Patience Asanga Author Profile | The Scientist Magazine®

Patience Asanga | Feb 22, 2024 | 3 min read

Timely modulation of a common signaling pathway can preserve influenza memory in lung T cells.

hCINAP Protein Key to Cellular Senescence: Study

Patience Asanga | Mar 23, 2023 | 3 min read

The authors claim that by preventing the formation of senescent cells, the protein could delay aging, but experts are skeptical.

outline of a brain slice with white patch surrounded by teal

Astrocytes Feed Glioblastoma, Promoting Tumor Growth: Mouse Study

Patience Asanga | Oct 5, 2022 | 3 min read

Starving glioblastoma tumors of the cholesterol made by astrocytes could suppress brain cancer progression.

Illustration of blue and gray amino acids loosely forming protein

Fungal Cold Adaptation Linked to Protein Structure Changes: Study

Patience Asanga | Sep 20, 2022 | 4 min read

Environmental pressure seems to spawn changes in the intrinsically disordered regions of enzymes in polar yeasts, allowing them to adapt to extreme cold.

Secret to Reproductive Ants’ Longevity Revealed

Patience Asanga | Sep 2, 2022 | 3 min read

Researchers say they've figured out how some reproductive ants live up to 30 years—far longer than workers.

Illustration of a red bacteriophage infecting a blue bacterium, with other bacteria in the background.

Prokaryotes Are Capable of Learning to Recognize Phages

Patience Asanga | Aug 17, 2022 | 3 min read

Immune defense genes in bacteria and archaea can identify viral proteins, a study finds, revealing similarities between the immune systems of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.

Calm lake reflecting sky with boat in foreground

Plastic Pollution Boosts Bacterial Growth in Lake Water

Patience Asanga | Jul 26, 2022 | 3 min read

A study finds that not only did aquatic bacteria thrive when chemicals washed from degrading plastic were introduced into lake water, they also broke down organic matter more efficiently.

A single neutrophil white blood cell in the artery with red blood cells floating around it

Missing Y Chromosome in Mouse Blood Causes Heart Dysfunction

Patience Asanga | Jul 16, 2022 | 3 min read

An analysis of human data from the UK biobank also finds an association between Y chromosome loss and heart disease in men.

An illustration of a mitochondrion, represented by a purple and orange bilayer, synthesizing reddish molecules of ATP.

Mitochondrial Protein Fuels Spread of Head and Neck Cancer

Patience Asanga | Jul 8, 2022 | 3 min read

Head and neck cancer cells lacking the peptide involved in energy production were less likely to metastasize in mice.

Sleeping mice in chambers with mosquitoes behind them on a mesh

Mosquitoes Drawn to Hosts Infected by Dengue, Zika

Patience Asanga | Jun 30, 2022 | 4 min read

Flavivirus infections alter the skin microbiome of mice to increase the production of a sweet-smelling compound that attracts the viruses’ insect vectors, a study finds.