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:
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Sam Srisatta, a 20-year-old Florida college student, spent a month living inside a government hospital here last fall, playing video games and allowing scientists to document every morsel of food that went into his mouth.
From big bowls of salad to platters of meatballs and spaghetti sauce, Srisatta noshed his way through a nutrition study aimed at understanding the health effects of ultraprocessed foods, the controversial fare that now accounts for more than 70% of the U.S. food supply. He allowed The Associated Press to tag along for a day.
“Today my lunch was chicken nuggets, some chips, some ketchup,” said Srisatta, one of three dozen participants paid $5,000 each to devote 28 days of their lives to science. “It was pretty fulfilling.”
Examining exactly what made those nuggets so satisfying is the goal of the widely anticipated research led by National Institutes of Health nutrition researcher Kevin Hall.
“What we hope to do is figure out what those mechanisms are so that we can better understand that process,” Hall said.
NIH study finds varied responses to calorie restriction in obese adults
For the first time in a lab, researchers at the National Institutes of Health found evidence supporting the commonly held belief that people with certain physiologies lose less weight than others when limiting calories. Study results published May 11 in Diabetes.
A new study shows that it is possible to use an imaging technique called cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to view, in near-atomic detail, the architecture of a metabolic enzyme bound to a drug that blocks its activity. This advance provides a new path for solving molecular structures that may revolutionize drug development, noted the researchers.
A new breed of lab animals, dubbed “glowing head mice,” may do a better job than conventional mice in predicting the success of experimental cancer drugs—while also helping to meet an urgent need for more realistic preclinical animal models.
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have solved a long-standing mystery about the origin of one of the cell types that make up the ovary. The team also discovered how ovarian cells share information during development of an ovarian follicle, which holds the maturing egg. Researchers believe this new information on basic ovarian biology will help them better understand the cause of ovarian disorders, such as premature ovarian failure and polycystic ovarian syndrome, conditions that both result in hormone imbalances and infertility in women.
BRAIN Initiative yields chemical-genetic tool with push-pull capabilities
Neuroscientists have perfected a chemical-genetic remote control for brain circuitry and behavior. This evolving technology can now sequentially switch the same neurons — and the behaviors they mediate — on-and-off in mice, say researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. Such bidirectional control is pivotal for decoding the brain workings of complex behaviors. The findings are the first to be published from the first wave of NIH grants awarded last fall under the BRAIN Initiative.
The National Institutes of Health has selected 55 talented and diverse students, representing 37 U.S.-accredited universities, for the fourth class of its Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP), its largest class to date.
A yearlong residential program, the MRSP introduces medical, dental and veterinary students to cutting-edge research, part of NIH's goal of training the next generation of clinician-scientists and biomedical researchers. The program places creative, research-oriented students in NIH laboratories and clinics, including within the NIH Clinical Center, to conduct basic, clinical or translational research in areas that match their career interests and research goals.
Researchers recommend screening for people with family history
Heredity accounts for up to 35 percent of small intestinal carcinoid, a rare digestive cancer, according to findings from a team at the National Institutes of Health. The researchers examined families with a history of the disease. Because the disease has long been considered randomly occurring rather than inherited, people with a family history are not typically screened. Results were published recently in Gastroenterology.
The American healthcare worker admitted to the NIH Clinical Center on March 13 with Ebola virus disease was discharged today in good condition after having been successfully treated at the NIH Clinical Center Special Clinical Studies Unit. The individual is no longer contagious to the community. At the request of the patient, no further information is being provided.
NIH study suggests alternative drug to treat virus
An over-the-counter drug indicated to treat allergy symptoms limited hepatitis C virus activity in infected mice, according to a National Institutes of Health study. The results suggest that the drug, chlorcyclizine HCl (CCZ), potentially could be used to treat the virus in people. Results were published April 8 in Science Translational Medicine.
The status of the patient with Ebola virus disease being treated at the NIH Clinical Center has improved from fair to good condition. No additional details about the patient are being shared at this time.
