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.

Scientists discover ALS disease mechanism

A mechanism for how the disease ALS evolves has been discovered at Umeå University, Sweden. The discovery concerns how proteins with a defect structure spread the deformation to other proteins. This according to results in a new thesis.

4 Sep 2018

CSIRO project seeks to clear the air over potentially life-saving noble gases

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, partnered with world leader in medical gases, Air Liquide Healthcare, to reveal how the noble gases’ interactions with proteins could one day be used to treat a variety of health issues.

4 Sep 2018

Study provides absolute 10-year estimates for dementia by age, sex and APOE genotype

A Danish study provides 10-year absolute risk estimates for dementia specific to age, sex and common variation in the APOE gene, which may help identify high-risk individuals who potentially could benefit from early targeted prevention.

4 Sep 2018

Stanford researchers show how to prevent immune response to gene therapy in mouse model

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have demonstrated that gene therapy can be effective without causing a dangerous side effect common to all gene therapy: an autoimmune reaction to the normal protein, which the patient's immune system is encountering for the first time.

4 Sep 2018

Study sheds light on how vaso-occlusive pain crises arise in sickle-cell disease

One of the most common complications of sickle-cell disease occurs when deformed red blood cells clump together, blocking tiny blood vessels and causing severe pain and swelling in the affected body parts.

4 Sep 2018

Social environment plays substantial role in progression of noncontagious diseases

What if social behavior affected the progression of even noncontagious diseases? This is precisely what has been demonstrated by French CNRS teams, with support from the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, Paris-Sud University, the University of Montpellier, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, and colleagues from Spain and Australia.

3 Sep 2018

Scientists identify 'Achilles heel' of anaplastic large-cell lymphomas

Anaplastic large-cell lymphomas are rare cancers of the white blood cells. New research from the international ERIA consortium, led by scientists in Vienna, has now shown that the same signaling pathway is essential to the growth of cancer cells in various forms of ALCL: TYK2 (tyrosine kinase 2, an important component of the immune system) prevents apoptotic cell death by increasing the production of Mcl1, a special type of protein belonging to the BCL2 family.

3 Sep 2018

Breakthrough study sheds light on mechanism underlying Warsaw Breakage Syndrome

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University and the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology in Italy have uncovered a previously unknown function of the DDX11 helicase enzyme.

3 Sep 2018

Genetic mutations may drive tumor formation by blurring growth signals

Genetic mutations in a form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may drive tumor formation by blurring cells' perception of key growth signals, according to a new laboratory study published August 31, 2018 in Science.

3 Sep 2018

Novel method using big data tools shows promising routes for research

A group of researchers affiliated to the University of São Paulo - campus Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, used big data tools such as data mining and network analysis to develop a method to help scientists and companies identify technological routes, trends and partnerships in any knowledge area. For this purpose, it collected information from patent databases around the world.

3 Sep 2018

A genetic signal-transmission system for the gut microbiome

More than 1,000 species of bacteria have been identified in the human gut, and understanding this incredibly diverse "microbiome" that can greatly impact health and disease is a hot topic in scientific research.

31 Aug 2018

Plant-derived substance could offer new option for treatment of obesity

A plant-derived substance widely used in traditional Chinese medicine has demonstrated promising weight loss effects.

31 Aug 2018

Arrowhead completes dosing of ARO-AAT Phase 1 study to treat rare genetic liver disease

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that it has completed dosing of a Phase 1 clinical study of ARO-AAT, the company's second generation subcutaneously administered RNA interference therapeutic being developed as a treatment for a rare genetic liver disease associated with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

31 Aug 2018

UQ researchers discover new immune defense pathway deployed against bacteria

A new understanding of one of the body’s immune defense mechanisms could lead to the development of novel therapeutic targets for conditions such as cancer and autoimmune diseases, a University of Queensland study has revealed.

31 Aug 2018

Modified Nurr1 protein may pave way for new Parkinson's therapy

Researchers have modified the protein Nurr1 so that it can enter cells from the outside. Nurr1 deficiency may be one of the causes of Parkinson's disease.

31 Aug 2018

Researchers predict how splicing errors impact disease risk

No one knows how many times in a day, or even an hour, the trillions of cells in our body need to make proteins.

31 Aug 2018

Neurons play active role in triggering a defense mechanism that leads to their own damage

Rasmussen's encephalitis is a rare autoimmune disease that primarily affects children and can lead to seizures.

31 Aug 2018

Subcutaneous injection of new protein helps treat hemophilia more effectively

Patients with hemophilia bleed spontaneously or following trauma. The most common sites of bleeding are into joints, but bleeds can also happen into any tissue in the body including the muscles, brain, or eyes.

31 Aug 2018

Leukogene receives STTR grant to optimize compound for treatment-resistant multiple myeloma

A $2 million phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer grant to optimize a promising new compound that has shown efficacy in preclinical studies against treatment-resistant multiple myeloma has been awarded to a Medical University of South Carolina startup company, Leukogene Therapeutics, Inc., in collaboration with MUSC researcher and company founder, Nathan G. Dolloff, Ph.D. Dolloff is an assistant professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at MUSC and a member of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.

31 Aug 2018

Specific protein promotes processes associated with cancer aggressiveness, reports study

Japanese researchers have revealed for the first time that a specific protein plays a critical role in the development and metastasis of highly aggressive prostate and breast cancer cells.

31 Aug 2018