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Researchers discover how PC7 protein affects certain types of cognitive performance

A team of Montr-al researchers at the IRCM led by Dr. Nabil G. Seidah, in collaboration with Dr. William C. Wetsel's team at Duke University in the United States, discovered that the protein PC7 plays a critical role in the brain by affecting certain types of cognitive performance such as anxiety, learning and emotional memory. Their results, recently published in the scientific journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and Nature, could have a significant impact on regulating behaviour related to anxiety disorders and trauma.

4 Dec 2013

Neuroscientists discover new role played by common but mysterious class of brain cells

Stanford University School of Medicine neuroscientists have discovered a new role played by a common but mysterious class of brain cells.

26 Nov 2013

Research findings call for a rethinking of cancer genetics

Johns Hopkins researchers report that the deletion of any single gene in yeast cells puts pressure on the organism’s genome to compensate, leading to a mutation in another gene. Their discovery, which is likely applicable to human genetics because of the way DNA is conserved across species, could have significant consequences for the way genetic analysis is done in cancer and other areas of research, they say.

14 Nov 2013

Researchers discovers key genetic culprit responsible for growth, metastasis of colon cancer

Chronic inflammation has long been known as a key risk factor for cancer---particularly colon cancer---but the exact mechanisms of how inflammation heightens the immune response, and ultimately influences the initiation and progression of cancer have remained elusive.

12 Nov 2013

New understanding of sperm capacitation may improve IVF success rates

Two new papers from reproductive biologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with international partners, report advances in understanding the basic processes of sperm capacitation that may one day improve success rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF) by providing a shortcut to bypass problems, and may eventually lead to a male contraceptive.

29 Oct 2013

Current drugs may harbor small-cell lung cancer promise

Scientists have identified several existing non-oncology drug classes that may have potential as a treatment for small-cell lung cancer, especially for patients with chemoresistant and metastatic disease.

28 Oct 2013

Verastem presents positive results from VS-6063 clinical and preclinical studies at 2013 AACR-NCI-EORTC meeting

Verastem, Inc., focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat cancer by the targeted killing of cancer stem cells, announced positive results from the Phase 1 portion of its Phase 1/1b study of defactinib (VS-6063) in combination with paclitaxel in patients with ovarian cancer that were presented at the 2013 AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Boston.

21 Oct 2013

Genetic mutation found to restore translational balance in mice

In a biological quirk that promises to provide researchers with a new approach for studying and potentially treating Fragile X syndrome, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have shown that knocking out a gene important for messenger RNA (mRNA) translation in neurons restores memory deficits and reduces behavioral symptoms in a mouse model of a prevalent human neurological disease.

21 Oct 2013

UC researchers receive $2.1M grant from NIH to study molecular mechanisms of muscle fatigue

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have been awarded a five-year, $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study an isoform that plays a critical role in human resistance to fatigue.

16 Oct 2013

Researchers discover how the body's muscles accidentally fall asleep while awake

Normally muscles contract in order to support the body, but in a rare condition known as cataplexy the body's muscles "fall asleep" and become involuntarily paralyzed. Cataplexy is incapacitating because it leaves the affected individual awake, but either fully or partially paralyzed. It is one of the bizarre symptoms of the sleep disorder called narcolepsy.

11 Oct 2013

Thwarting Greatwall May Trigger Mitotic Collapse And Suppress Tumor Development

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9 Oct 2013

Research on bone-derived hormone could lead to new treatments for memory loss, depression

Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have found that the skeleton, acting through the bone-derived hormone osteocalcin, exerts a powerful influence on prenatal brain development and cognitive functions such as learning, memory, anxiety, and depression in adult mice.

27 Sep 2013

Understanding genetic, physiological basis for metabolic diseases related to circadian function

A new study by a team of University of Notre Dame researchers, which appears in the Sept. 2 edition of the journal PLoS ONE, is a significant step in understanding the molecular genetic and physiological basis for a spectrum of metabolic diseases related to circadian function.

24 Sep 2013

Discovery of gene essential for memory extinction could lead to new PTSD treatments

If you got beat up by a bully on your walk home from school every day, you would probably become very afraid of the spot where you usually met him. However, if the bully moved out of town, you would gradually cease to fear that area.

19 Sep 2013

Ferritin protects kidneys against damage by controlling iron

A protein, ferritin, protects kidneys against a damaging after-effect of injury, heart failure or hardened arteries by controlling levels of iron, according to a study published today by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

10 Sep 2013

Researchers define role of vinculin protein in enabling cell mobility

Researchers at the University of North Carolina and the National Institutes for Health have defined the role of the protein vinculin in enabling cell movement.

16 Aug 2013

Research findings offer clues to the origin of retinal disorders later in life

Scientists are developing a clearer picture of how visual systems develop in mammals. The findings offer important clues to the origin of retinal disorders later in life.

9 Aug 2013

Study brings new hope for patients with metastatic prostate cancer

A study of a new radiotherapeutic drug published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine brings fresh hope for a particular group of cancer patients that otherwise suffer and ultimately die from the disease -- those with prostate cancer that has spread to their bones and has failed to be controlled by hormone deprivation drugs.

18 Jul 2013

USC study shows missing brain protein may be responsible for severe over-worry and fear

A little bit of learned fear is a good thing, keeping us from making risky, stupid decisions or falling over and over again into the same trap. But new research from neuroscientists and molecular biologists at USC shows that a missing brain protein may be the culprit in cases of severe over-worry, where the fear perseveres even when there's nothing of which to be afraid.

16 Jul 2013

VBL Therapeutics publishes VB-201 pre-clinical data in journal of Atherosclerosis

VBL Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to the development of novel treatments for immune-inflammatory diseases and cancer, announced today the publication of pre-clinical data for VB-201 in the journal of Atherosclerosis.

8 Jul 2013