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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

ATA announces five recipients of 2011 thyroid cancer research grants

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) announced the five recipients of its 2011 research grants, each of whom will receive up to $25,000 annually for up to two years. Three of the five recipients were awarded special ATA ThyCa grants for research projects that focus on thyroid cancer. These grants are funded by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors, Inc.

8 Sep 2011

Cyclic proteins transport drugs faster

Biologists at the Technische Universität Darmstadt have discovered means for speeding the transport of the active ingredients of drugs into live cells that might allow drastically reducing drug dosages in the future.

8 Sep 2011

Inhibition of Sab protein protects liver from acetaminophen toxicity

New research from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) may help prevent damage to the liver caused by drugs like acetaminophen and other stressors.

8 Sep 2011

IFT member explains facts about antioxidants

IFT Member Claudia Fajardo-Lira, PhD, Professor of Food Science and Nutrition at California State University-Northridge, explains the facts about antioxidants.

8 Sep 2011

Biochemists reveal interaction between tumor suppressor protein and chaperone

Every cell has thousands of proteins whose activity and lifetime must be regulated to control the cellular life cycle from cell division to cell death. The heat shock protein Hsp90 plays a key role in this process. It is a so-called chaperone, a quality controller, as it were. It monitors and controls the quality and activity of many important signal proteins and helps them take on the right form. When the cell is exposed to high stress levels from heat or a lack of oxygen, Hsp90 is produced in larger quantities to shield its partner proteins from damage.

8 Sep 2011

New surprising discovery on division of mitochondria within cells

A surprising new discovery by the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of California, Davis regarding the division of tiny "power plants" within cells known as mitochondria has implications for better understanding a wide variety of human diseases and conditions due to mitochondrial defects.

8 Sep 2011

Developing technologies to improve treatment of craniosynostosis in babies

Engineers and surgeons are working together to improve the treatment of babies born with craniosynostosis, a condition that causes the bone plates in the skull to fuse too soon. Treating this condition typically requires surgery after birth to remove portions of the fused skull bones, and in some cases the bones grow together again too quickly -- requiring additional surgeries.

8 Sep 2011

Study: Protein's structural arrangement can change its signaling function

In a joint study, scientists from the California and Florida campuses of The Scripps Research Institute have shown that changes in a protein's structure can change its signaling function and they have pinpointed the precise regions where those changes take place.

8 Sep 2011

Researchers identify new genetic cause of inherited Parkinson's disease

A large team of international researchers have identified a new genetic cause of inherited Parkinson's disease that they say may be related to the inability of brain cells to handle biological stress.

8 Sep 2011

Loss of estrogen receptor alpha protein may lead to metabolic syndrome

UCLA researchers demonstrated that loss of a key protein that regulates estrogen and immune activity in the body could lead to aspects of metabolic syndrome, a combination of conditions that can cause Type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and cancer. Called estrogen receptor alpha, this protein is critical in regulating immune system activity such as helping cells suppress inflammation and gobble-up debris.

7 Sep 2011

Biomaterials may heal chronic diabetic wounds

Biomaterials may prove key to healing chronic wounds in Diabetic patients, delegates will hear today at the 24th European Conference on Biomaterials. Over 950 delegates are at the event in Dublin, which is jointly hosted by NUI Galway's Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials and the University of Ulster, Jordanstown.

7 Sep 2011

London scientist hopes to improve diagnosis for Jeune syndrome

A London scientist is hoping a new study funded by children's charity Action Medical Research, will help to improve diagnosis and work towards new treatments for a rare, incurable genetic disorder called Jeune syndrome.

7 Sep 2011

GSK receives HHS' BARDA contract to support development of Gram-negative antibiotic, GSK2251052

Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced today that its partner, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has been awarded a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support the ongoing development of GSK2251052 (GSK '052, formerly AN3665), a novel boron-based Gram-negative systemic antibiotic discovered by Anacor.

7 Sep 2011

Researchers discover new genetic defect that can lead to Leigh syndrome

In Leigh syndrome, infants are born apparently healthy only to develop movement and breathing disorders that worsen over time, often leading to death by the age of 3. The problem is that the mitochondria responsible for powering their cells can't keep up with the demand for energy in their developing brains.

7 Sep 2011

Pancreatic mesenchyme plays central role in the formation of mature beta cells

A somewhat mysterious soft tissue found in the fetus during early development in the womb plays a pivotal role in the formation of mature beta cells the sole source of the body's insulin. This discovery, made by scientists at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Texas A&M University, may lead to new ways of addressing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

7 Sep 2011

Scientists uncover new ways to stimulate pancreatic beta cell growth

One of the holy grails in diabetes research is to discover molecules that stimulate beta cell growth and to find drugs that target these molecules. Now, JDRF-funded researchers in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche, have done both, discovering not only a protein that regulates beta cell growth, but also a chemical compound that stimulates it.

7 Sep 2011

Leading cancer journals publish OncoGenex's custirsen pre-clinical and Phase II study data

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that data from two studies, a Phase II clinical study and a pre-clinical study, evaluating the investigational compound custirsen, were published in the September issues of the journals Clinical Cancer Research and Cancer Research.

7 Sep 2011

Researchers investigate special diets that could help youngsters keep the weight off

A shocking 17 per cent of boys and 15 per cent of girls aged two to 15 years are obese in the UK, putting them at risk of serious, long-term health problems. Now a team of Aberdeen researchers are investigating special diets which could help youngsters keep the weight off, thanks to a grant from children's charity Action Medical Research.

7 Sep 2011

Fujirebio Diagnostics receives FDA 510(k) clearance for Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm test

Fujirebio Diagnostics, the industry leader in oncology biomarker assays, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the company's HE4 Test in an algorithm called ROMA (HE4 EIA + ARCHITECT CA 125 II) to aid in assessing whether a premenopausal or postmenopausal woman who presents with an ovarian adnexal mass is at high or low likelihood of finding malignancy on surgery.

7 Sep 2011

Discovery of a key protein’s role in cell clearance could impact future treatments of autoimmune diseases, obesity and atherosclerosis

The healthy human body is extremely efficient at cleaning house. Every day, we purge 100 to 200 billion dead or dying cells – a process called cell clearance, which is fundamental in our ability to maintain a healthy physiological balance and prevent a number of chronic diseases. Professional cleaning cells, called phagocytes, are responsible for ridding the body of dead, or ‘apoptotic,’ cells.

6 Sep 2011