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Article reveals biochemical chain of events involved in penile erection

For two decades, scientists have known the biochemical factors that trigger penile erection, but not what's needed to maintain one. Now an article by Johns Hopkins researchers, scheduled to be published this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), uncovers the biochemical chain of events involved in that process.

27 Sep 2012

DNp63a protein employs epigenetics to keep cancer cells alive

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is diagnosed in about 700,000 people in the United States every year. Commonly contributing to SCC is a protein called DNp63a - it goes abnormally high and the ability of a patient's body to kill cancer cells goes abnormally low. In many cases of SCC, it's just that simple. And science thought the function of DNp63a was simple, as well: the tumor suppressor gene p53 is responsible for recognizing and killing cancer cells, and in SCC, it's usually inactivated. It looked like high DNp63a repressed p53, made SCC.

27 Sep 2012

Karolinska Institutet scientists discover new approach to treat type II diabetes

An international team of scientists, led from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, have discovered an entirely new approach to the treatment of type II diabetes. The therapy involves the blockade of signalling by a protein known as VEGF-B and this prevents fat from accumulating in the 'wrong' places, such as in muscles and in the heart. As a result the cells within these tissues are once again able to respond to insulin.

27 Sep 2012

New understanding about functionality of CFTR protein

CFTR is an important protein that, when mutated, causes the life-threatening genetic disease cystic fibrosis. A study in The Journal of General Physiology (JGP) details how an accidental discovery has provided new understanding about CFTR functionality.

27 Sep 2012

Positive results from Sobi, Biogen Idec's rFIXFc Phase 3 trial on hemophilia B

Biogen Idec and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi) today announced positive results from B-LONG, a clinical study that evaluated a new long-lasting clotting factor candidate in people with hemophilia B. Hemophilia B is a rare inherited disorder that impairs blood coagulation.

27 Sep 2012

Enrollment complete in Resverlogix‘s RVX-208 Phase 2b trial on cardiovascular disease

Resverlogix Corp. today announced that it has completed enrollment in ASSURE, a Phase 2b clinical trial targeting high-risk cardiovascular disease patients.

27 Sep 2012

CSL develops new drug candidate against type 2 diabetes

CSL Limited has developed a new drug candidate that is able to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes and reverse its progression in animal models of the disease.

27 Sep 2012

Tight-junction proteins could help pin down hemorrhagic transformation risk

Study findings suggest that measuring levels of tight-junction proteins in the blood of patients with stroke may help to gauge their risk for hemorrhagic transformation.

26 Sep 2012

Blood test for monitoring Huntington’s disease may be possible in future

Measuring blood levels of mutant huntingtin protein may provide an alternative approach of determining the onset of Huntington’s disease in known carriers, researchers report.

26 Sep 2012

Researchers identify mechanism that appears to underlie non-familial form of Parkinson's

Researchers in the Taub Institute at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a mechanism that appears to underlie the common sporadic (non-familial) form of Parkinson's disease, the progressive movement disorder.

26 Sep 2012

New technique can manipulate and measure magnetic particles without contact

If you throw a ball underwater, you'll find that the smaller it is, the faster it moves: A larger cross-section greatly increases the water's resistance. Now, a team of MIT researchers has figured out a way to use this basic principle, on a microscopic scale, to carry out biomedical tests that could eventually lead to fast, compact and versatile medical-testing devices.

26 Sep 2012

Fly neurons may uncover secrets of Alzheimer's disease

Although they're a common nuisance in the home, fruit flies have made great contributions to research in genetics and developmental biology. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher is again turning to this everyday pest to answer crucial questions about how neurons function at a cellular level - which may uncover the secrets of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

26 Sep 2012

Researchers identify several kinase inhibitors that help generate many iPSCs

The process researchers use to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-a special type of stem cell that can be made in the lab from any type of adult cell-is time consuming and inefficient. To speed things up, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) turned to kinase inhibitors.

26 Sep 2012

k-MITOMI device can simultaneously measure up to 768 biomolecular interactions

Inside our cells, molecules are constantly binding and separating from one another. It's this game of constant flux that drives gene expression asides essentially every other biological process.

26 Sep 2012

New technique can identify cell-secreted proteins

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique to identify the proteins secreted by a cell. The new approach should help researchers collect precise data on cell biology, which is critical in fields ranging from zoology to cancer research.

26 Sep 2012

Increasing marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X

American and European scientists have found that increasing natural marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X syndrome, the most common known genetic cause of autism.

26 Sep 2012

Kidney disease linked with risk of death and ESRD even in patients without hypertension or diabetes

Two new studies from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis Consortium found that the presence of chronic kidney disease itself can be a strong indicator of the risk of death and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) even in patients without hypertension or diabetes.

26 Sep 2012

New computer program predicts most stable structures of nanometer-sized collagen

The human body is proficient at making collagen. And human laboratories are getting better at it all the time. In a development that could lead to better drug design and new treatments for disease, Rice University researchers have made a major step toward synthesizing custom collagen. Rice scientists who have learned how to make collagen - the fibrous protein that binds cells together into organs and tissues - are now digging into its molecular structure to see how it forms and interacts with biological systems.

26 Sep 2012

New insights into filaminopathies

New insights into certain muscle diseases, the filaminopathies, are reported by an international research team led by Dr. Rudolf Andre Kley of the RUB's University Hospital Bergmannsheil in the journal Brain.

26 Sep 2012

LIFR protein suppresses local invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells

A receptor protein suppresses local invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells, the most lethal aspect of the disease, according to a research team headed by scientists from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

25 Sep 2012