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CytRx granted "Fast Track" designation for ALS drug

CytRx Corporation today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted "Fast Track" designation for the company's leading drug candidate arimoclomol for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

26 Sep 2005

Tests of cognitive function are the best way so far to predict whether healthy elderly people will develop Alzheimer's

Although Alzheimer's disease begins long before symptoms appear, early diagnosis of Alzheimer's has so far been elusive. And given that there is no cure for the disease, benefits of early detection remain questionable.

26 Sep 2005

Extreme gene pin-pointed

One teenager likes to snowboard off a cliff. Another prefers to read a book and wouldn't think of trading places. Why these differences exist is a mystery, but for the first time researchers have identified a possible genetic explanation behind risk-seeking behavior.

26 Sep 2005

Vaccine candidate? Researchers synthesize oligosaccharide from anthrax pathogen

For weeks a white powder caused fear and shock for the American population: a few days after the attacks on September 11th, 2001, four innocent people became the victims of letters that contained the powder - spores of the anthrax pathogen. German researchers have now synthesized a molecule characteristic of anthrax in the laboratory which may be the basis for a new anthrax vaccine.

26 Sep 2005

Aquaporin-4 is the first specific molecule to be defined as a target for the autoimmune response in any form of MS

Researchers have identified a molecular suspect in a disorder similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) that attacks the optic nerve and spinal cord, according to a report presented at the 130th annual meeting of the American Neurological Association in San Diego. The protein, called aquaporin-4, is a channel protein that allows water to move in and out of cells.

26 Sep 2005

Lead exposures early in life combined with high blood pressure in working age adults may lead to diminishing cognitive abilities in later life

Exposure to lead in early childhood and adolescence may contribute to hypertension-related decline that can impair a person's cognitive abilities, according to a new study presented at the 2005 American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research meeting.

26 Sep 2005

Set of simple "rules" that nature appears to use to design proteins

By examining how proteins have evolved, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a set of simple "rules" that nature appears to use to design proteins, rules the scientists have now employed to create artificial proteins that look and function just like their natural counterparts.

26 Sep 2005

Scientists reverse memory loss in mice with Alzheimer's

In mice, that had been genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's disease, scientists were able to reverse the rodents' memory loss by reducing the amount of an enzyme that is crucial for the development of Alzheimer's disease.

26 Sep 2005

Scientists eventually may be able to determine the structure of proteins from their genomic sequences

Computers can predict the detailed structure of small proteins nearly as well as experimental methods, at least some of the time, according to new studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers.

26 Sep 2005

Possible molecular origin of at least nine human diseases of nervous system degeneration

These neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease, share an abnormal deposit of proteins inside nerve cells. This deposition of protein results from a kind of genetic stutter within the cell's nucleus asking for multiple copies of the amino acid glutamine, a building block of protein structure.

26 Sep 2005

How the vertebrate eye, as we know it, has emerged over evolutionary time

The evolution of complex and physiologically remarkable structures such as the vertebrate eye has long been a focus of intrigue and theorizing by biologists.

26 Sep 2005

Delicate balance of induction and inhibition in determining tooth cusps

One of the remaining challenges for evolutionary developmental studies of mammals, whose evolution is best known from their teeth, is how their tooth shape is altered during development.

26 Sep 2005

Raf Kinase Inhibitor Protein plays a role in controlling the active movement of cells

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers report that a protein that regulates key signaling pathways in cells also plays a role in controlling the active movement or migration of cells. The finding may suggest new pharmaceutical therapies for treating a variety of diseases, including cancer.

26 Sep 2005

Change in gene may be underlying molecular defect in some colorectal cancers

Inactivation of a DNA repair gene may be an early step in the development of sporadic colorectal tumors, and detection of the molecular basis for this inactivation may ultimately be useful in risk assessment for colorectal cancer, according to a new study in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

22 Sep 2005

Study clarifies insulin's role in blocking release of energy in patients with type II diabetes

Chronically high levels of insulin, as is found in many people with obesity and Type II diabetes, may block specific hormones that trigger energy release into the body, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

22 Sep 2005

John Hopkins scientists uncover "tags" that force proteins to cell surface

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered internal "shipping labels" that allow -- and perhaps force -- hundreds if not thousands of proteins to get to the surface of cells and stay there.

22 Sep 2005

Scintigraphy scan may help clinicians properly diagnose and then treat two forms of cardiac amyloidosis

"Clinically, this finding helps differential diagnosis and reduces the risk of misdiagnosis between two conditions with very different therapeutic options," said Claudio Rapezzi, M.D. from the University of Bologna and S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital in Bologna, Italy.

21 Sep 2005

Simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein

A team led by University of California, San Diego biochemists has discovered the mechanism by which a simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein, a finding that provides a new tool to develop novel drugs.

21 Sep 2005

Study reveals critical molecular events in the origin of fat cells

A new study reveals critical molecular events in the origin of fat cells. The findings are central to understanding chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, as fat cells produce hormones critical for metabolic control, the researchers said.

21 Sep 2005

Drug that blocks acid buildup inside cells revs up the immune response to vaccines

Reporting in the current issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vincenzo Barnaba and his team at the University of Rome show that people receiving booster shots against hepatitis B virus developed more robust immune responses if given a widely used anti-malaria drug called chloroquine.

21 Sep 2005

G Protein News and Research

CytRx granted "Fast Track" designation for ALS drug

Tests of cognitive function are the best way so far to predict whether healthy elderly people will develop Alzheimer's

Extreme gene pin-pointed

Vaccine candidate? Researchers synthesize oligosaccharide from anthrax pathogen

Aquaporin-4 is the first specific molecule to be defined as a target for the autoimmune response in any form of MS

Lead exposures early in life combined with high blood pressure in working age adults may lead to diminishing cognitive abilities in later life

Set of simple "rules" that nature appears to use to design proteins

Scientists reverse memory loss in mice with Alzheimer's

Scientists eventually may be able to determine the structure of proteins from their genomic sequences

Possible molecular origin of at least nine human diseases of nervous system degeneration

How the vertebrate eye, as we know it, has emerged over evolutionary time

Delicate balance of induction and inhibition in determining tooth cusps

Raf Kinase Inhibitor Protein plays a role in controlling the active movement of cells

Change in gene may be underlying molecular defect in some colorectal cancers

Study clarifies insulin's role in blocking release of energy in patients with type II diabetes

John Hopkins scientists uncover "tags" that force proteins to cell surface

Scintigraphy scan may help clinicians properly diagnose and then treat two forms of cardiac amyloidosis

Simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein

Study reveals critical molecular events in the origin of fat cells

Drug that blocks acid buildup inside cells revs up the immune response to vaccines

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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