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International researchers find valuable clues for developing robust therapeutic agents against IBDs

Our immune system protects our bodies from numerous pathogenic microbes and toxins in the environment. The system comprises innate (non-specific) and adaptive (acquired) immunity.

26 Dec 2017

Study suggests new target to treat prostate cancer

Hokkaido University researchers have uncovered a cellular protein that stabilizes a tumor promoting signaling pathway, suggesting a new target to treat prostate cancer.

22 Dec 2017

Silky webs of spiders may hold secrets to repairing our skeletons

Some secrets to repairing our skeletons might be found in the silky webs of spiders, according to recent experiments guided by supercomputers. Scientists involved say their results will help understand the details of osteoregeneration, or how bones repair themselves.

20 Dec 2017

Zinc present in semen determines male fertility, study shows

Trace levels of zinc present in semen is a vital determinant of male fertility, a recent study in Bangladesh capital Dhaka concludes.

19 Dec 2017

Excessive copper in diabetes impedes ability to make new blood vessels

It's a metal we worry thieves will steal from our air conditioners or power lines, but inside our bodies too much copper can result in a much larger loss.

18 Dec 2017

‘Sushi-like’ nanodiscs provide structural snapshots of misfolding proteins

When proteins misfold, accumulate and clump around insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, they kill cells. Now, researchers, including University of Michigan biophysicists, have obtained a structural snapshot of these proteins when they are most toxic, detailing them down to the atomic level.

15 Dec 2017

Researchers explore how toxic protein clusters linked to Parkinson's disrupt brain cells

Researchers have glimpsed how the toxic protein clusters that are associated with Parkinson's Disease disrupt the membranes of healthy brain cells, creating defects in the cell walls and eventually causing a series of events that induce neuronal death.

15 Dec 2017

Protein structure could pave way for effective drugs to treat cystic fibrosis

Biochemists at the University of Zurich have used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the detailed architecture of the chloride channel TMEM16A. This protein is a promising target for the development of effective drugs to treat cystic fibrosis.

13 Dec 2017

Study identifies potassium as key to circadian rhythms in red blood cells

An innovative new study from the University of Surrey and Cambridge's MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, has uncovered the secrets of the circadian rhythms in red blood cells and identified potassium as the key to unraveling the mystery.

12 Dec 2017

New pluripotent stem cell technology provides insights into neuropsychiatric disorders

Studying the genetic code allows researchers to know whether some patients with neuropsychiatric disorders either have extra copies of the CHRNA7 gene or are missing copies. However, little was known about the functional consequences of this genetic imbalance in brain cells.

29 Nov 2017

Researchers solve 3D structure of primary optogenetic tool

An international team of researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the Institut de Biologie Structurale, and the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics has determined the 3-D structure of channelrhodopsin 2, a membrane protein widely used in optogenetics to control nerve cells with light.

28 Nov 2017

UNIGE scientists unravel key role played by the liver in onset of type-2 diabetes

Affecting as many as 650 million people worldwide, obesity has become one of the most serious global health issues. Among its detrimental effects, it increases the risk of developing metabolic conditions, and primarily type-2 diabetes.

28 Nov 2017

Invasive cells deploy a trick to squeeze through barriers

Invasive cells deploy a trick to break through tissues and spread to other parts of the body, researchers report.

28 Nov 2017

Jena researchers unravel secrets of chemical language between algae and bacteria

It is a gruesome spectacle that meets the eyes of Prasad Aiyar as he looks down the microscope. The doctoral candidate from India, who came to Jena to do his Master's degree in Molecular Life Sciences, examines the species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii on a microscope slide.

28 Nov 2017

Alzheimer's Tau protein interacts with cell membranes and forms toxic complexes

The brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease contain characteristic tangles inside neurons. These tangles are formed when a protein called Tau aggregates into twisted fibrils. As a result, the neurons' transport systems disintegrate, essential nutrients can't move through, and the cells begin to die, affecting the brain's functions and giving rise to the disease's symptoms.

22 Nov 2017

Oncologists find new biomarker for breast cancer having poor prognosis

With the support of the FWF, an oncologist found a biomarker for breast cancer having a poor prognosis and developed two viable methods to detect it in tissue samples.

22 Nov 2017

Researchers uncover how rogue immune cells gain access to neurons in multiple sclerosis

Drug designers working on therapeutics against multiple sclerosis should focus on blocking two distinct ways rogue immune cells attack healthy neurons, according to a new study in the journal Cell Reports.

21 Nov 2017

Study identifies molecular pathway critical to development of fibrosis

A study led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital and University Health Network in Toronto has identified a molecular pathway that appears to be critical to the development of fibrosis - scarring and excessive tissue deposition that result from abnormal healing responses and can compromise the function of vital organs.

15 Nov 2017

Using AFM to study cancer cells

An interview with Prof. Hermann Schillers, Universität Münster conducted by April Cashin-Garbutt, MA (Cantab).

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 14 Nov 2017

Scientists characterize infection mechanism of Rift Valley fever virus

Rift Valley fever virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, is responsible for outbreaks in livestock in Africa and can also be fatal in humans. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS, working with the University of Göttingen, have characterized the mechanism used by the virus to insert one of its envelope proteins into the host cell membrane, thereby enabling it to infect the cell.

9 Nov 2017