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Diabetes medication can help white blood cells fight bacterial infections

Pioglitazone, a medication approved for treatment of type 2 diabetes, can help bypass genetic defects in chronic granulomatous disease to help white blood cells fight bacterial infections, according to researchers at National Jewish Health.

12 Feb 2015

TUSM researchers awarded $7.4 million to study brain impairment in patients infected with HIV

Researchers at Temple University School of Medicine have been awarded a $7.4 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to determine how cocaine and HIV-1 interact to cause brain impairment in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

11 Feb 2015

New study shows mechanism behind tubulin transport in cilia

Defective cilia can lead to a host of diseases and conditions in the human body--from rare, inherited bone malformations to blindness, male infertility, kidney disease and obesity. Scientists knew that somehow these tiny cell organelles become deformed and cause these diseases because of a problem related to their assembly, which requires the translocation of vast quantities of the vital cell protein tubulin.

28 Jan 2015

Researchers explore how M6P deficiency affects different kinds of immune cells

A group of white blood cells known as B cells, which play a key role in the human immune response, need a protein-targeting signal called mannose 6-phosphate (M6P) in order to proliferate, differentiate, and present immune cell-activating antigens, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology.

20 Jan 2015

Modelling the biological mesoscale: an interview with Professor Art Olson

The biological mesoscale range includes biological structures that range from 10 to 100 nanometers (billionths of a meter). Structures in this size range include viruses, cellular organelles, large molecular complexes, and any other internal cellular environments within that range.

18 Jan 2015

Research finding could inspire new ideas for treating type 2 oculocutaneous albinism

Newly published research provides the first demonstration of how a genetic mutation associated with a common form of albinism leads to the lack of melanin pigments that characterizes the condition.

17 Dec 2014

UAlberta researchers discover link between pulmonary hypertension, diabetes and cancer

A UAlberta team has discovered that a protein that plays a critical role in metabolism, the process by which the cell generates energy from foods, is important for the development of pulmonary hypertension, a deadly disease.

30 Oct 2014

TSRI scientists discover signaling pathway that contribute to Huntington's disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered a major contributor to Huntington's disease, a devastating progressive neurological condition that produces involuntary movements, emotional disturbance and cognitive impairment.

29 Oct 2014

Researchers discover mitochondrial and nuclear tRNA-lookalikes in human genome

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are ancient workhorse molecules and part of the cellular process that creates the proteins, critical building blocks of life that keep a cell running smoothly.

9 Oct 2014

MicroRNA molecule plays crucial role in managing cell survival and growth

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a microRNA molecule as a surprisingly crucial player in managing cell survival and growth.

8 Oct 2014

UCLA research may lead to novel treatment for PH1

Research by UCLA biochemists may lead to a new treatment - or even a cure - for PH1, a rare and potentially deadly genetic kidney disease that afflicts children. Their findings also may provide important insights into treatments for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative diseases.

27 Sep 2014

Mfn2 protein: A future therapeutic target for neuronal death reduction in ischemic stroke

A new study published in the prestigious publication The EMBO Journal shows that the mitochondrial protein Mfn2 may be a future therapeutic target for neuronal death reduction in the late phases of an ischemic stroke.

24 Sep 2014

New study sheds light on longstanding question about role of mitochondria in motor neuron diseases

A new study by researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine sheds light on a longstanding question about the role of mitochondria in debilitating and fatal motor neuron diseases and resulted in a new mouse model to study such illnesses.

22 Sep 2014

Artificial cells to devour undesirables: an interview with Dr. Takanari Inoue

If junk is not removed, pathological conditions can develop. For example, in one condition, the neutrophil count significantly decreases. Neutrophils remove pathogens and people with a reduced neutrophil count are more prone to infection, especially to rare bacteria that wouldn’t cause infection under normal conditions.

3 Sep 2014

Study suggests autophagy is involved in the onset of vascular dementia

Autophagy is a basic catabolic mechanism by which unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components are degraded by lysosomes.

12 Aug 2014

Researchers discover how arginine starvation specifically kills cancer cells

Researchers at UC Davis, City of Hope, Taipai Medical University and National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan have discovered how a drug that deprives the cells of a key amino acid specifically kills cancer cells.

12 Aug 2014

Penn physiologist receives Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from NIH

Erika Holzbaur, PhD, a professor of Physiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has received the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health.

6 Aug 2014

Mice lacking specific protein live longer lives with fewer age-related illnesses

While developing a new cancer drug, researchers at The Wistar Institute discovered that mice lacking a specific protein live longer lives with fewer age-related illnesses.

31 Jul 2014

CCC study provides hope that SapC-DOPS could be used for metastatic brain cancer treatment

Over half of patients being seen in the clinic for a diagnosed brain tumor have metastatic cancer, which has no treatment and detrimental outcomes in most cases.

25 Jul 2014

Clinical study aims to validate preventive treatment against tumor metastasis

Metastasis, the strategy adopted by tumor cells to transform into an aggressive form of cancer, are often associated with a gloomy prognosis. Managing to block the metastasis or, even better, prevent their formation would be a giant step towards the fight against cancer.