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Discovery of protein, lipid connection could lead to new influenza therapies

The connection between an influenza virus surface protein and a host cell lipid has been discovered by researchers at the University of Maine and the National Institutes of Health. Confirmation of direct interaction between the protein and lipid could lead to new antiviral therapies.

6 Mar 2019

Study unravels microscopic mysteries in the brains of C. elegans

It's the small pieces that make the big picture, and in this case, the pieces can't be seen by the naked eye. New research at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Universit used microscopy techniques to piece together the brain of the millimeter-long Caenorhabditis elegans, revealing that their neurons fire action potentials - a spike in voltage due to neurons sending sensory information in the cell membrane.

5 Mar 2019

Newly developed bioluminescence sensors pave way for drug discovery

Canadian researchers, working in partnership with Brazilian colleagues, have developed 13 bioluminescence sensors for use in testing the effectiveness of new medical drugs in the laboratory.

2 Mar 2019

Protein signaling in embryos is far more complex than previously thought

How cells in developing embryos communicate depends a great deal on context, according to scientists at Rice University.

2 Mar 2019

Researchers develop blood test to predict spontaneous preterm birth

Pregnancy can be a time of uncertainty for expecting mothers and their clinical care teams. Nearly 10 percent of births are preterm, taking place before 37 weeks gestation. Preterm birth can result from several conditions, including preterm labor, preterm rupture of the placental membrane, or preeclampsia.

1 Mar 2019

New clues to triggers of gut inflammation uncovered

New detail about what happens when a key cellular process is impaired in cells that are vital for a healthy gut have been uncovered by a wide-ranging analysis.

28 Feb 2019

Researchers discover origin of resistance to lung cancer

For treating cancer, drugs based on molecules known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors are sometimes used. One such tyrosine kinase inhibitor, called osimertinib, has been used to treat EGFR-mutated lung cancer with a certain degree of efficacy.

25 Feb 2019

Researchers uncover how Gram-negative bacterium delivers toxins that make us sick

Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have uncovered the unique way in which a type of Gram-negative bacterium delivers the toxins that make us sick. Understanding this mechanism may help design better ways to block and eventually control those toxins.

25 Feb 2019

Researchers engineer 'antibody-like' T cell receptors to combat deadly virus

Researchers have engineered "antibody-like" T cell receptors that can specifically stick to cells infected with cytomegalovirus, or CMV, a virus that causes lifelong infection in more than half of all adults by age 40.

23 Feb 2019

Novel MRI sensor can peer deep into the brain to detect intracellular calcium activity

Calcium is a critical signaling molecule for most cells, and it is especially important in neurons. Imaging calcium in brain cells can reveal how neurons communicate with each other; however, current imaging techniques can only penetrate a few millimeters into the brain.

22 Feb 2019

New device allows scientists to reproduce blow effects on the heart in lab

A blow to the chest can have highly contrasting effects. For instance, some baseball players have died after being hit in the chest by a baseball, while patients undergoing fatal cardiac tachyarrhythmias have been saved by an appropriately timed thump to the chest.

22 Feb 2019

Study offers new insights into mechanisms of changes in erythrocytes under stress

Various stress effects make an integral part of modern life, and their minimization is of particular relevance.

22 Feb 2019

New protocol could help physicians to rule out bacterial infections in infants

A new protocol could help emergency room physicians to rule out life-threatening bacterial infections among infants up to 2 months of age who have fevers, potentially eliminating the need for spinal taps, unnecessary antibiotic treatments or expensive hospital stays.

18 Feb 2019

Physicists identify simple mechanism used by deadly bacteria to fend off antibiotics

Physicists at McMaster University have for the first time identified a simple mechanism used by potentially deadly bacteria to fend off antibiotics, a discovery which is providing new insights into how germs adapt and behave at a level of detail never seen before.

18 Feb 2019

Blood-brain barrier disruption could lead to age-related cognitive decline

As our brains age, we become more forgetful, more tired and less able to do the cognitive gymnastics of our youth.

15 Feb 2019

Researchers use optogenetic tool to control, visualize receptor signals in neural cells

Using a novel optogenetic tool, researchers have successfully controlled, reproduced and visualized serotonin receptor signals in neural cells. To this end, they modified a photosensitive membrane receptor in the eye, namely melanopsin.

15 Feb 2019

Cell membrane complexes may be new target for drugs to kill cancer cells

Old molecules and new complexes: researchers at Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina have discovered cell membrane complexes called ceramidosomes that may be a new target for drugs to kill cancer cells.

13 Feb 2019

Human brain protein linked with autism has an effect on fruit fly behavior

A mutant gene that encodes a brain protein in a child with autism has been placed into the brains of fruit flies. Fruit flies hosting that gene produce the variant human brain protein and show abnormal behaviors of fear, repetitive activity and altered social interaction, reminiscent of autism impairments.

12 Feb 2019

New technique uses acoustic waves to measure the stiffness of living cells

MIT engineers have devised a new, noninvasive way to measure the stiffness of living cells using acoustic waves. Their technique allows them to monitor single cells over several generations and investigate how stiffness changes as cells go through the cell division cycle.

11 Feb 2019

New research opens the way for tailored cancer drugs

New research on how cancer mutations influence a certain type of receptor on the cell membrane opens the way for the development of tailored drugs for certain cancers, such as rectal cancer and lung cancer.

11 Feb 2019