Molecular Biology News and Research

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Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis as well as learning how these interactions are regulated.

ASF launches Autism Sisters Project to accelerate research into 'Female Protective Effect'

The Autism Science Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting and funding autism research, today announced the launch of the Autism Sisters Project, a new initiative that will give unaffected sisters of individuals with autism the opportunity to take an active role in accelerating research into the "Female Protective Effect."

14 Oct 2015

Small heat shock protein as model for Alzheimer’s medication

In Alzheimer’s disease proteins clump together to long fibrils causing the death of nerve cells. Small heat shock proteins can counteract this effect. Scientists, therefore, hope to deploy them as agents in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Using the example of a small heat shock protein, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München have now uncovered how the protein interacts with other proteins.

13 Oct 2015

Researchers reveal 3-D structure of biologically active DNA

Using a multidisciplinary approach, researchers, led by those at Baylor College of Medicine, revealed in unprecedented detail the three-dimensional structure of biologically active DNA. A report on their work appears online in the journal Nature Communications.

12 Oct 2015

Proposed thin-plate model sheds light on structural basis of chromosomal aberrations in cancer cells

During cell division, each metaphase chromosome contains a single enormously long DNA molecule that is associated with histone proteins and forms a long chromatin filament with many nucleosomes.

9 Oct 2015

Father’s life experiences can affect health, development of both children and grandchildren

If you have diabetes, or cancer or even heart problems, maybe you should blame it on your dad's behaviour or environment. Or even your grandfather's.

9 Oct 2015

New report reveals more about how stem cells are affected by immediate surroundings

A Johns Hopkins University biologist has led a research team reporting progress in understanding the mysterious shape-shifting ways of stem cells, which have vast potential for medical research and disease treatment.

8 Oct 2015

Jumping genes: a marker for early cancer diagnosis? An interview with Dr Kazazian

In the genome of every human being, there are about 80-100 active LINE-1s that are capable of mobilizing by a copy and paste mechanism to a new location in the genome.

6 Oct 2015

International team of scientists create world's largest catalog of genomic variations among humans

An international team of scientists from the 1000 Genomes Project Consortium has created the world's largest catalog of genomic differences among humans, providing researchers with powerful clues to help them establish why some people are susceptible to various diseases. While most differences in peoples' genomes - called variants - are harmless, some are beneficial, while others contribute to diseases and conditions, ranging from cognitive disabilities to susceptibilities to cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other disorders.

1 Oct 2015

Four types of gut bacteria can protect infants from asthma

New research by scientists at UBC and BC Children's Hospital finds that infants can be protected from getting asthma if they acquire four types of gut bacteria by three months of age.

1 Oct 2015

New reference catalogue may help guide future studies of genetics, evolution and disease

Missing a gene may be less problematic than you'd think. This is one of the conclusions that emerge from the most extensive catalogue of structural variations - changes in large sections of a person's DNA sequence - to date.

1 Oct 2015

New RNA tools for CRISPR/Cas9

Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) will host an informative webinar, entitled ‘New RNA Tools for Optimized CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing’, on Wednesday, October 7, 2015. Ashley Jacobi, a scientist in the Molecular Genetics Applied Research Group at IDT, and an expert in the application of synthetic nucleic acids, will present the webinar at 9 am and 1 pm Central Standard Time.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 1 Oct 2015

Unlocking the genes behind antibiotic resistance: an interview with Professor Romesberg

Bacteria are very, very diverse. This is why their susceptibility to different antibiotics can be very different. It also makes the tools they have to evolve resistance in many cases different.

30 Sep 2015

Academies and DFG point out limitations and risks of new genome editing techniques

More efficient bacteria and yeasts for use in fuel and drug production, new strategies to combat antibiotic-resistant germs, and innovative plant breeding methods - new molecular biology techniques that permit targeted genetic modification are giving rise to many promising new opportunities in research and application.

29 Sep 2015

Scientists compile complete genetic information of people affected by PAH

The genetic architecture of a debilitating and potentially fatal vascular disease has for the first time been detailed in its entirety, providing clinicians with the comprehensive data needed to improve diagnosis and deliver more personalised patient care.

25 Sep 2015

Research highlights potential new treatment strategy for degenerative diseases

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered evidence of a mechanism at the heart of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related degenerative diseases. The research appears in today's edition of the journal Cell and highlights a possible new treatment strategy for the devastating disorders.

25 Sep 2015

BD Life Sciences announces FDA clearance for BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel

BD Life Sciences, a segment of global medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), today announced the availability of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel for use on the BD MAX System.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 24 Sep 2015

UT Southwestern researchers find a previously unknown genetic code

UT Southwestern physiologists trying to understand the genetic code have found a previously unknown code that helps explain which protein should be created to form a particular type of cell.

24 Sep 2015

S. Lawrence Zipursky to receive 2015 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University

Columbia University will award the 2015 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to S. Lawrence Zipursky, PhD, for discovering a molecular identification system that helps neurons to navigate and wire the brain. Zipursky is a professor of biological chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

23 Sep 2015

Novel mechanism may help explain the virulence of 1918 'Spanish' flu

While yearly outbreaks of flu kill about 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide, the 1918 "Spanish" flu infected one-third of the world's population and killed 50 million to 100 million. Chad Petit, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, has discovered a novel mechanism for one 1918 flu virus protein that may help explain the virulence of that unusually deadly pandemic.

23 Sep 2015

Johns Hopkins scientists discover earliest premalignant genetic changes that mark potential onset of lung cancer

Working with tissue, blood and DNA from six people with precancerous and cancerous lung lesions, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists has identified what it believes are among the very earliest “premalignant” genetic changes that mark the potential onset of the most common and deadliest form of disease.

23 Sep 2015

Molecular Biology News and Research

Further Reading

ASF launches Autism Sisters Project to accelerate research into 'Female Protective Effect'

Small heat shock protein as model for Alzheimer’s medication

Researchers reveal 3-D structure of biologically active DNA

Proposed thin-plate model sheds light on structural basis of chromosomal aberrations in cancer cells

Father’s life experiences can affect health, development of both children and grandchildren

New report reveals more about how stem cells are affected by immediate surroundings

Jumping genes: a marker for early cancer diagnosis? An interview with Dr Kazazian

International team of scientists create world's largest catalog of genomic variations among humans

Four types of gut bacteria can protect infants from asthma

New reference catalogue may help guide future studies of genetics, evolution and disease

New RNA tools for CRISPR/Cas9

Unlocking the genes behind antibiotic resistance: an interview with Professor Romesberg

Academies and DFG point out limitations and risks of new genome editing techniques

Scientists compile complete genetic information of people affected by PAH

Research highlights potential new treatment strategy for degenerative diseases

BD Life Sciences announces FDA clearance for BD MAX Enteric Parasite Panel

UT Southwestern researchers find a previously unknown genetic code

S. Lawrence Zipursky to receive 2015 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University

Novel mechanism may help explain the virulence of 1918 'Spanish' flu

Johns Hopkins scientists discover earliest premalignant genetic changes that mark potential onset of lung cancer

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