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.

Molecule discovery could hold the key to novel gene therapies for skin problems

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered a protein that could hold the key to novel gene therapies for skin problems including psoriasis - a common, chronic skin disease that affects over 100 million people worldwide.

20 Dec 2018

Mapping fiber layers of mammalian cerebral cortex reveals clues to their evolution

The cerebrum plays the most important roles in the higher functions of the brain. In particular, the cerebral cortex, among other parts of the cerebrum, is essential.

20 Dec 2018

New genetically modified common houseplant purifies air around it

We like to keep the air in our homes as clean as possible, and sometimes we use HEPA air filters to keep offending allergens and dust particles at bay.

20 Dec 2018

Scripps Research finds molecular cause of a group of rare autoimmune disorders

A team from Scripps Research has found a molecular cause of a group of rare autoimmune disorders in which the immune system attacks the body's own healthy cells.

20 Dec 2018

Study shows how a novel regulatory mechanism serves as key biomarker for diabetes

A recent study led by researchers in Texas A&M University's department of nutrition and food science shows how a novel regulatory mechanism serves as an important biomarker for the development of diabetes, as well as a potential therapeutic target for its prevention.

20 Dec 2018

Researchers discover cost-efficient, accurate method to examine effectiveness of cardiomyocytes

A faster, more cost-efficient, and more accurate method of examining the effectiveness of human pluripotent stem-cell-derived cardiac muscle cells has been discovered, according to researchers from Penn State.

20 Dec 2018

Tau protein reduces neural activity in Alzheimer's mouse models

A study from Massachusetts General Hospital investigators sheds new light on how the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease - amyloid-beta (A-beta) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles containing the protein tau - produce their damaging effects in the brain.

19 Dec 2018

Study uncovers initial folding mechanism of membrane proteins, key in design of new drugs

An international team coordinated by the Interdisciplinary Research Structure in Biotechnology and Biomedicine of the University of Valencia has proved how the folding of membrane proteins begins before they are inserted into biological membranes, a fact that has been central to the biochemical research for decades.

19 Dec 2018

$Type 2 diabetes drug may be used to treat heart failure with preserved ejection fraction$

Type 2 diabetes drug may be used to treat heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Researchers at the University of Arizona have discovered that metformin, a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes, might also be used to treat heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, a condition that is predicted to affect over 8% of people ages 65 or older by the year 2020.

19 Dec 2018

MUSC researchers identify potential therapeutic target for lung fibrosis

In an article published online by Frontiers in Endocrinology, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina report that they have identified a potential therapeutic target for lung fibrosis or scarring.

19 Dec 2018

Galectins play a key role in the degeneration of cartilage in osteoarthritis

A network of carbohydrate binding proteins - so-called galectins - plays an important role in the degeneration of cartilage in osteoarthritis.

19 Dec 2018

Personalization techniques give a new lease of life to anticancer vaccines

Anticancer vaccines have gained a new lease of life with techniques to personalise them to individual patients.

19 Dec 2018

HPV discovery could lead to new treatments for cervical cancer

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have made a discovery about human papillomavirus that could lead to new treatments for cervical cancer and other cancers caused by the virus.

19 Dec 2018

Developing the Next Generation of Water-soluble DREADDs

An interview with James Flanaghan, discussing the uses of DREADDs in neurobiological research and the advantages of water-soluble ligands.

From Hello Bio 19 Dec 2018

Study reveals how stem cells can be induced to differentiate into various ocular lineages

The discovery of pluripotent stem cells, which have the ability to differentiate into the huge range of different cell lineages that make up the human body, signaled the start of a new era in biological science and medicine. Although we are also now able to reprogram regular cells to exhibit this pluripotency, we still have much to learn about the different cues that lead such cells towards a particular cell fate, including the cells that make up the eye.

19 Dec 2018

Researchers aim to improve cognition, reverse weight gain in schizophrenia

Aerobic exercise can improve the size and function of the brain, and now investigators want to know if it can also improve cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia who struggle with memory and attention problems.

19 Dec 2018

Hepatitis C drug can eliminate chikungunya, yellow fever virus

A study performed at the University of São Paulo's Biomedical Science Institute (ICB-USP) in Brazil shows that sofosbuvir, a drug used to treat chronic hepatitis C, is capable of eliminating chikungunya virus and yellow fever virus.

19 Dec 2018

Gut microbiome plays role in immune system regulation, study finds

Scientist have long known that bacteria in the intestines, also known as the microbiome, perform a variety of useful functions for their hosts, such as breaking down dietary fiber in the digestive process and making vitamins K and B7.

19 Dec 2018

Novel insight on inflammatory regulation could pave way for effective pain therapies

A novel way in which the inflammatory response to pain is regulated has been described in the open-access journal eLife.

19 Dec 2018

Decoding chemical and other sensory cues that drive infanticide

It may seem like one of the cruelest aspects of the natural world, but research has shown that infanticide is actually an instinctive behavior in many animals - and Catherine Dulac has begun deciphering the chemical and other sensory cues that drive the behavior.

19 Dec 2018