Cell Membrane News and Research

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Interleukin-2 shows promise against advanced melanoma

A vaccine for one of the most lethal cancers, advanced melanoma, has shown improved response rates and progression-free survival for patients when combined with the immunotherapy drug, Interleukin-2, according to researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

1 Jun 2009

Saffron could stop blindness and cure eye disease

Italian scientists say they have found that saffron may hold the key to stopping vision loss as people age and in treating some eye diseases.

17 May 2009

Discovery of molecular defect involved in hearing loss

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have elucidated the action of a protein, harmonin, which is involved in the mechanics of hearing.

13 May 2009

Smoking makes it harder for brain blood flow to recover from long-term heavy drinking

Alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) can damage the brain, particularly the frontal and parietal cortices, although this damage is at least partially reversible with sustained abstinence from alcohol. Chronic smoking is extremely common among individuals with AUDs.

12 May 2009

New genetic clues to treatment of hypertension

An international research team has identified a number of unsuspected genetic variants associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and hypertension (high blood pressure), suggesting potential avenues of investigation for the prevention or treatment of hypertension.

12 May 2009

Closer to an effective treatment for gum disease in smokers

Scientists in the USA have discovered why smokers may be more prone to chronic gum disease (periodontitis). One of the bacteria responsible for this infection responds to cigarette smoke - changing its properties and the way it infects a smokers mouth.

11 May 2009

Stem cell focus for inflammatory bowel disease wound healing

Scientists at The University of Nottingham are investigating whether stem cell markers could have a role to play in speeding up wound healing in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

30 Apr 2009

Dendrimers as synthetic gene vectors

In a recent issue of The Journal of Chemical Physics , published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), a group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Los Alamos National Laboratory describe the first comprehensive, molecular-level numerical study of gene therapy.

29 Apr 2009

Drugs needed to preserve eggs for reproduction need to be given in stages

Cryoprotectants needed to preserve eggs for reproduction need to be given in stages, albeit rapid ones, say scientists who have developed a mathematical model that predicts optimal time for loading and unloading these drugs.

29 Apr 2009

Discovery of novel protein which, when over-expressed, leads to a dramatic increase in the generation of A-beta

A defining hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is the accumulation of the amyloid beta protein (A-beta), otherwise known as "senile plaques," in the brain's cortex and hippocampus, where memory consolidation occurs.

27 Apr 2009

New understanding of 3D structure of bacterial secretion proteins

New details of the composition and structure of a needlelike protein complex on the surface of certain bacteria may help scientists develop new strategies to thwart infection.

26 Apr 2009

New information on molecular biology of KRas protein

KRas is one of the usual suspects in cancer. It is a protein that is mutated in 30% of human tumors and has been implicated in the regulation of many cell signalling pathways.

20 Apr 2009

Scientists use RNA to reprogram 1 cell type into another

For the past decade, researchers have tried to tweak cells at the gene and nucleus level to reprogram their identity.

16 Apr 2009

Alzheimer's controversy solved

For a decade, Alzheimer's disease researchers have been entrenched in debate about one of the mechanisms believed to be responsible for brain cell death and memory loss in the illness.

15 Apr 2009

Next generation ultra-thin materials only one molecule thick

With the human genome in hand, biochemists have cataloged the 3-D structures of thousands of proteins isolated from living cells.

14 Apr 2009

microRNAs manipulate cells to one day create safe embryonic-like stem cells

A team of UCSF researchers has for the first time used tiny molecules called microRNAs to help turn adult mouse cells back to their embryonic state.

12 Apr 2009

Researchers reveal how immune cells can be harnessed to target melanoma

Researchers at the Babraham Institute and the University of Catanzaro "Magna Graecia", Italy, co-ordinating an international network of scientists and clinicians from Europe, the USA and Japan, have identified new mechanisms through which the immune system recognises and responds to tumours like melanomas.

12 Apr 2009