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.

Midazolam-mediated alterations of PER2 expression may have functional consequences during myocardial ischemia

Innovative cardioprotective strategies are of imminent demand. Nonfatal myocardial ischemia (MI) poses a significant risk to patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery and these non-cardiac surgeries account for around 8 million myocardial injuries per year

19 Oct 2018

A new approach identified to control Zika virus, dengue fever

Mosquitoes are the world's deadliest animals, killing thousands of people and causing millions of illnesses each year.

19 Oct 2018

Molding bacteria into unnatural shapes reveals the robustness of cell division

Researchers at OIST have shown that microbes can be molded into an array of unusual, elaborate shapes that are not seen in nature.

18 Oct 2018

Research points to new target for treating periodontitis

T cells help fight off infection, but they can go overboard. A new study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and the National Institutes of Health shows that a subset of T cells contributes to the problematic inflammation and bone loss that is associated with periodontitis, a severe form of gum disease.

17 Oct 2018

Sleeping Beauty technique helps identify genes responsible for NAFLD-associated liver cancer

With an estimated twenty-thousand protein-coding genes in the human genome, pinpointing a specific gene or pathway responsible for a particular disease can be like finding a needle in the proverbial haystack.

17 Oct 2018

Mice study shows antibiotics are not always necessary to cure sepsis

Biochemists, microbiologists, drug discovery experts and infectious disease doctors have teamed up in a new study that shows antibiotics are not always necessary to cure sepsis in mice.

17 Oct 2018

Loss of tumor protein p53 helps cancer cells grow in hostile environment

Researchers have discovered a novel consequence of loss of the tumor protein p53 that promotes cancer development, according to new findings in eLife.

17 Oct 2018

Scientists obtain clearest ever image of Ebola virus protein

For the first time, researchers have managed to image the structure of a central component of the Ebola virus.

17 Oct 2018

Novel method uses just a drop of blood to monitor effect of lung cancer therapy

Dr Tasuku Honjo won the 2018 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for discovering the immune T-cell protein PD-1. This discovery led to a set of anti-cancer medications called checkpoint inhibitors, one of the first of which was nivolumab (Opdivo).

17 Oct 2018

Researchers discover why heart contractions are weaker in individuals with HCM

When a young athlete suddenly dies of a heart attack, chances are high that they suffer from familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Itis the most common genetic heart disease in the US and affects an estimated 1 in 500 people around the world.

17 Oct 2018

Down syndrome may hold important clues to onset of Alzheimer's disease

At first glance, Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease, two severe brain abnormalities, may seem to have little in common. Down syndrome is a hereditary disease, the source of which has long been recognized--a triplication of chromosome 21.

17 Oct 2018

Scientists create synthetic tissue capable of synchronized beating

A team of chemists at the University of Bristol have developed a prototissue that is capable of synchronized beating when it is heated and cooled.

16 Oct 2018

Study uncovers important role of PRMT1 in dilated cardiomyopathy

In a study published in iScience, Professor Akiyoshi Fukamizu of the Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (University of Tsukuba, JAPAN) and the research group reported a new work on discovery of the important role of PRMT1 in dilated cardiomyopathy.

16 Oct 2018

Zebrafish study uncovers molecular 'brake' that helps control eye lens development

How different cells in a multicellular organism acquire their identities remains a fundamental mystery of development. In the eye, for example, the lens contains two cell types - lens epithelial cells and lens fiber cells -- the first of which differentiates into the second as an animal matures.

16 Oct 2018

Rice University chemist wins big award to study small surfaces

It's one thing to start a chemical reaction and get a result, but it's quite another thing to watch it in progress. Rice University chemist Matt Jones wants to see it happen.

16 Oct 2018

Researchers develop fibrin-targeting immunotherapy to protect against neurodegeneration

Normally, the blood protein fibrin does not enter the brain. But in several neurological disorders, the blood-brain barrier--which keeps large molecules in the blood from entering the brain--becomes abnormally permeable, allowing fibrin to leak into the brain and trigger inflammation.

16 Oct 2018

Endurance exercise training beneficially alters gut microbiota composition

According to recent research, endurance exercise training beneficially modifies gut microbiota composition. After six weeks of training, potentially inflammation causing microbes (Proteobacteria) decreased and microbes that are linked to enhanced metabolism (Akkermansia) increased.

15 Oct 2018

Neuropsychiatric symptoms related to earliest stages of Alzheimer's brain pathology

UC San Francisco researchers, in collaboration with the unique Brazilian Biobank for Aging Studies at the University of São Paulo, have shown that the earliest stages of the brain degeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease are linked to neuropsychiatric symptoms including anxiety, depression, loss of appetite, and sleep disturbances.

15 Oct 2018

Modeling Non-Numerical Data in Systems Biology

An interview with Dr. Eshan Mitra, discussing the importance of computer models in biology and the development of a more accurate model of the RAF phosphorylation pathway.

15 Oct 2018

Scientists shed light on roles of transcription factors, TP63 and SOX2, in squamous cell carcinoma

Squamous cell carcinomas are aggressive malignancies arising from squamous epithelium of various organs, such as esophagus, head and neck, lung and skin. Previous studies demonstrated that two master transcription factors, TP63 and SOX2, effect genomic activation in SCCs.

15 Oct 2018