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 identify broad patterns of gene activity that correspond to aggression

With a mate and a nest to protect, the male threespined stickleback is a fierce fish, chasing and biting other males until they go away.

15 Nov 2012

Courtagen, AGBL enter exclusive distribution agreement for clinical tests

Courtagen Life Sciences Inc. announced today they have signed an exclusive strategic distribution agreement with the Alliance Global Group (AGBL) to help clinicians in emerging markets diagnose and manage a number of genetically based disorders.

15 Nov 2012

Researchers describe structure of active site core of topoisomerase II alpha anti-cancer drug target

A group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have for the first time described the structure of the active site core of topoisomerase II alpha, an important target for anti-cancer drugs.

15 Nov 2012

MRSA outbreak tracked and contained using DNA sequencing

Scientists have used DNA sequencing for the first time to effectively track the spread of, and ultimately contain, an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to new research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

14 Nov 2012

Cancer metastasis research facilitated by nanoparticle characterization technology from NanoSight

NanoSight, leading manufacturers of unique nanoparticle characterization technology, reports on the breakthrough cancer metastasis research of Dr. Hector Peinado Selgas and Dr. David Lyden's research team from Weill Cornell Medical College.

13 Nov 2012

Two new EU Member States now represented within TRANSVAC services platform

In addition to the initial panel of nine services, the TRANSVAC transnational access platform has integrated in July 2012 five additional groups which provide their services to users on a free and paid basis. Two new European Union (EU) Member States are now represented within the platform of services: France and Portugal.

8 Nov 2012

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses journal publishes special issue on prevention

The journal of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses has published a special issue examining the "complex factors involved in the sexual transmission of HIV, the urgent need for new preventive approaches, and the most promising methods currently in development," according to a press release from the publisher, Mary Ann Leibert, Inc.

7 Nov 2012

Alpha-herpesvirus axon-to-cell spread involves limited virion transmission

New research suggests that just one or two individual herpes virus particles attack a skin cell in the first stage of an outbreak, resulting in a bottleneck in which the infection may be vulnerable to medical treatment.

7 Nov 2012

New tool can particularly sort tumor-causing cancer cells

A new tool developed by scientists at The Methodist Hospital separates tumor-causing cancer cells from more benign cells by subjecting the cells to a microscopic game of Plinko -- except only the squishiest cells make it through.

3 Nov 2012

Dysfunction in SRGAP3 protein causes developmental brain disorders

A new research discovery has the potential to revolutionize the biological understanding of some childhood psychiatric disorders. Specifically, scientists have found that when a single protein involved in brain development, called "SRGAP3," is malformed, it causes problems in the brain functioning of mice that cause symptoms that are similar to some mental health and neurological disorders in children.

1 Nov 2012

CSHL scientists discover new way to specifically target and kill cancer cells

Cancer cells grow fast. That's an essential characteristic of what makes them cancer cells. They've crashed through all the cell-cycle checkpoints and are continuously growing and dividing, far outstripping our normal cells. To do this they need to speed up their metabolism.

1 Nov 2012

Scientists solve mystery behind what triggers the herpes virus to become active again

The mere mention of the word "herpes" usually conjures negative images and stereotypes, but most people have been infected with some form of the virus. For most, a sore appears, heals and is forgotten, although the virus remains latent just waiting for the right circumstances to come back. Now, the mystery behind what triggers the virus to become active again is closer to being solved thanks to new research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology's November 2012 issue.

1 Nov 2012

New therapy to treat rare form of cystic fibrosis works in unconventional way, scientists say

Scientists at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto have established that a drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat a rare form of cystic fibrosis works in an unconventional way.

29 Oct 2012

New federal funding enables researchers to unravel how humans develop cancers

A Simon Fraser University scientist working at one of Canada's first epigenomics mapping centres says new federal funding will accelerate researchers' ability to unravel how we develop some of the most common life threatening cancers.

26 Oct 2012

Study confirms Elf5 protein as tumor suppressor of breast cancer

A protein that is necessary for lactation in mammals inhibits the critical cellular transition that is an early indicator of breast cancer and metastasis, according to research conducted at the University at Buffalo and Princeton University and highlighted as the cover paper in November issue of Nature Cell Biology.

25 Oct 2012

Novel approach to assemble the 'connectome' via genetic barcoding

A team of neuroscientists has proposed a new and potentially revolutionary way of obtaining a neuronal connectivity map (the "connectome") of the whole brain of the mouse. The details are set forth in an essay published October 23 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

24 Oct 2012

Breast cancer spread dependent on both environment and genetic changes

A new study from Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that the lethal spread of breast cancer is as dependent on a tumor’s protein-rich environment as on genetic changes inside tumor cells.

23 Oct 2012

Insight into calcium pumps in cells

When animals and plants are exposed to influences such as bacterial attack, odour and cold, calcium ions flow into the cells. The calcium provides the cells with a signal about what is going on outside, but as high concentrations of calcium are toxic to the cells, it must be quickly pumped out again.

22 Oct 2012

Research team identifies turbo switch in the vital calcium pump in our body's cells

A Danish-British research team has discovered a turbo switch in the vital calcium pump in our body's cells. In studies at the X-ray source DORIS at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotorn DESY in Hamburg and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility ESRF in Grenoble the team discovered that the on-off switch of the pump has a previously unknown third position, which switches the pump into a turbo gear.

22 Oct 2012

AMP report provides overview of next generation sequencing technology

The Association for Molecular Pathology published the report of the Whole Genome Analysis Working Group of the AMP Clinical Practice Committee in the November 2012 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

20 Oct 2012