Protein News and Research

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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.

Unexpected findings could lead to new therapeutic intervention for ALS

A therapeutic intervention for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, could be on the horizon thanks to unexpected findings by University of Arizona researchers.

11 Feb 2020

Accumulated brain protein affects genes in Alzheimer's disease

A new study published in February 2020 in the journal Cell Reports shows how the build-up of specific brain cell proteins are linked to altered gene expression that causes the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

11 Feb 2020

MGH researchers uncover potential antiviral drug target for treating infectious diseases

As the coronavirus outbreak shows, viruses are a constant threat to humanity. Vaccines are regularly developed and deployed against specific viruses, but that process takes a lot of time, doesn't help everyone who needs protection, and still leaves people exposed to new outbreaks and new viruses.

11 Feb 2020

Macrophages migrate from the blood to attack brain tissue shortly after stroke

Macrophages are part of the innate immune system and essential for brain development and function. Using a novel method, scientists from Jena University Hospital, the University of Bonn and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York (USA) succeeded in visualizing macrophages that were formed in the bone marrow.

11 Feb 2020

Major breakthrough in understanding how malaria parasite grows and multiplies

Scientists have made a major breakthrough in understanding how the parasite that causes malaria is able to multiply at such an alarming rate, which could be a vital clue in discovering how it has evolved, and how it can be stopped.

11 Feb 2020

A protein that plays key role in endometrial cancer growth discovered

The hormone estrogen plays many critical roles in men and women, in both healthy tissues and in cancer. In breast and gynecologic cancers, estrogen sends signals to tumors instructing the cancer cells to grow out of control.

11 Feb 2020

High-fat, high-protein meals may appeal to Clostridioides difficile bacteria

Diets like the Keto, Paleo and Atkins focus on high-fat, high-protein meals that are often low in carbohydrates. This mix may appeal to Clostridioides difficile bacteria, too.

11 Feb 2020

New prophylactic and therapeutic avenues to fight against rabies

Rabies is still responsible for approximately 60,000 human deaths per year mostly in Asia and Africa and affects especially underserved people.

11 Feb 2020

New multiplexed electrical biosensor for accurate detection of Alzheimer's disease

A research team at KAIST reported clinically accurate multiplexed electrical biosensor for detecting Alzheimer's disease by measuring its core biomarkers using densely aligned carbon nanotubes.

11 Feb 2020

Free radicals from immune cells linked to salt-sensitive hypertension

In salt-sensitive hypertension, immune cells gather in the kidneys and shoot out free radicals, heightening blood pressure and damaging this pair of vital organs, scientists report.

11 Feb 2020

Bats' fierce immune response to viruses could drive zoonotic emergence

It's no coincidence that some of the worst viral disease outbreaks in recent years -- SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg and likely the newly arrived 2019-nCoV virus -- originated in bats.

10 Feb 2020

Study explores how some mammals postpone development of their embryos

How do some mammals postpone the development of their embryos to await better conditions for having offspring? A recent study at the UW Medicine Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine explored this reproductive enigma, which can occur in more than 130 species of mammals as well as in some marsupials.

10 Feb 2020

Nerve insulation renewed to create long-term learning

A new study published in February 2020, in the journal Nature Neuroscience, shows that short-term learning occurs rapidly, but for it to become a long-term memory, brain cells must form more myelin, an insulating fatty material.

10 Feb 2020

First artificial enzyme with non-biological catalytic sites created

A new study published in the journal Nature Catalysis on February 10, 2020, reports the creation of a new artificial enzyme from two components, both non-biological in origin. This event marks the first such successful biological catalyst to contain a non-biological active site. The study shows that this type of synergistic combination of an amino acid not found in nature with a copper-based catalyst is capable of powerful catalytic action, unlike most other artificial enzymes.

10 Feb 2020

Metformin could help leaky gut

A team of researchers from University of California, San Diego, have successfully used gut organoids in their lab to show the effects of medications to treat conditions such as “leaky gut”. The study was titled, “The stress polarity signaling (SPS) pathway serves as a marker and a target in the leaky gut barrier: implications in aging and cancer,” and was published in the journal Life Science Alliance today.

10 Feb 2020

Seurat publishes preclinical studies of intranasal IGF-1 in rat model of migraine headaches

Seurat Therapeutics, Inc. announced today the publication of preclinical studies of its lead product candidate, intranasal insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), in a rat model of migraine headaches, in the scientific journal Brain Research.

10 Feb 2020

Researchers culture human blood-brain barrier on a chip

A scrupulous gatekeeper stands between the brain and its circulatory system to let in the good and keep out the bad, but this porter, called the blood-brain barrier, also blocks trial drugs to treat diseases like Alzheimer's or cancer from getting into the brain.

10 Feb 2020

Research uncovers protective role of astrocytes in sporadic motor neuron disease

Support cells in the nervous system help protect motor neurons in the early-stages of sporadic motor neuron disease, according to new research from the Crick and UCL.

10 Feb 2020

New study shows how tumors disable the immune system to survive and spread

The goal of most cancers is to grow and take over the host's body. The immune system has long been in the crosshairs of cancer researchers, as it plays a central role in defending the human body from foreign invasion.

10 Feb 2020

Human textiles to replace damaged blood vessels

What if we could replace a patient's damaged blood vessels with brand new ones produced in a laboratory? This is the challenge set by Inserm researcher Nicolas L'Heureux, who is working on the human extracellular matrix - the structural support of human tissues that is found around practically all of the body's cells.

10 Feb 2020