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VX-770 drug candidate improves lung function in people with cystic fibrosis

In a study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, treatment with a new drug candidate known as VX-770 resulted in improvements in lung function and markers of disease in a Phase 2 clinical trial of 39 people with cystic fibrosis (CF). There were no discontinuations due to adverse events in the study, and the frequency of adverse events was similar across the study groups.

18 Nov 2010

Scientists uncover minute mechanism of nuclear pore complexes at molecular level

Dr. Joseph Glavy at Stevens Institute of Technology studies the smallest and most basic elements of life. The Assistant Professor of Chemical Biology runs the Glavy Lab, where advanced student scientists study the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in cells, observing the minutest mechanisms of life as they unfold during mitosis. The Glavy Lab's formal purpose is to study the NPC at the molecular level in the pursuit of the unknown or unexpected in the well-studied but not always well-understood nuclei of living cells.

17 Nov 2010

Research on fruit flies reveal novel human pain gene

While it has become clear in recent years that susceptibility to pain has a strong inherited component, very little is known about actual "pain genes" and how they work. In the November 12th issue of Cell, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and their collaborators report on a novel human pain gene. People with minor variations in this gene showed clear differences in susceptibility to acute heat pain and chronic back pain.

12 Nov 2010

Neurons recycle protein components for neurotransmitter release

Neurons communicate via chemical transmitters which they store in the bubble-like synaptic vesicles and release as required. To be able to react reliably to stimulation, neurons must have a certain number of "acutely releasable" vesicles. With the help of a new method, neuroscientists at the Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine in G-ttingen have now discovered that neurons systematically recycle the protein components necessary for transmitter release and in this way guarantee the reliability of signal transmission in the brain.

11 Nov 2010

Mother's poor nutrition during pregnancy affects offspring's ability to process medications

New research has found that a mother's poor nutrition during pregnancy and nursing can cause problems for her offspring's ability to process medications, even well into adulthood.

11 Nov 2010

Blood 'metabolomics' study uncovers liver, heart, and kidney toxicity in healthy smokers

Examining the blood "metabolomics" profile of smokers immediately after they had a cigarette revealed activation of pathways involved in cell death, inflammation, and other forms of systemic damage, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Georgetown University Medical Center.

9 Nov 2010

New TB-drugome may help identify protein targets for tuberculosis

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the University of Leeds have linked hundreds of federally approved drugs to more than 1,000 proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), opening new avenues to repurpose these drugs to treat TB.

9 Nov 2010

Scientists use electron microscopes to study mechanism of perforin protein to punch holes in rogue cells

Scientists from the UK and Australia have seen the human immune system's assassin a protein called perforin in action for the first time. The UK team, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Wellcome Trust, is based at Birkbeck College where they used powerful electron microscopes to study the mechanism that perforin uses to punch holes in rogue cells.

1 Nov 2010

Scientists identify potential new treatment for Nipah and Hendra viruses

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have identified a potential new treatment for the Nipah and Hendra viruses, two lethal and emerging viruses for which there is currently no treatment or vaccine available. The approach could also lead to new therapies for measles, mumps and the flu. The new research appears in today's edition of the prestigious journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Pathogens.

29 Oct 2010

Scorpion’s toxins can reduce heart bypass failures: Research

A toxin found in the venom of the Central American bark scorpion (Centruroides margaritatus) could hold the key to reducing heart bypass failures, according to research from the University of Leeds.

22 Oct 2010

Vertex commences VX-770 and VX-809 combination Phase 2a clinical trial for cystic fibrosis

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced the initiation of a Phase 2a clinical trial that will evaluate multiple combinations of VX-770 and VX-809, investigational oral cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF). The trial is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of VX-809 dosed alone for 14 days followed by dosing of VX-809 in combination with VX-770 for 7 days.

18 Oct 2010

New insights into HIV infection process may allow antiviral drug development

New insights into the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection process, which leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), may now be possible through a research method recently developed in part at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where scientists have glimpsed an important protein molecule's behavior with unprecedented clarity.

15 Oct 2010

Research may pave way to cure cystic fibrosis

A University of Missouri researcher believes his latest work moves scientists closer to a cure for cystic fibrosis, one of the world's most common fatal genetic diseases.

13 Oct 2010

Biologists determine three-dimensional structure of molecule involved in HIV, cancer

In a technical tour de force, structural biologists funded by the National Institutes of Health have determined the three-dimensional structure of a molecule involved in HIV infection and in many forms of cancer. The high-resolution structure sheds light on how the molecule functions and could point to ways to control its activity, potentially locking out HIV and stalling cancer's spread.

8 Oct 2010

Study on B-cell receptors may help develop new treatment strategies for leukaemia

In order to track down pathogens and render them harmless, the immune system must be able to recognize myriad different foreign substances and react to them. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies BIOSS at the University of Freiburg have discovered how the immune system's B-cells can be activated by numerous substances from our environment.

7 Oct 2010

Anticancer drug Cisplatin induces side effects

Cisplatin, an anticancer drug widely used for treating various types of tumor, can induce side effects in the short term. A team of scientists, mostly from CNRS and the Université de Nice has provided first in vitro evidence that this antitumor agent modifies the sensitivity of cellular pressure sensors. This completely novel mechanism could help to elucidate certain neurological side effects of cisplatin hitherto unexplained.

6 Oct 2010

Scientists use directed light to cause arrhythmia in genetically modified mice

Scientists at the University of Bonn have altered cardiac muscle cells to make them controllable with light. They were thus able to use directed light to cause conditions such as arrhythmia in genetically modified mice. The method opens up completely new possibilities for researching the development of such arrhythmias. The study will be published in the upcoming edition of "Nature Methods".

5 Oct 2010

NIH awards Scripps Research grants to study the mechanisms of protein complex

For Immediate Release -Scripps Research Institute scientists have been awarded approximately $65 million in four five-year grants as part of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) latest round of structural biology funding. The projects will focus on determining the shapes and functions of proteins and protein complexes that are important in biology and medicine.

4 Oct 2010

ASU receives grant to unravel membrane proteins in host-pathogen interaction

Arizona State University has been awarded a $7.7 million grant for the next five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, to unravel the structures of membrane proteins that play a key role in protection against infectious diseases.

30 Sep 2010

Scientific advances in glycomics

The glycome, encompassing all of the complex sugars produced by an organism, is comprised of multiple families of molecules whose function in the human body is often determined by the structure, composition, and placement of the attached sugars, as explored in a comprehensive look at the field of glycomics in a group of key articles in OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The relevant articles are available free online at www.liebertpub.com/omi.

13 Sep 2010