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.

Bladder cancer risk linked to genetic alterations

A new analysis has found that genetic alterations in a particular cellular pathway are linked with bladder cancer risk, recurrence, disease progression, and patient survival. Published early online in CANCER, a peer- reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings could help improve bladder cancer screening and treatment.

26 Mar 2013

Genalyte's Maverick Detection System gets CE mark in Europe for research use

Genalyte, Inc. today announced its Maverick Detection System that simultaneously analyzes multiple antibodies and other proteins from a single small sample is now CE marked in Europe for research use.

26 Mar 2013

Genome sequencing reveals drug-resistant bacteria are transmitted from animals to humans

Researchers have used whole genome sequencing to reveal if drug-resistant bacteria are transmitted from animals to humans in two disease outbreaks that occurred on different farms in Denmark.

26 Mar 2013

Two studies shed light on molecular biology of three blood disorders

Two studies led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College shed light on the molecular biology of three blood disorders, leading to novel strategies to treat these diseases.

26 Mar 2013

Protein with key job in muscle function moonlights in nucleus to help regulate genes

A key building block of life, actin is one of the most abundant and highly conserved proteins in eukaryotic cells.

25 Mar 2013

Research findings could lead to new treatments for lung disorders in premature babies

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have made major discoveries that could lead to new treatments for lung disorders in premature babies. In a mouse study, the team located key molecules that switch on stress pathways in preterm lung disorders, and also found that when parts of these pathways were blocked with a pain drug, lung damage was prevented or reversed.

21 Mar 2013

Novel modification of structural protein implicated

Studying a protein that gives structure to the nucleus of cells, Johns Hopkins researchers stumbled upon mutations associated with familial partial lipodystrophy, a rare disease that disrupts normal patterns of fat distribution throughout the body.

21 Mar 2013

Protein derived from Pacific cod may inhibit prostate cancer, researchers say

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified a peptide, or protein, derived from Pacific cod that may inhibit prostate cancer and possibly other cancers from spreading, according to preclinical research published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

20 Mar 2013

NHS intravenous (IV) fluids: an interview with Dr Ian Roberts, LSHTM

Saline is just salty water, whereas colloids are solutions that have large molecules in them. In this case, the molecules are starch. The idea is that because these molecules are big they don’t leak out of the circulation as much.

18 Mar 2013

Scientists sign licensing agreement for anticancer substances

Most cancer patients die of the disease because tumor cells spread to other sites in the body and form new tumors, so-called metastases.

14 Mar 2013

Non-invasive prenatal genetic screening: an interview with Dr. Charles Strom, Senior Medical Director, Quest Diagnostics

A new category of non-invasive genetic screening tests is gaining a great deal of interest in the medical field – including from Quest Diagnostics -- for its potential to help screen women during pregnancy for genetic abnormalities known as trisomies, the most common of which is Down syndrome.

From Quest Diagnostics 13 Mar 2013

ADP-ribose plays key role in repairing cellular DNA damage

Attaching chains of the small molecule ADP-ribose to proteins is important for a cell's survival and the repair of DNA damage, making this process a promising target for the development of new cancer drugs.

13 Mar 2013

Mini-chromosome maintenance protein can change DNA topology: Study

A team of USC scientists has identified a protein that can change DNA topology, making DNA twist up into a so-called "supercoil."

12 Mar 2013

UT Southwestern researcher to receive March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology

Dr. Eric Olson, chairman of molecular biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is the 2013 recipient of the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology for identifying key genetic pathways in the formation of the heart and other muscles.

11 Mar 2013

Researchers identify enzymes that can regulate activity of medically important proteins

Protein activity is strictly regulated. Incorrect or poor protein regulation can lead to uncontrolled growth and thus cancer or chronic inflammation. Members of the Institute of Veterinary Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Zurich have identified enzymes that can regulate the activity of medically important proteins.

11 Mar 2013

Cell fusion studies at Johns Hopkins could lead to improved treatments for muscular dystrophy

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have established a high-efficiency cell-cell fusion system, providing a new model to study how fusion works. The scientists showed that fusion between two cells is not equal and mutual as some assumed, but, rather, is initiated and driven by one of the fusion partners. The discovery, they say, could lead to improved treatments for muscular dystrophy, since muscle regeneration relies on cell fusion to make muscle fibers that contain hundreds or even thousands of nuclei.

8 Mar 2013

Researchers discover ovarian stem-like epithelial cells that can mutate to form tumors

In collaboration with colleagues at Cornell University, a team of cancer researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has discovered cells with stem-cell properties in the ovary that can mutate to form tumors.

8 Mar 2013

SRSF1 protein can prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53

Some cellular proteins have multiple, and occasionally opposing, functions. Professor Adrian Krainer and colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory demonstrate in a paper published online today in Molecular Cell that the oncogenic protein SRSF1 can also trigger a stop in cell growth and prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53, the powerful tumor-suppressor protein.

8 Mar 2013

CALHM1 protein plays critical role in sweet, bitter and umami taste perception

Working with a multidisciplinary consortium of 19 researchers from nine institutions, Monell scientists have provided critical information to identify CALHM1, a channel in the walls of taste receptor cells, as a necessary component in the process of sweet, bitter, and umami (savory) taste perception.

7 Mar 2013

Insight into how Th17 cell growth influences development of immune responses

New work from the Broad Institute's Klarman Cell Observatory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, MIT, and Yale University expands the understanding of how one type of immune cell - known as a T helper 17 or Th17 cell - develops, and how its growth influences the development of immune responses.

7 Mar 2013

Molecular Biology News and Research

Further Reading

Bladder cancer risk linked to genetic alterations

Genalyte's Maverick Detection System gets CE mark in Europe for research use

Genome sequencing reveals drug-resistant bacteria are transmitted from animals to humans

Two studies shed light on molecular biology of three blood disorders

Protein with key job in muscle function moonlights in nucleus to help regulate genes

Research findings could lead to new treatments for lung disorders in premature babies

Novel modification of structural protein implicated

Protein derived from Pacific cod may inhibit prostate cancer, researchers say

NHS intravenous (IV) fluids: an interview with Dr Ian Roberts, LSHTM

Scientists sign licensing agreement for anticancer substances

Non-invasive prenatal genetic screening: an interview with Dr. Charles Strom, Senior Medical Director, Quest Diagnostics

ADP-ribose plays key role in repairing cellular DNA damage

Mini-chromosome maintenance protein can change DNA topology: Study

UT Southwestern researcher to receive March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology

Researchers identify enzymes that can regulate activity of medically important proteins

Cell fusion studies at Johns Hopkins could lead to improved treatments for muscular dystrophy

Researchers discover ovarian stem-like epithelial cells that can mutate to form tumors

SRSF1 protein can prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53

CALHM1 protein plays critical role in sweet, bitter and umami taste perception

Insight into how Th17 cell growth influences development of immune responses

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