Molecular Biology News and Research

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Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis as well as learning how these interactions are regulated.

Researchers find a way the body can remove injured axons

Many medical issues affect nerves, from injuries in car accidents and side effects of chemotherapy to glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. The common theme in these scenarios is destruction of nerve axons, the long wires that transmit signals to other parts of the body, allowing movement, sight and sense of touch, among other vital functions.

10 May 2013

Thijn Brummelkamp wins 2013 EMBO Gold Medal for genetic analysis of human disease

EMBO today announced Thijn Brummelkamp of the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam as the winner of the 2013 EMBO Gold Medal. The award acknowledges his outstanding work to accelerate the genetic analysis of human disease.

9 May 2013

Gene offers new insights into treatment strategies for deep-vein thrombosis

A gene associated with both protection against bacterial infection and excessive blood clotting could offer new insights into treatment strategies for deep-vein thrombosis -- the formation of a harmful clot in a deep vein.

9 May 2013

WHOI deploys new robotic sensor in Gulf of Maine coastal waters to monitor HABs

A new robotic sensor deployed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Gulf of Maine coastal waters may transform the way red tides or harmful algal blooms are monitored and managed in New England.

8 May 2013

New gene implicated in Parkinson can delay onset of aging, extend life span

UCLA life scientists have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson's disease that can delay the onset of aging and extend the healthy life span of fruit flies. The research, they say, could have important implications for aging and disease in humans.

7 May 2013

Kinase inhibitors: an interview with Jan Hoflack, CSO of Oncodesign

Kinase inhibitors are molecules that block the activity of kinases. Kinases are a specific class of enzymes. They are extremely important in signal transduction processes in the human body meaning that they actually regulate most of the physiological processes that take place in the body.

7 May 2013

Mutations in Ggamma13 gene may contribute to certain forms of smell disorders in humans

Researchers at the Monell Center and collaborators have identified a protein that is critical to the ability of mammals to smell. Mice engineered to be lacking the Ggamma13 protein in their olfactory receptors were functionally anosmic - unable to smell.

7 May 2013

Researchers explore biological processes of stem cell division

The human body contains trillions of cells, all derived from a single cell, or zygote, made by the fusion of an egg and a sperm. That single cell contains all the genetic information needed to develop into a human, and passes identical copies of that information to each new cell as it divides into the many diverse types of cells that make up a complex organism like a human being.

6 May 2013

Powerful data-sifting algorithms help untangle complex genetics of cancer

Powerful data-sifting algorithms developed by computer scientists at Brown University are helping to untangle the profoundly complex genetics of cancer.

2 May 2013

Researchers identify how a defective protein plays central role in Giant Axonal Neuropathy

A team of international researchers led by Northwestern Medicine scientists has identified how a defective protein plays a central role in a rare, lethal childhood disease known as Giant Axonal Neuropathy, or GAN.

29 Apr 2013

Opsona raises €33M in oversubscribed financing round

Opsona Therapeutics Limited, the innate immune drug development company, today announced that it has raised €33 million (US $ 43 million) in an oversubscribed Series C financing.

29 Apr 2013

Study may pave way for new strategies to fight cancer cells

For the first time, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have managed to obtain detailed images of the way in which the transport protein GLUT transports sugars into cells.

29 Apr 2013

Protein C4BP is possibly suitable as transporter for drugs, say researchers

The protein C4BP is similar to a spider in its spatial form with eight "arms". The structure of the "spider body" has recently been described in detail by researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig and the Technische Universit-t Darmstadt.

29 Apr 2013

New treatment options for influenza

The flu is caused by an infection with the influenza virus, which mainly attacks the upper respiratory tract - the nose, throat and bronchi and rarely also the lungs. According to the World Health Organization, around five to 15 percent of the population are affected by upper respiratory tract infections during seasonal flu outbreaks, and between 250 000-500 000 people die of the illness every year.

29 Apr 2013

Research on miRNAs offers new therapeutic potential to fight diseases

RNA molecules, made from DNA, are best known for their role in protein production. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), however, are short (~22) nucleotide RNA sequences found in plants and animals that do not encode proteins but act in gene regulation and, in the process, impact almost all biological processes - from development to physiology to stress response.

26 Apr 2013

Symposium presentation highlights pioneer of gastrointestinal research

A fur trader who suffered an accidental gunshot wound in 1822 and the physician who saw this unfortunate incidence as an opportunity for research are key to much of our early knowledge about the workings of the digestive system, say speakers of an upcoming symposium.

25 Apr 2013

Personalized PSA testing using genetic variants reduces unnecessary prostate biopsies

With the help of genetics, prostate specific antigen screenings may become more accurate and reduce the number of unnecessary prostate biopsies, according to a new study from Northwestern Medicine.

25 Apr 2013

Researchers uncover potential new way to fight obesity-related illness

A potential new way to fight obesity-related illness has been uncovered, thanks to serendipitous research led by investigators at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

24 Apr 2013

Therapy originally conceived for cancer could hold promise for weight loss, say researchers

Researchers have long known that cancerous tumors grow collections of abnormal blood cells, the fuel that feeds this disease and keeps it growing. Now, new evidence in an animal model suggests that blood vessels in the fat tissue of obese individuals could provide the same purpose-and could provide the key to a new way for people to lose weight.

24 Apr 2013

Study: About 42% of screened veterans with blast injuries have irregular hormone levels

Up to 20 percent of veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have experienced at least one blast concussion. New research suggests that nearly half these veterans may have a problem so under-recognized that even military physicians may fail to look for it.

23 Apr 2013