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Scientists identify molecular mechanism central to development of osteoarthritis pain

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center, in collaboration with researchers at Northwestern University, have identified a molecular mechanism central to the development of osteoarthritis (OA) pain, a finding that could have major implications for future treatment of this often-debilitating condition.

28 Dec 2012

Manipulating transcription factor can change subtype of breast cancer

Australian scientists have shown how a 'transcription factor' causes breast cancer to develop an aggressive subtype that lacks sensitivity to oestrogen and does not respond to anti-oestrogen therapies such as Tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors.

28 Dec 2012

Researchers study response of living cells to artificial protein

One approach to understanding components in living organisms is to attempt to create them artificially, using principles of chemistry, engineering and genetics. A suite of powerful techniques-collectively referred to as synthetic biology-have been used to produce self-replicating molecules, artificial pathways in living systems and organisms bearing synthetic genomes.

28 Dec 2012

Key regulator of energy metabolism in cancer cells may play a crucial role in restricting cancer cell growth

Researchers at McGill University have discovered that a key regulator of energy metabolism in cancer cells known as the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) may play a crucial role in restricting cancer cell growth. AMPK acts as a "fuel gauge" in cells; AMPK is turned on when it senses changes in energy levels, and helps to change metabolism when energy levels are low, such as during exercise or when fasting.

28 Dec 2012

Novel approach to sort out good or bad mutations associated with lymphoma

As anyone familiar with the X-Men knows, mutants can be either very good or very bad - or somewhere in between. The same appears true within cancer cells, which may harbor hundreds of mutations that set them apart from other cells in the body; the scientific challenge has been to figure out which mutations are culprits and which are innocent bystanders.

28 Dec 2012

Protein in human blood platelets points to a new weapon against malaria

One of the world's most devastating diseases is malaria, responsible for at least a million deaths annually, despite global efforts to combat it. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, working with collaborators from Drexel University, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Johns Hopkins University, have identified a protein in human blood platelets that points to a powerful new weapon against the disease. Their work was published in this months' issue of Cell Host and Microbe.

28 Dec 2012

Researchers develop unique approach to calpain inhibition

Calpain, a calcium-regulated enzyme, is essential to a host of cellular processes, but can cause severe problems in its overactivated state. It has been implicated as a factor in muscular dystrophy, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. As such, finding and exploiting calpain inhibitors is an important area of research.

28 Dec 2012

Trovagene adds Duke University Health System to worldwide licensees of NPM1 marker for AML

Trovagene, Inc., a developer of transrenal molecular diagnostics, announced it has granted Duke University and Duke University Health Systems a non-exclusive license to incorporate nucleophosmin protein (NPM1) into research and clinical testing services for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).

27 Dec 2012

Alzheimer's disease or FTLD can be effectively tracked using MRI

When trying to determine the root cause of a person's dementia, using an MRI can effectively and non-invasively screen patients for Alzheimer's disease or Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD), according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

27 Dec 2012

New light on genome replication

New York University biologists have identified how a vital protein is loaded by others into the centromere, the part of the chromosome that plays a significant role in cell division. Their findings shed new light on genome replication and may offer insights into the factors behind the production of abnormal numbers of chromosomes.

25 Dec 2012

Study reveals body's food clock on a molecular level

If the sinful excess of holiday eating sends your system into butter-slathered, brandy-soaked overload, you are not alone: People who are jet-lagged, people who work graveyard shifts and plain-old late-night snackers know just how you feel.

25 Dec 2012

Elevated C-reactive protein linked to psychological distress and depression

Elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammatory disease, appear to be associated with increased risk of psychological distress and depression in the general population of adults in Denmark, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication.

25 Dec 2012

Cause of recurrent infections in MECP2 duplication syndrome identified

US study results show that the genetic abnormality underlying the pediatric condition methyl-CpG binding protein 2 duplication syndrome also causes immune dysfunction.

24 Dec 2012

Researchers demonstrate significance of two proteins in nerve cell development

The study conducted by Prof. Frank Bradke's team provides indications on brain development and about the causes of diseases of the nervous system. The results have now been published in "Neuron".

21 Dec 2012

Protein complex plays critical role in development of Alzheimer's disease

The Bonn site of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn are leading contributors.

21 Dec 2012

Novel testing reaction based on magnetic resonance data

In their quest for new agents, pharmaceutical researchers test millions of substances all over the world. They like using color-forming reactions to identify new molecules. However, in intensively colored solutions or in the case of mixtures with multiple substances these tests fail.

21 Dec 2012

Molecule imitating a virus may trigger inappropriate immune response

Why would our immune system turn against our own cells? This is the question that the combined Inserm/CNRS/ Pierre and Marie Curie University/Association Institut de Myologie have strived to answer in their "Therapies for diseases of striated muscle", concentrating in particular on the auto-immune disease known as myasthenia gravis.

21 Dec 2012

New insight into structure of Cathepsin B protein

Using the world's most powerful X-ray free-electron laser, an international team of researchers, including scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, has obtained new insight into the structure of a medicinally important protein that may serve as a blueprint for the development of drugs to fight sleeping sickness. Science magazine have chosen the experimental study as one of the top ten scientific breakthroughs of the year.

21 Dec 2012

UAB research succeeds in testing a vaccine against leishmaniasis

A research coordinated by the UAB has succeeded in testing a vaccine against leishmaniasis. The vaccine was tested with the best animal model existing, the golden hamster, and can be produced at low costs by using insect larvae.

21 Dec 2012

Researcher looks at role of TIMP3 protein linked with aortic aneurysms in the abdomen

A researcher with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute is looking closely at a molecule linked to aortic aneurysms in the abdomen, and her findings could lead to a treatment to reduce swelling of the aortic artery, which would be a life-saving treatment.

21 Dec 2012