Students often have an oversimplified view of biological facts, which may hinder subsequent understanding when conceptual complexity gives rise to cognitive conflicts. To avoid this situation here, we present a PBL approach for the analysis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), which integrates a variety of topics in cell biology, genetics, and molecular biology, and it is used to illustrate the inherent complexities in some classical biological concepts. Students of two different courses analyze phenotypic, cellular, and molecular characteristics of EDS. Effect of mutations on collagen synthesis on collagen genes' expression and regulation or on connective tissues is reviewed and discussed. Information retrieval is used to develop students' skills in web-based molecular biology tools. Student interest and motivation is increased with the development of diagnostic protocols for a tissue biopsy and for an EDS causing mutation. Expected learning outcomes after completion of the project are also presented.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bmb.20411 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
December 2024
Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, 414 East Clark Street, Vermillion, SD, 57069-2390, USA.
Psychological distress, including anxiety or mood disorders, emanates from the onset of chronic/unpredictable stressful events. Symptoms in the form of maladaptive behaviors are learned and difficult to treat. While the origin of stress-induced disorders seems to be where learning and stress intersect, this relationship and molecular pathways involved remain largely unresolved.
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December 2024
Laboratory of Cell Vaccine, Microbial Research Center for Health and Medicine (MRCHM), National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (NIBIOHN), 7-6-8 Saito-Asagi, Ibaraki-Shi, Osaka, 567-0085, Japan.
Since designer cells are attracting much attention as a new modality in gene and cell therapy, it would be advantageous to develop synthetic receptors that recognize artificial ligands and activate solely signaling molecules of interest. In this study, we refined the construction of our previously developed minimal engineered receptors (MERs) to avoid off-target activation of STAT5 while maintaining on-target activation of signaling molecules corresponding to tyrosine motifs. Among the myristoylated, cytoplasmic, and transmembrane types of MERs, the cytoplasmic type had the highest signaling efficiency, although there was off-target activation of STAT5 upon ligand stimulation.
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December 2024
Department of Pathology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
Micropapillary adenocarcinoma (MPC) is an aggressive histological subtype of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). MPC is composed of small clusters of cancer cells exhibiting inverted polarity. However, the mechanism underlying its formation is poorly understood.
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December 2024
Sustainability Solutions Research Lab, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pannonia, Egyetem Str. 10, Veszprém, 8200, Hungary.
Ensuring everyone enjoys healthy lifestyles and well-being at all ages, Progress has been made in increasing access to clean water and sanitation facilities and reducing the spread of epidemics and diseases. The synthesis of nano-particles (NPs) by using microalgae is a new nanobiotechnology due to the use of the biomolecular (corona) of microalgae as a capping and reducing agent for NP creation. This investigation explores the capacity of a distinct indigenous microalgal strain to synthesize silver nano-particles (AgNPs), as well as its effectiveness against multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria and its ability to degrade Azo dye (Methyl Red) in wastewater.
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December 2024
Molecular Biology and Genetics Laboratory (LGBM), UFMS - Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Três Lagoas, Brazil.
Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a monogenic blood disease with complex and multifactorial pathophysiology. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) could be a candidate for modulating SCA complications, such as priapism, as it has demonstrated an essential role in hematopoiesis, platelet aggregation, and immune responses. We evaluated the association of ECS-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) (FAAH rs324420, MAGL rs604300, CNR1 rs7766029, and CNR2 rs35761398) with priapism in a Brazilian SCA cohort.
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