Food scraps can be turned into useful stuff, like vinegar, through a process called acidogenic fermentation. This vinegar, or acetic acid, is great for cleaning up dirty water by helping to remove harmful nitrates. But, the problem is that the amount and type of vinegar produced can change a lot, making it hard to use effectively. Scientists tried a new trick to mak...

Lactate is not just a waste product from sugar breakdown. It is a key player in cancer's strategy. It fuels cells, sends signals, and helps cancer cells talk to each other. This is a big shift from the old idea of lactate. It shows that lactate can move around and affect different cells, tissues, and organs. This is crucial to understand because cancer cells produce ...

Fine particles in the air can sneak into a mother's body and affect her baby's weight at birth. This is a big deal because low birth weight can lead to health problems later in life. But how exactly does this happen? One possible answer lies in how the mother's body processes food and energy. This process is called metabolism. When air pollution m...

High altitude environments can be tough on the body. One major challenge is maintaining proper iron levels. When mice are exposed to low oxygen conditions, similar to high altitudes, their bodies struggle to manage iron. This is because a protein called hepcidin goes down. When hepcidin levels drop, iron levels in the blood can get out of whack. This can lead to prob...

Did you know that the vaccinia virus, part of the poxvirus family, can tweak host cells' metabolism? When it's time to replicate, this tiny invader needs certain nutrients to succeed. Scientists recently found that the vaccinia growth factor, or VGF, plays a big role in this process. VGF is like the cellular epidermal growth factor but has its unique tricks. For inst...