Protein News and Research

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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.

New research finds way to switch off breast cancer and leukaemia

Australian scientists have identified a way of switching off a molecule, which plays a key role in the process that triggers breast cancer and certain forms of leukaemia.

11 Aug 2008

Therapies which boost the clearance of faulty proteins in cells may slow down ageing

Scientists say as people age, their cells become less efficient at getting rid of damaged protein and the result is a buildup of toxic material; this is particularly apparent in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders associated with ageing.

11 Aug 2008

New treatment in the pipeline for leukaemia and rheumatoid arthritis

Australian scientists believe they are well on the way to developing a new treatment for leukaemia and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

10 Aug 2008

Gab2 signalling protein switches off breast cancer and leukaemia

Australian scientists have identified a way to 'switch off' a molecule, a key player in the molecular processes that trigger breast cancer and certain forms of leukaemia.

10 Aug 2008

RNAi used to dramatically suppress HIV infection in an organism

Hopes languished last September when a promising candidate HIV vaccine failed to work. Despite this setback, many researchers still believe immunization is possible, and a new study suggests they're correct-at least at the cellular level.

10 Aug 2008

Scientists stop age-related decline in an entire organ

As people age, their cells become less efficient at getting rid of damaged protein - resulting in a buildup of toxic material that is especially pronounced in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

10 Aug 2008

Research finds a role for the GABA neurotransmitter in maintaining energy balance

Controlling body weight is a complicated process, as any frustrated dieter might attest. But as scientists continue to investigate the brain's intricate neurocircuitry and its role in maintaining energy balance, they are forming a clearer picture of the myriad events that lead to weight gain and weight loss.

10 Aug 2008

New therapeutic platform technology tackles major diseases

A spin out company from basic structural biology, Asterion Ltd., has led to new technology that provides a way of creating therapeutic proteins to tackle major diseases such as cancer, diabetes and infertility.

8 Aug 2008

Molecular bridge serves as a tether for a cell's nucleus

A cell's nucleus - home of it its most precious contents - is a delicate envelope that, without support, is barely able to withstand the forces that keep it in place. Now, researchers have discovered a network of molecules in the nuclear membrane that provide the nucleus with rigidity and also facilitate a previously undiscovered form of communication between the cell's nucleus and its cytoplasm.

8 Aug 2008

New understanding on how Chilli peppers increase metabolism and body temperature

Chilli peppers can do more than just make you feel hot, reports a study in the August 1 Journal of Biological Chemistry; the active chemical in peppers can directly induce thermogenesis, the process by which cells convert energy into heat.

6 Aug 2008

Rituximab significantly reduces kidney injury in membranous nephropathy

The drug rituximab causes considerable kidney injury healing in patients with membranous nephropathy, a common form of kidney disease, according to a study appearing in the November 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

6 Aug 2008

Discovery of vital key to cancer

University of Manchester scientists have uncovered the 3D structure of Mps1 - a protein that regulates the number of chromosomes during cell division and thus has an essential role in the prevention of cancer - which will lead to the design of safer and more effective therapies.

From The University of Manchester 6 Aug 2008

Step forward in search for solution to Staphylococcus aureus infection

Scientists at the University of York have helped to reveal more about the way bacteria can attach to human tissues.

6 Aug 2008

Genetic biomarker linked to subcutaneous growth hormone dose-response

The interindividual variability of response to subcutaneously applied protein-based drugs remains poorly understood. However, defining genetic markers that can be associated with biological effects of such drugs may improve the understanding of individual variability of response and even drug resistance.

6 Aug 2008

Recipe for cell reprogramming adds protein

A drug-like molecule called Wnt can be substituted for the cancer gene c-Myc, one of four genes added to adult cells to reprogram them to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, according to Whitehead researchers.

6 Aug 2008

How short RNAs influence many proteins

During the last decade, microRNAs have emerged somewhat surprisingly as key players in the way genes are regulated. These short snippets of RNA do their work by interacting with messenger RNAs, which act as blueprints for protein creation.

6 Aug 2008

Findings may aid in bone marrow transplants, blood diseases

New research sheds light on the biological events by which stem cells in the bone marrow develop into the broad variety of cells that circulate in the blood. The findings may help improve the success of bone marrow transplants and develop better treatments for life-threatening blood diseases.

5 Aug 2008

Bionor Immuno trials new innovative therapeutic immunization designed to help existing HIV and AIDS patients

Bionor Immuno today announced that it has advanced its efforts to develop the first HIV therapeutic immunization with the dosing of patients in a global Phase 2b clinical trial of the company's lead candidate (Vacc-4x).

4 Aug 2008

Testosterone and body fat are controlled by the same genes

Genes that control percentage of body fat are also responsible for circulating levels of testosterone in men, research published in the latest edition of Clinical Endocrinology shows. The research shows a 23% overlap between the genes that control testosterone and those that regulate body fat composition, suggesting that these two variables are partly controlled by the same set of genes.

4 Aug 2008

Scientists discover link between DNA copy number changes and cancer risk

Scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have discovered a link between a newly discovered form of inherited genetic alteration, termed DNA copy number variation (CNV), and cancer susceptibility.

4 Aug 2008