Epstein-Barr virus, HHV-6 virus, Immunotherapy, viral inection

A bone marrow transplant can be a life-saving treatment for patients with certain cancers and other serious illnesses that have not responded to conventional chemotherapies.

From The Labs

Patient-inspired research connects sugar metabolism and peroxisomes

September 28, 2017 lipid metabolism, peroxisomal biogenesis, Peroxisomal disease, peroxisomes, PEX genes, Rare Diseases, sugar metabolism, Zellweger disease

Peroxisomal biogenesis disorder is a condition that has been linked only to lipid metabolism. This line of thought has now changed as new research has