Amino Acid News and Research

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Amino Acid is one of several molecules that join together to form proteins. There are 20 common amino acids found in proteins.

First-ever glimpse of the cell-wall structure in three dimensions

The bacterial cell wall that is the target of potent antibiotics such as penicillin is actually made up of a thin single layer of carbohydrate chains, linked together by peptides, which wrap around the bacterium like a belt around a person, according to research conducted by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

17 Nov 2008

New clue for cellular damage in Huntington's disease

"Huntington's disease presents an ideal vantage point to study neurodegenerative disease, because we know the misfolded protein that's responsible," says Martin Duennwald, formerly a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Whitehead Member Susan Lindquist.

16 Nov 2008

Scientists map steps to block enzyme phosphodiesterase 5's action in heart failure

Taking a cue from the way drugs like Viagra put the biological brakes on a key enzyme involved in heart failure, scientists at Johns Hopkins have mapped out a key chemical step involved in blocking the enzyme.

12 Nov 2008

Folic acid does not offer any cardiovascular benefits

Folic acid is safe - but it lacks any cardiovascular benefits - according to researchers presenting at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008. The results from the Study of the Effectiveness of Additional Reductions in Cholesterol and Homocysteine (SEARCH), a 12,064-person, randomized study, were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial.

11 Nov 2008

Researchers discover metabolic deficiency in pancreatic cancer

UC Davis Cancer Center researchers have discovered a metabolic deficiency in pancreatic cancer cells that can be used to slow the progress of the deadliest of all cancers.

7 Nov 2008

Beta-alanine supplement shows strong effects in the elderly

Beta-alanine (BA), a dietary supplement widely used by athletes and body builders, has been proven to increase the fitness levels of a group of elderly men and women.

7 Nov 2008

Scientists confirm a molecular clipping mechanism behind stem cell development

Stem cells don't just become a part of the liver or the brain in a flash; it takes a complex molecular choreography and requires that specific genes be switched on and off at specific times.

6 Nov 2008

Targeting epigenetic changes helps tackle MLL-AF4 leukemias

A very difficult-to-treat child leukemia may benefit from the discovery of a small but potent epigenetic change that launches the cancer - but could potentially be reversed relatively easily, preventing cancer-promoting genes from being turned on.

4 Nov 2008

Sunshine could help fix male infertility

Australian fertility experts say a dose of daily sunshine could help men with fertility problems and they suggest couples struggling to conceive should consider getting out in the sunshine more often.

22 Oct 2008

High-dose vitamin B supplements do not slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer's

A clinical trial led by Paul S. Aisen, M.D., professor of neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, showed that high-dose vitamin B supplements did not slow the rate of cognitive decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease.

14 Oct 2008

Study specifies chemical pathway for ions through the cell membrane

Life ultimately depends on the traffic of tiny charged particles through porous proteins studding the membrane surrounding every cell. In research published in Nature, scientists at The Rockefeller University have for the first time mapped a stepping-stone pathway of amino acids that these charged particles, or ions, follow across cell membranes.

13 Oct 2008

Tracking down the cause of Mad Cow disease - first synthetic prion protein with an anchor

The cause of diseases such as BSE in cattle and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease in humans is a prion protein. This protein attaches to cell membranes by way of an anchor made of sugar and lipid components (a glycosylphosphatidylinositol, GPI) anchor. The anchoring of the prions seems to have a strong influence on the transformation of the normal form of the protein into its pathogenic form, which causes scrapie and mad cow disease.

12 Oct 2008

Study on controversial treatment for autism 'scuppered' by U.S. health officials

The study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) intended to examine the effectiveness of a type of treatment advocated by some autism activists as alternative medical therapy for children with the condition.

18 Sep 2008

FDA issues warning on milk-based infant formula manufactured in China

In response to reports of contaminated milk-based infant formula manufactured in China, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a Health Information Advisory.

14 Sep 2008

Injections of N-acetyl cysteine may help 'chemobrain'

Cancer patients have complained for years about the mental fog known as chemobrain. Now in animal studies at West Virginia University, researchers have discovered that injections of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, can prevent the memory loss that breast cancer chemotherapy drugs sometimes induce.

7 Sep 2008

Breakthrough discovery may lead to new drugs to fight bird flu, other epidemics

Researchers at Rutgers University and The University of Texas at Austin have reported a discovery that could help scientists develop drugs to fight the much-feared bird flu and other virulent strains of influenza.

25 Aug 2008

Study reveals how blood flow force protects against atherosclerosis

Machines on cell surfaces, mechanical and lifeless as bed springs, protect blood vessels by responding to blood flow force, according to research published today in the Journal of Cell Biology. By sensing and reacting to force, such machines interfere with inflammatory pathways central to atherosclerosis, the cause of clogged arteries that lead to heart attack and stroke, the authors said. The next set of studies, already underway, seeks to "tweak" the process with the goal of designing a new class of therapies.

25 Aug 2008

Vitamin B supplements offer no protection from heart disease

According to recent research vitamin B or folic acid supplements do not prevent death in patients with heart disease.

20 Aug 2008

Scientists discover how mutation in the copper-regulating protein ATP7B causes Wilson disease

Using a combination of computer simulations and cutting-edge lab experiments, physical biochemists at Rice University have discovered how a small genetic mutation -- which is known to cause Wilson disease -- subtly changes the structure of a large, complex protein that the body uses to keep copper from building up to toxic levels.

19 Aug 2008

Stanford develop method to overcome multiple drug resistant diseases

Many drugs once considered Charles Atlases of the pharmaceutical realm have been reduced to the therapeutic equivalent of 97-pound weaklings as the diseases they once dispatched with ease have developed resistance to them.

18 Aug 2008