Our bacteria are more personal than we thought, new study shows

The trillions of bacteria that call your body home—collectively known as the microbiome—appear to be unique to you, like a fingerprint. That's one conclusion of a detailed study of the gut, mouth, nose and skin microbiomes ...

Scientists make advances in breeding high-resistant-starch rice

Scientists have shown that the loss of function of two paralogous starch biosynthetic genes contributes to an increase in resistant starch (RS) content in cooked rice, providing insights into the generation of high-RS varieties ...

New biomarker for severe COVID-19

During the pandemic, it has become evident that people with cardiovascular disease and obesity are at much higher risk of developing very severe, even fatal COVID-19 disease. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified ...

Insulin signaling suppressed by decoys

In a discovery that may further the understanding of diabetes and human longevity, scientists at Scripps Research have found a new biological mechanism of insulin signaling. Their study, involving the roundworm C. elegans, ...

Gut bacteria keeps bears healthily obese

The summer sun pokes its way through the pine trees to strike the forest floor, where a bear is feasting on blueberries. She can easily get through 50 kilograms a day.

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Insulin resistance

Insulin resistance (IR) is the condition in which normal amounts of insulin are inadequate to produce a normal insulin response from fat, muscle and liver cells. Insulin resistance in fat cells reduces the effects of insulin and results in elevated hydrolysis of stored triglycerides in the absence of measures which either increase insulin sensitivity or which provide additional insulin. Increased mobilization of stored lipids in these cells elevates free fatty acids in the blood plasma. Insulin resistance in muscle cells reduces glucose uptake (and so local storage of glucose as glycogen), whereas insulin resistance in liver cells results in impaired glycogen synthesis and a failure to suppress glucose production. Elevated blood fatty acid levels (associated with insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus Type 2), reduced muscle glucose uptake, and increased liver glucose production all contribute to elevated blood glucose levels. High plasma levels of insulin and glucose due to insulin resistance are believed to be the origin of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, including its complications.

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