Research advances from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program (IRP) often make headlines. Read the news releases that describe our most recent findings:
The act of cooking offers the chance to unwind and create something special, whether you’re planning to feed a crowd or just yourself. And while you may have noticed feeling good after whipping up that perfect pie or braise, there’s actually a lot of scientific data to suggest that cooking can have a positive impact on mental health.
One meta-analysis (a report of pre-existing research) from the National Institutes of Health looked at 11 studies and found that “cooking interventions” — encouraging people to follow certain recipes or giving people cooking classes — can improve a person’s mental well-being. It specifically found that people who participated in cooking interventions reported having better self-esteem and quality of life, as well as a more positive emotional state after the fact. Another study even discovered that baking can help raise a person’s confidence level.
As we age, proteins in the lenses of our eyes start misbehaving: They unfold and congregate in clusters that block, scatter and distort light as it passes through the lens. A cloudy area, or cataract, forms. In a new study, scientists found that throughout our lifetime, levels of a key protein decline, and may be an early warning sign of a developing cataract. The study, conducted by scientists at the National Eye Institute and the Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins Hospital and published online in Ophthalmology, suggests that there is a window before cataracts develop when there may be time to intervene and prevent them.
While cataract surgery is an effective treatment, its cost and the lack of well-trained surgeons limit its availability in many parts of the world, making cataracts the leading cause of blindness.
Recruitment of Infection-Fighting Immune Cells Depends on CARD9
A new study led by NIAID researchers describes the crucial role of the protein CARD9 in recruiting infection-fighting immune cells to the central nervous system, or CNS, during fungal infection. Their findings increase understanding of antifungal immunity in the brain and nervous system and help explain why people with CARD9 deficiency, a rare immune disorder, are highly susceptible to fungal infections. The study is published in PLOS Pathogens.
Picture from a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the cervical spine of the CARD9 deficiency patient examined in this study. Credit: NIAID
Detailed plan sets course for advancing scientific discoveries and human health.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today released the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2016–2020: Turning Discovery Into Health, which will ensure the agency remains well positioned to capitalize on new opportunities for scientific exploration and address new challenges for human health. Developed after hearing from hundreds of stakeholders and scientific advisers, and in collaboration with leadership and staff of NIH’s Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs), the plan is designed to complement the ICOs’ individual strategic plans that are aligned with their congressionally mandated missions.
Children from low income environments appear to have a higher risk of neurological impairment than those from more economically secure circumstances, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. This neurological impairment appears to be distinct from the risk of cognitive and emotional delays known to accompany early-life poverty.
In most cases, the level of neurological impairment the researchers found would not be apparent to a casual observer. That level could, however, increase, the risk for childhood learning difficulties, attention deficit disorders and psychological conditions such as anxiety disorders and schizophrenia.
The gold standard for a successful vaccine is the creation of long-lasting antibodies that will defend the body against disease for years. Now, a team headed by scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has found a promising new area for vaccine developers to explore in search of that gold.
The new discovery involves a protein called a transcription factor - a molecular switch that turns a gene or a cascade of genes on or off. In a series of experiments, the researchers demonstrated that a transcription factor known as TCF1 (for T cell factor-1) is essential for the creation and persistence of disease-fighting antibodies in the bloodstream.
In clinical trials, several candidate H7N9 pandemic influenza vaccines made from inactivated viruses have been shown to be safe and to generate an immune response. However, scientists believe for practical use, these potential vaccines would require multiple doses or the addition of adjuvants, which enhance the immune response. With hopes of making one dose of an inactivated H7N9 vaccine fully protective, scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) successfully tested a prime-boost concept in a small clinical trial. The “primer” pandemic influenza vaccine—made from live but weakened virus—introduces the immune system to H7N9 influenza virus, and subsequent vaccination with the “booster” inactivated virus vaccine recalls a more robust immune response.
H7N9 influenza emerged in spring 2013 in China, primarily affecting people who have close contact with poultry. Through Nov. 13, 2015, the World Health Organization has reported 681 confirmed cases with at least 275 deaths. H7N9 influenza has not been found in the United States.
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) helps children overcome the devastating effects of a hereditary brain disorder by helping one protein fill in for a disabled protein, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other institutions. The findings offer the prospect that researchers may be able to improve the treatment for infantile leukoencephalopathy, a rare brain disorder resulting in blindness, debilitation, and early death.
The study appears in Cell Metabolism and was conducted by Nunziata Maio, Ph.D, and Tracey Rouault, Ph.D., of NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and colleagues in Italy and the United Kingdom.
People and other mammals rely on taste to guide food choices. For example, we’re attracted to sweet foods, which are usually rich in energy. A bitter taste, on the other hand, may be a warning sign of potentially harmful chemicals.
Over the past 17 years, the laboratories of Dr. Nicholas Ryba of NIH’s National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and Dr. Charles Zuker from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Columbia University Medical Center have identified the receptor cells in the tongue that detect sweet, sour, bitter, umami (savory), and salt tastes. Information from these cells is relayed to the primary gustatory cortex, or taste cortex, in the brain.
A new, open-source software that can help track the embryonic development and movement of neuronal cells throughout the body of the worm, is now available to scientists. The software is described in a paper published in the open access journal, eLife on December 3rd by researchers at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and the Center for Information Technology (CIT); along with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York City; Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Zhejiang University, China; and the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington. NIBIB is part of the National Institutes of Health.
As far as biologists have come in understanding the brain, much remains to be revealed. One significant challenge is determining the formation of complex neuronal structures made up of billions of cells in the human brain. As with many biological challenges, researchers are first examining this question in simpler organisms, such as worms.
Image A shows the twisted up worm embryo inside the egg with the fluorescently labeled cells. The second image shows how the computer program identifies each of the marked cells, and image C shows the untwisted worm.
Gene therapy can safely rebuild the immune systems of older children and young adults with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1), a rare inherited disorder that primarily affects males, scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found. NIAID’s Suk See De Ravin, M.D., Ph.D., is scheduled to describe the findings at the 57th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.
SCID-X1 is caused by mutations in the IL2RG gene that prevent infection-fighting immune cells from developing and functioning normally, leaving affected infants highly susceptible to life-threatening infections. Transplantation of blood-forming stem cells, ideally from a genetically matched sibling donor, is a lifesaving treatment for infants with SCID-X1. Those without a matched sibling often receive stem cells from a parent, which only partially restores immunity. Such patients require lifelong treatment and may continue to experience complex medical problems, including chronic infections.
