Biochemistry News and Research

RSS

Potential mosquito-based malaria vaccine could be a step closer

A promising type of vaccine designed to eradicate malaria by blocking parasite transmission could be a step closer, as a result of experts uncovering new information about the targeted protein.

17 Jun 2015

Scientists identify two new key players involved in development of prostate cancer

Understanding how a normal healthy cell turns into a cancerous one is our best bet yet for beating the disease. It will help better diagnose the cancer type, and enable the development of more effective, and less toxic therapies. But cells have evolved all sorts of sophisticated ways to become cancerous, and identifying the molecules involved and how they function in each type of cancer is a major undertaking.

16 Jun 2015

Discovery could help scientists reduce global vitamin A deficiency

A research team's discovery of new information about how plants synthesize carotenoids, precursors for vitamin A that are essential for plant development and survival, and human health, could help scientists increase the levels of provitamin A in food crops and reduce global vitamin A deficiency.

16 Jun 2015

Men who use finasteride to treat benign prostate enlargement experience worsening ED

Men with benign prostate enlargement who used finasteride (also known as proscar and propecia) to treat their condition, experienced worsening erectile dysfunction (ED) that did not resolve with continued treatment. In addition, they experienced a reduction in their testosterone levels leading to hypogonadism (little to no production of sex hormones).

14 Jun 2015

GSU scientists design new MRI technique for early detection of liver tumors

Scientists at Georgia State University with funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering have designed an imaging technique to detect early-stage liver tumors, and have proven it successful in mice.

10 Jun 2015

UC Davis funds BRAIN-STIM program to uncover potential treatments for neurodegenerative disorders

In 2013, President Obama announced the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, unveiling plans to make a bold investment to understand the human mind with the intent to uncover ways to prevent, treat and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer's, autism, and epilepsy.

9 Jun 2015

Frankfurt researchers decode molecular details that provide better understanding of neurodegenerative diseases

Quality control is important - this is not only applicable to industrial production but also true for all life processes. However, whereas an enterprise can start a large-scale recall in case of any doubt, defects in the quality control systems of cells are often fatal.

9 Jun 2015

Biochemists devise snappy new technique for blueprinting cell membrane proteins

Biochemists from Trinity College Dublin have devised a new technique that will make the difficult but critical job of blueprinting certain proteins considerably faster, cheaper and easier.

5 Jun 2015

Anna Nele Meckler and Armelle Corpet to receive SNSF's 2015 Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize

The biologist Armelle Corpet and paleo-climatologist Anna Nele Meckler will receive the 2015 Marie Heim-Vögtlin (MHV) Prize. This distinction rewards their remarkable scientific work supported by a MHV grant. The prize will be bestowed on 23 September 2015 at the Swiss National Science Foundation.

4 Jun 2015

UC Santa Cruz-led study offers new insights into molecular mechanisms of biological clock

A new study led by UC Santa Cruz researchers has found that a protein associated with cancer cells is a powerful suppressor of the biological clock that drives the daily ("circadian") rhythms of cells throughout the body.

3 Jun 2015

Researchers transform bacteria into 'secret agents' for detecting disease

Another step forward has just been taken in the area of synthetic biology. Research teams from Inserm and CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) Montpellier, in association with Montpellier Regional University Hospital and Stanford University, have transformed bacteria into "secret agents" that can give warning of a disease based solely on the presence of characteristic molecules in the urine or blood. To perform this feat, the researchers inserted the equivalent of a computer programme into the DNA of the bacterial cells.

3 Jun 2015

Presence of collagen in tumor microenvironment can be either good or bad

The presence of collagen in the tumor microenvironment, essentially where the tumor lives, can be either good or bad according to Constance Brinckerhoff, PhD who led the Dartmouth team's reporting of "The BRAFV600E inhibitor, PLX4032, increases type 1 collagen synthesis in melanoma cells," in Matrix Biology Journal.

30 May 2015

Differences in brain expression of RORA protein levels may lead to sex bias in autism

George Washington University researcher Valerie Hu, Ph.D., has found an important sex-dependent difference in the level of RORA protein in brain tissues of males and females. Specifically, females without autism have a slightly higher level of RORA in the frontal cortex of the brain than males without autism, while the levels of the protein are comparably lower in the brain of both males and females with autism.

29 May 2015

UVA scientists find blueprint for combating human disease using DNA clad in near-indestructible armor

By unlocking the secrets of a bizarre virus that survives in nearly boiling acid, scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have found a blueprint for battling human disease using DNA clad in near-indestructible armor.

27 May 2015

Sex-determining gene in mosquitoes may help reduce disease transmission

Researchers with the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech have identified a gene responsible for sex determination in mosquitoes that can transmit yellow fever, dengue, and chikungunya viruses.

22 May 2015

Scientists find new way to convert blood cells into sensory neurons

Scientists at McMaster University have discovered how to make adult sensory neurons from human patients simply by having them roll up their sleeve and providing a blood sample.

22 May 2015

Skipping meals linked to abdominal weight gain and diabetes risk in mice

The researchers assessed glucose production to check for insulin resistance in the mice that gorged and then fasted and found that they had indeed developed insulin resistance in their livers, which is an indicator of prediabetes...

21 May 2015

Research shows how immune system controls biological clock in times of inflammation, infection

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered an important link between our body clock and the immune system that will have relevance to the treatment of inflammatory and infectious diseases.

20 May 2015

New findings could help better understand neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), of the University of Luxembourg, have, under Dr. Manuel Buttini, successfully measured metabolic profiles, or the metabolomes, of different brain regions, and their findings could help better understand neurodegenerative diseases.

18 May 2015

Researchers discover how and where chromosome fragile sites occur in human DNA

Using a novel method they developed to map chromosome breaks in a model organism, the budding yeast, Wenyi Feng, Ph.D., of Upstate Medical University and her colleagues have discovered new information as to how and where chromosome fragile sites can occur in human DNA. These sites are frequently observed in cancer cells and are responsible for causing genomic rearrangements.

15 May 2015