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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Remodeling may make neurons more prone to Alzheimer's disease

Neurons that regularly remodel are more prone to Alzheimer's disease and die when that remodeling goes awry, a new study suggests. The work is the first to track the progression of Alzheimer's at the genetic and molecular levels within neurons vulnerable to the disease.

29 Jun 2020

Clinically approved drugs could disrupt SARS-CoV-2 from hijacking cells

An international team of researchers has analyzed how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, hijacks the proteins in its target cells.

29 Jun 2020

NUS researchers discover protein that promotes cancer progression

Cancers arise when the genetic code of normal cells is altered, causing excessive growth. Researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore have discovered a protein that drives the growth of cancers of the esophagus or liver by altering the genetic code in a novel way.

29 Jun 2020

RCSI begins clinical trial of promising therapy for critically ill COVID-19 patients

Clinician scientists at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences have begun a clinical trial of a promising therapy for critically ill COVID-19 patients in intensive care.

29 Jun 2020

Combination therapy improves survival rates for women with aggressive endometrial cancer

Yale Cancer Center scientists have found that combining the targeted drug trastuzumab with chemotherapy significantly improves survival rates for women with a rare, aggressive form of endometrial cancer.

29 Jun 2020

3D structure of Aβ protein assemblies reveals a new mechanism of toxicity

The brains of millions of people suffering from Alzheimer´s disease (AD) are slowly and inescapably being depleted of neurons, which leads to the characteristic loss of memory and cognitive function associated with this condition.

29 Jun 2020

New model helps study human hippocampal neurons

Neuroscientists and stem cell researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a research model that allows studying human hippocampal neurons, the brain cells primarily affected by Alzheimer's disease pathology.

29 Jun 2020

Smart MRI scan used for heart disease can help assess aggressive cancers in children

A type of smart MRI scan used in people with heart disease could help assess whether children's cancers are especially aggressive and spot early signs that targeted treatments are working, a new study suggests.

29 Jun 2020

Similarities between coronaviruses and human genes promote infection

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 shows that the proportion of A/T pairing in viral genomes may increase the tendency to infect humans because of the matching molecular features in some host genes, that increases the susceptibility of the host to the virus.

28 Jun 2020

Genomics used to trace origin of SARS-CoV-2 in Canada

A new study published in June 2020 on the preprint server bioRxiv discusses the use of phylogenetic analysis to trace the origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and its spread into and then within Canada. The study findings may help optimize public health policies in the case of future outbreaks.

28 Jun 2020

Study identifies small molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 which block key cellular kinases

Antiviral drug screen of kinase inhibitors, which was done by researchers from the University of California and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, identified cellular signaling pathways critical for SARS-CoV-2 replication and revealed an important mechanism of host-pathogen interaction vital for further drug research. Their results are available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

28 Jun 2020

COVID-19 patients can rapidly generate virus-attacking T cells, shows study

Patients suffering from severe respiratory symptoms as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection can rapidly generate virus-attacking T cells, and can increase this production over time, suggests a new study of T cells from 10 COVID-19 patients under intensive care treatment.

27 Jun 2020

Study highlights a complex and under-recognized form of dementia

The long-running study on aging and brain health at the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Alzheimer's Disease Center has once again resulted in important new findings - highlighting a complex and under-recognized form of dementia.

27 Jun 2020

Researchers provide mechanistic insight into protein co-aggregation in Alzheimer's disease

A research team lead by Ludmilla Morozova Roche at Umeå University, Sweden, has provided the mechanistic insight into protein co-aggregation in Alzheimer's disease.

26 Jun 2020

MIT engineers create a focused approach to imaging neural activity

When neurons fire an electrical impulse, they also experience a surge of calcium ions. By measuring those surges, researchers can indirectly monitor neuron activity, helping them to study the role of individual neurons in many different brain functions.

26 Jun 2020