Cell Membrane News and Research

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Researchers discover potential new antimalarial treatment targets

Researchers have discovered crucial new processes that allow malaria parasites to escape red blood cells and infect other cells, offering potential new treatment targets.

20 Feb 2018

Researchers uncover Ras protein's role in uncontrolled cancer growth

Protein systems, such as Ras, make up the complex signaling pathways that control whether a cell divides or, in some cases, becomes cancerous and metastasizes into other regions of the body. For example, 98 percent of pancreatic cancers show Ras protein mutations.

19 Feb 2018

Nature paper unveils bacterial division

The process that allows bacteria to divide is crucial for their survival and a good target for the development of new antibiotics.

16 Feb 2018

Producing Super-Swelled Lyotropic Monocrystals for Drug Development

An interview with Dr. Cecília Leal, about a new method for producing bicontinuous cubic phases that are super-swollen and exist as monocrystals in solution.

15 Feb 2018

Cell membrane nanofragments can act as nucleation sites for mineralization during bone formation

The burst of cells forming cartilage is associated with mineralization during the early stages of bone formation, and nanofragments of the cell membranes can act as nucleation sites for amorphous calcium phosphate, as reported in two studies just published in Integrative Biology and ASC Biomaterials Science and Engineering.

14 Feb 2018

Scientists develop ultrasound-propelled nanomotors for active delivery of Cas9-sgRNA complex

In cancer research, the “Cas-9–sgRNA” complex is an effective genomic editing tool, but its delivery across the cell membrane to the target (tumor) genome has not yet been satisfactorily solved. American and Danish scientists have now developed an active nanomotor for the efficient transport, delivery, and release of this gene scissoring system.

9 Feb 2018

Researchers describe human blood-nerve barrier transcriptome for the first time

Human peripheral nerves -- all the nerves outside of the central nervous system -- are protected by the blood-nerve barrier. This is a tight covering of endothelial cells that maintains the microenvironment within the nerves by restricting the amounts or types of water, ions, solutes and nutrients that can reach the axons, or electric cables within the nerves, from the blood circulation system.

8 Feb 2018

Study sheds light on Salmonella death at low temperatures

The most economical way to kill bacteria that cause common food-borne illnesses -- mostly caused by Salmonella enterica -- is heat, but, the mechanisms that kill Salmonella at lower temperatures were not fully understood until now, according to a team of researchers.

7 Feb 2018

Study shows why insulin secretion does not work properly in type 2 diabetic individuals

In a new study, researchers from the universities of Uppsala and Lund show why insulin secretion is not working properly in patients suffering from type-2 diabetes.

6 Feb 2018

Scientists discover rare hypertension disease gene

More than a billion people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure (hypertension). Prolonged hypertension damages blood vessels, which can result in damage to the heart, the kidneys, and the brain. Possible consequences include heart attack, kidney failure, and stroke.

5 Feb 2018

Researchers receive major boost to explore long-standing paradigm in endocrinology

A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside, seeking to upend a long-held theory explaining how hormones freely enter and exit cells, has received a major boost in the form of a $1 million award from the W. M. Keck Foundation.

5 Feb 2018

Researchers shine light on ‘molecular butcher’ using neutron beams

Tucked away inside cell membranes, a molecular butcher does the bidding of healthy cells but also of disease agents. It has been operating out of clear view, but researchers just shined a mighty spotlight on it.

2 Feb 2018

Findings provide better understanding of cell membrane components

Research conducted by Toyohashi University of Technology in collaboration with Tohoku University elucidated the fusion process of proteoliposomes with an artificial lipid bilayer and the mechanism behind this process.

1 Feb 2018

Free magnesium ions regulate chromosome shape, new tool shows

Japanese researchers report a new ion detector, MARIO. Using it, they show that changes in the intracellular concentration of free magnesium ions (Mg2+) is critical for the chromosome folding that must occur for cells to divide.

1 Feb 2018

Immune system handles graphene oxide in a way similar to pathogens, study shows

A study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, the University of Manchester and Chalmers University of Technology published in CHEM shows that our immune system handles graphene oxide in a manner similar to pathogens, paving the way for safer biomedical applications of this two-dimensional material.

27 Jan 2018

Scientists discover promising new target to fight a class of viruses

Scientists at the Morgridge Institute for Research have discovered a promising new target to fight a class of viruses responsible for health threats such as Zika, polio, dengue, SARS and hepatitis C.

25 Jan 2018

Researchers study how bioelectric signaling between cells influences cancer progression

Although breast cancer mortality has declined in the U.S., it is still the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in women under 60 years old.

24 Jan 2018

Researchers explore how cells navigate inside the body

Researchers have long wondered how our cells navigate inside the body. Two new studies, in which Lund University researcher Pontus Nordenfelt has participated, have now demonstrated that the cells use molecular force from within to steer themselves in a certain direction.

24 Jan 2018

Macrophage nanosponges offer promising solution for effectively managing sepsis

A team of researchers at the University of California San Diego has developed macrophage "nanosponges" that can safely absorb and remove molecules from the bloodstream that are known to trigger sepsis.

4 Jan 2018

Discovery of key protein’s structure may help improve drug design

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have peered deep into the heart of a key protein used in drug design and discovered dynamic structural features that may lead to new ways to target diseases.

29 Dec 2017