Membrane News and Research

RSS

Clemson researchers discover protein function in parasites which afflict millions with diseases

In the quest to develop more effective treatments for parasitic diseases like African sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis, scientists look for weaknesses in the organisms' molecular machinery. These weaknesses can then be targeted with drug therapies designed to kill the parasites.

24 Feb 2020

Cryo-electron microscopy reveals how transport protein works very efficiently

The structure of a transport complex used by bacteria to import aspartate has been mapped in unique detail by University of Groningen scientists.

24 Feb 2020

Autoantibodies can also act as the body's own antidepressants

If the immune system attacks its own body, it can often have devastating consequences: autoantibodies bind to the body's structures, triggering functional disorders.

24 Feb 2020

A highly conserved protein contributes to sensing mechanical pain, study shows

Researchers at McGill University have discovered that a protein found in the membrane of our sensory neurons are involved in our capacity to feel mechanical pain, laying the foundation for the development of powerful new analgesic drugs.

24 Feb 2020

Lipid signaling from beta cells linked to inflammatory macrophage polarization

Do the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas unwittingly produce a signal that aids their own demise in Type 1 diabetes?

23 Feb 2020

Artificial Intelligence brings a novel antibiotic compound

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made a scientific breakthrough where their machine-learning algorithm or Artificial Intelligence (AI) program successfully created a novel antibiotic compound. The drug has since then been tested on deadly bacteria in the lab, and in lab mice with a considerable amount of success, explain the researchers. The study results appear in the latest issue of the journal Cell.

20 Feb 2020

FETO therapy produces favorable outcomes when fetal and maternal care are highly coordinated

Researchers from The Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy report new evidence that fetuses with severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia, a rare but life-threatening, lung-damaging condition, experience a significantly high rate of success for the fetal treatment known as FETO, if they and their mothers receive coordinated and highly experienced care in the same expert setting.

20 Feb 2020

Live-cell imaging provides new insights into dynamic structure of mitochondria

As power plants and energy stores, mitochondria are essential components of almost all cells in plants, fungi and animals. Until now, it has been assumed that these functions underlie a static structure of mitochondrial membranes.

18 Feb 2020

Research shows how Ebola virus interacts with human lipids

Robert Stahelin studies some of the world's deadliest viruses. Filoviruses, including Ebola virus and Marburg virus, cause viral hemorrhagic fever with high fatality rates.

16 Feb 2020

Modern military helmets no better at blast wave protection than historical designs

Biomedical engineers from Duke University have demonstrated that, despite significant advancements in protection from ballistics and blunt impacts, modern military helmets are no better at protecting the brain from shock waves created by nearby blasts than their World War I counterparts.

16 Feb 2020

Study reveals molecular pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy-associated cardiomyopathy

In a study recently published in Nature Communications scientists at Okayama University describe the detailed molecular pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy-associated cardiomyopathy in mice lacking the fukutin gene (Fktn), the causative gene for Fukuyama muscular dystrophy.

13 Feb 2020

Light-activated protein restores mitochondrion function in fruit fly model of Parkinson’s disease

A light-sensitive protein can restore mitochondria function in fruit flies bearing a gene mutation associated with Parkinson’s disease and relieve its symptoms, report researchers at Juntendo University in the journal Communications Biology.

13 Feb 2020

P53-deficient oral cancers recruit and reprogram nerves to fuel tumor growth

Loss of an important tumor-suppressing gene allows head and neck cancer to spin off signals to nearby nerves, changing their function and recruiting them to the tumor, where they fuel growth and cancer progression, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the journal Nature today.

13 Feb 2020

Study finds no evidence of intrauterine vertical transmission of COVID-19 infection

There is currently no evidence that the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) causes severe adverse outcomes in neonates or that it can pass to the child while in the womb, according to a small observational study of women from Wuhan, China, who were in the third trimester of pregnancy and had pneumonia caused by COVID-19.

12 Feb 2020

Mysterious virus found in Brazil puzzles scientists with its unique genetic makeup

A team of Brazilian scientists discovered a puzzling new virus made of genetic material never seen before. But the virus won’t pose a serious health threat to humanity since it seems to only hunt amoebas.

12 Feb 2020

Researchers identify control of a mitochondrial protective mechanism

Mitochondria are known as the "powerhouses" of cells. However, under critical pathophysiological conditions, they can use cellular energy for self-preservation.

12 Feb 2020

New prophylactic and therapeutic avenues to fight against rabies

Rabies is still responsible for approximately 60,000 human deaths per year mostly in Asia and Africa and affects especially underserved people.

11 Feb 2020

Novel innate immunity factor inhibits HIV infection by targeting lipid rafts, study finds

The human protein apolipoprotein A-I binding protein inhibits HIV replication by targeting lipid rafts and reducing virus-cell fusion, according to a new study published in the premier American Society for Microbiology journal mBio by researchers from the George Washington University.

10 Feb 2020

Growing eggs and sperm to treat infertility

Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, have reported, in the journal Cell Reports, the mechanism of how the very early precursor or stem cells which eventually give rise to the germ cells, eggs and sperm, are formed over the course of development. This could help create eggs and sperms under laboratory conditions to help infertile people who don’t have sperms, or eggs, for instance.

9 Feb 2020

Study finds link between bladder cancer and collagen receptor

A team of investigators has recently discovered that the collagen receptor DDR1 functionally interacts with the insulin-like growth factor system in regulating bladder cancer.

9 Feb 2020

Membrane News and Research

Clemson researchers discover protein function in parasites which afflict millions with diseases

Cryo-electron microscopy reveals how transport protein works very efficiently

Autoantibodies can also act as the body's own antidepressants

A highly conserved protein contributes to sensing mechanical pain, study shows

Lipid signaling from beta cells linked to inflammatory macrophage polarization

Artificial Intelligence brings a novel antibiotic compound

FETO therapy produces favorable outcomes when fetal and maternal care are highly coordinated

Live-cell imaging provides new insights into dynamic structure of mitochondria

Research shows how Ebola virus interacts with human lipids

Modern military helmets no better at blast wave protection than historical designs

Study reveals molecular pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy-associated cardiomyopathy

Light-activated protein restores mitochondrion function in fruit fly model of Parkinson’s disease

P53-deficient oral cancers recruit and reprogram nerves to fuel tumor growth

Study finds no evidence of intrauterine vertical transmission of COVID-19 infection

Mysterious virus found in Brazil puzzles scientists with its unique genetic makeup

Researchers identify control of a mitochondrial protective mechanism

New prophylactic and therapeutic avenues to fight against rabies

Novel innate immunity factor inhibits HIV infection by targeting lipid rafts, study finds

Growing eggs and sperm to treat infertility

Study finds link between bladder cancer and collagen receptor

Latest eBooks

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (3rd edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Microbiome (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition)

Advancing degrader and proximity-based drug development

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo