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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.

Designer organelles in living mammalian cells can build synthetic proteins

A research team led by biophysical chemist Professor Edward Lemke has engineered a designer organelle in a living mammalian cell in a new complex biological translation process. The created membraneless organelle can build proteins from natural and synthetic amino acids carrying new functionalities.

30 Mar 2019

Preterm babies born without a protein in blood cells have higher risk of cerebral palsy and death

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have found that some preterm babies born without haptoglobin, a protein in blood cells, have higher odds of brain bleeding, cerebral palsy and death. Their findings suggest that the absence of the protein could serve as a potential biomarker indicating a need for increased monitoring or other preventive interventions.

30 Mar 2019

Cellular mechanism that connects smoking during pregnancy and baby’s obesity risk identified

Using foreskin tissue from newborn circumcisions, a group of researchers have identified a potential cellular mechanism that connects a mother's smoking while pregnant with an increased risk of offspring obesity later in life.

30 Mar 2019

UA immunobiology professor will use $1.9 million grant to study copper's therapeutic potential

Pneumonia starts like this: A bacterial cell called Streptococcus pneumoniae enters the nostril. It travels down the nasal passage and into the lungs, where a war begins. In the lungs, S. pneumoniae encounters immune cells called macrophages, which will do whatever they can to fight it off.

29 Mar 2019

Study finds two new genes in the developmental defects of canine enamel

In addition to humans, hereditary disorders of enamel development occur in dogs, greatly impacting their dental health and wellbeing. A recent study reveals canine enamel disorders similar to those found in humans, linking them with ENAM and ACP4, two genes previously described in humans.

29 Mar 2019

ProteoNic’s 2G UNic protein production technology licensed to Bayer

ProteoNic Biotechnology BV today announced that it has licensed its 2G UNic technology for boosting recombinant protein production to the pharmaceutical company Bayer.

29 Mar 2019

Queen’s University Belfast and Domainex identify novel first-in-class FLIP inhibitors

Queen’s University Belfast and Domainex are pleased to announce that their joint project team has successfully identified novel first-in-class small molecule inhibitors of the anti-apoptotic protein FLIP.

29 Mar 2019

Johns Hopkins surgeons perform first-ever living donor HIV-to-HIV kidney transplant

For the first time, a person living with HIV has donated a kidney to a transplant recipient also living with HIV. A multidisciplinary team from Johns Hopkins Medicine completed the living donor HIV-to-HIV kidney transplant on Mar. 25. The doctors say both the donor and the recipient are doing well.

29 Mar 2019

Breakthrough study could lead to new treatments for sickle cell disease

In a breakthrough study of sickle cell disease, biomedical engineers in the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering have revealed that the building blocks of the disease are much less efficient at organizing than previously thought.

29 Mar 2019

Nanovaccine boosts immunity in mice with gut microbiome-mediated metabolic syndrome

A new class of biomaterial developed by Cornell researchers for an infectious disease nanovaccine effectively boosted immunity in mice with metabolic disorders linked to gut bacteria - a population that shows resistance to traditional flu and polio vaccines.

29 Mar 2019

Study reveals new way to increase population of intestinal stem cells

Cells that line the intestinal tract are replaced every few days, a high rate of turnover that relies on a healthy population of intestinal stem cells. MIT and University of Tokyo biologists have now found that aging takes a toll on intestinal stem cells and may contribute to increased susceptibility to disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

29 Mar 2019

New migraine-associated mechanism discovered

A mutation in the gen that codes the ionic channel TRESK -involved in the control of neuron irritability- causes the dysfunction of some neurons that increase neuronal activity and induce migraine pain.

29 Mar 2019

Cancer prevention drug also reduces virulence of H. pylori bacterium

A medicine currently being tested as a chemoprevention agent for multiple types of cancer has more than one trick in its bag when it comes to preventing stomach cancer, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

29 Mar 2019

Researchers develop new strategy to treat sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia

Researchers at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and the University of Massachusetts Medical School have developed a strategy to treat two of the most common inherited blood diseases -- sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia -- applying CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to patients' own blood stem cells.

29 Mar 2019

FDA approves treatment for adults with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) injection for treatment of adults with a certain type of inflammatory arthritis called non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), with objective signs of inflammation. This is the first time that the FDA has approved a treatment for nr-axSpA.

28 Mar 2019

Lab-grown blood vessels provide hope for dialysis patients

Research published this week describes how lab-grown blood vessels were transformed into living tissue when grafted into dialysis patients needing replacement blood vessels.

28 Mar 2019

European Research Council awards grant for research on insulin-producing cells

The ERC Advanced Grant is one of the most prestigious funding programmes for research in Europe. Per-Olof Berggren, professor of experimental endocrinology at Karolinska Institutet, is now awarded this grant for the second time.

28 Mar 2019

Researchers describe mathematical model as key to developing effective drugs for brain disorders

A collaboration between researchers from the UAB Institute of Neurosciences and the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, published in March in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, describes a mathematical model to quantify the activity of biased G-protein-coupled receptors.

28 Mar 2019

Gene transfer technique can combat diabetes-linked heart dysfunction

Researchers with the VA San Diego Healthcare System and the University of California San Diego have shown that a gene transfer technique can combat heart dysfunction caused by diabetes.

28 Mar 2019

New discovery may explain low testosterone levels in men with diabetes

Scientists have mapped out how the body transports testosterone, and their surprising findings may explain low testosterone levels seen in men with diabetes or patients on certain medications.

28 Mar 2019