Adenosine News and Research

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Adenosine is a nucleoside composed of a molecule of adenine attached to a ribose sugar molecule (ribofuranose) moiety via a ß-N9-glycosidic bond.

Scandanavians shed new light on muscle efficiency

A recent study from Scandinavia shows that the well-known differences between individuals in the efficiency of converting energy stored in food to work done by muscles are related to muscle fibre type composition and to the content of specific molecules in muscle.

23 Mar 2006

Low-dose aspirin lowers potential for clot-forming blood cells - in both men and women

In what is believed to be the first direct comparison of blood cell testing in both sexes of 81 milligrams of acetyl salicylic acid a day, Hopkins researchers found aspirin therapy prevents the clumping together of these clot-forming cells, called platelets.

23 Mar 2006

New findings about messenger molecule raise hopes for new drug

Uppsala University scientists have developed a new method for measuring the concentration of the messenger substance for cells, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), in individual living cells.

18 Jan 2006

Coffee may impair peak heart function

In healthy volunteers, the equivalent of two cups of coffee reduced the body's ability to boost blood flow to the heart muscle in response to exercise, and the effect was stronger when the participants were in a chamber simulating high altitude, according to a new study in the Jan. 17, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

16 Jan 2006

Gene silencing and microRNA discovery

One of the body's primary strategies for regulating its genome is a kind of targeted gene silencing orchestrated by small molecules called microRNAs, or miRNAs.

7 Nov 2005

New insights into how genetic mutations arise

Researchers at Stanford University have created a larger-than-normal DNA molecule that is copied almost as efficiently as natural DNA.

27 Oct 2005

Study provides insight into cellular defenses against genetic mutation

With their latest discovery, researchers have significantly advanced the understanding of how human cells protect themselves from constant and potentially destructive changes in gene expression.

25 Oct 2005

Astrocytes modulate adenosine - thought to be important in controlling wake-to-sleep transitions and epileptic seizures

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that star-shaped glial cells in the brain called astrocytes are directly involved in regulating communication between neurons.

10 Oct 2005

New insights that advance the current model of protein motility and muscle contraction

Scientists from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the University of Vermont have captured the first 3-dimensional (3D) atomic-resolution images of the motor protein myosin V as it "walks" along other proteins, revealing new structural insights that advance the current model of protein motility and muscle contraction.

3 Oct 2005

African-American women with mitochondrial DNA variant are at increased risk of breast cancer

African-American women who carry the 10398A mitochondrial DNA allele are 60 percent more likely to develop invasive breast cancer than African-American females without that genetic marker, according to research published in the September 1 issue of "Cancer Research."

1 Sep 2005

UCI study helps identify one reason why women have lower stroke risk than men

Estrogen's role as an inhibitor of toxic-free radicals in cerebral blood vessels may be a key reason why premenopausal women have a lower stroke risk than men.

26 Aug 2005

Metabasis and Merck collaborate to develop new treatment for diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity

Metabasis Therapeutics and Merck announced today that they have formed a collaboration to research, develop and commercialize novel small molecule therapeutics with potential to treat several diseases, including type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity, by activation of an enzyme in the liver called AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK).

27 Jun 2005

Why people get drowsy and fall asleep, and how caffeine blocks that process

When cells in a certain part of the brain become overworked, a compound in the brain kicks in, telling them to shut down. This causes people to become drowsy and fall asleep. Alter that natural process by adding coffee or tea, and the brain compound – called adenosine – is blocked, and people stay awake.

20 Apr 2005

Researchers shed light on the brain cell damage caused by Alzheimer's disease

The researchers hope that by gaining a better understanding of the disease's cellular impacts, progress can be made towards developing a treatment. The research is reported in the current edition of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, published by IOS publishers.

7 Apr 2005

Study of Anoxia could yield better anesthetics, stroke/heart attack recovery

For a human, mere minutes without oxygen (called anoxia) resulting from cardiac arrest, cerebral stroke or being trapped under water can lead to profound tissue damage and even death. However a Western painted turtle can survive anoxia for months without apparent tissue damage. Why, and how?

3 Apr 2005