Biochemistry News and Research

RSS

Study sheds light on how a cellular pathway in plants senses danger signals

In nature, every species must be equipped with a strategy to be able to survive in response to danger. Plants, too, have innate systems that are triggered in response to a particular threat, such as insects feeding on them.

8 May 2020

New breakthrough may help cure prion disease

A molecular biologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who has for decades studied the nightmarish group of fatal diseases caused by prions - chronic wasting disease in deer, mad cow in cattle and its human analog - credits a middle-of-the-night dream for a crucial insight, a breakthrough she hopes could lead to a cure.

6 May 2020

UCLA chemists develop key chemical necessary for creating marijuana breathalyzer

UCLA chemists have reported the key chemical discovery necessary for the creation of a small, electronic marijuana breathalyzer. The research is published in Organic Letters, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society.

6 May 2020

Rice scientist wins federal grant for eye research

A Rice University researcher has won a prestigious federal grant to study how a recently identified protein in the cornea aids development, homeostasis and wound healing in the eye.

4 May 2020

UBC discovery could pave way for developing new anti-malarial drugs

For the first time, UBC researchers have shown a key difference in the three-dimensional structures of a key metabolic enzyme in the parasite that causes malaria compared to its human counterpart.

2 May 2020

Using Multiplex Assays to Discover Biomarkers for Parkinson’s Disease

In this interview, Dr. Polinski and Dr. Atabakhsh discuss the importance of developing biomarkers for Parkinson’s and the partnership between MJFF and Abcam.

From Abcam 1 May 2020

Innovative STM method may lead to new, purer pharmaceuticals

A research project led by chemists at the University of Warwick first used ultrahigh resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy to see the exact location of atoms and bonds within a molecule, and then employed these incredibly precise images to determine the interactions that bond molecules to one another.

30 Apr 2020

New book provides the latest updates on obesity research

Obesity, defined as excessive fat accumulation that may impair health, has seen its prevalence increase to unprecedented levels globally, being projected to continue to rise.

29 Apr 2020

New study could improve our understanding about platelets

University of Kentucky College of Medicine researcher Sidney Whiteheart has been awarded a prestigious Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute for his research on how platelets function in hemostasis and during immune responses.

29 Apr 2020

Trump says N95 masks can be sterilized for reuse. Only in a pinch, experts warn.

As COVID-19 cases continue to climb, front-line health care workers are decrying unsafe working conditions — in particular, describing inadequate access to personal protective equipment, or PPE.

29 Apr 2020

A new tool for developing gene therapies against cancer, genetic disorders, and blood diseases

A UCLA-led research team today reports that it has developed a new method for delivering DNA into stem cells and immune cells safely, rapidly and economically.

28 Apr 2020

Gut microbiota could predict severity of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading to every corner of the world. But not everyone is falling sick at the same rate. A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 suggests that the composition of the gut microbiome could partially explain the difference in susceptibility. This adds a new dimension to what is currently known about the disease.

27 Apr 2020

Cells from the gut's nervous system found to be involved in Parkinson's disease

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of North Carolina in the USA have mapped out the cell types behind various brain disorders.

27 Apr 2020

Intensivists caution against the use of premature novel therapies for COVID-19

Intensivists caution against the use of premature novel therapies in lieu of traditional critical care principles in patients with COVID-19 in a recent correspondence letter in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.

27 Apr 2020

UM researchers awarded $2.5 million to develop COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Researchers in the Center for Translational Medicine at the University of Montana have been awarded $2.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to identify and advance a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

24 Apr 2020

Dietary supplements are effective and low-cost means to fight COVID-19

Supplements containing vitamins C and D and other micronutrients, sometimes in amounts exceeding the federally recommended levels, are a safe, effective and low-cost means of helping your immune system fight off COVID-19 and other acute respiratory tract diseases, an Oregon State University researcher says.

24 Apr 2020

Georgia Tech researchers create key components for COVID-19 tests

Gaps in the supply of coronavirus tests are propelling initiatives to fill them across the country. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, bioscience researchers are burning midnight oil to produce key components for tests in the state of Georgia.

23 Apr 2020

The Latest Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy Technology

In this interview, Kalina Ranguelova, Senior EPR Application Scientist at Bruker BioSpin, discusses the newest member of benchtop EPS spectrometers family, the Magnettech ESR 5000.

From Bruker BioSpin Group 22 Apr 2020

Study shows new diagnostic option for catching degenerative eye disease in its earliest stages

A paper published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO), "Imaging hydroxyapatite in sub-retinal pigment epithelial deposits by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy with tetracycline staining," demonstrates a potential new diagnostic option for catching a degenerative eye disease in its earliest stages.

22 Apr 2020

CRISPR helps identify new protein potentially involved in Alzheimer’s disease

Experts at the University of Tokyo have identified a new protein in the pathway that leads to Alzheimer's disease. Researchers used the "molecular scissors" of CRISPR/Cas9 to search for new genes related to the neurodegenerative disease.

21 Apr 2020