B Cell News and Research

RSS

Scientists develop new approach to design drugs from genome sequence

In research that could ultimately lead to many new medicines, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a potentially general approach to design drugs from genome sequence. As a proof of principle, they identified a highly potent compound that causes cancer cells to attack themselves and die.

10 Feb 2014

Optogenetics technique allows scientists to control neurons' electrical activity

Optogenetics is a technique that allows scientists to control neurons' electrical activity with light by engineering them to express light-sensitive proteins. Within the past decade, it has become a very powerful tool for discovering the functions of different types of cells in the brain.

10 Feb 2014

Researchers examine link between gender and genetic disorder

A genetic disorder that affects about 1 in every 2,500 births can cause a bewildering array of clinical problems, including brain tumors, impaired vision, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, heart defects and bone deformities. The symptoms and their severity vary among patients affected by this condition, known as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).

9 Feb 2014

New cochlear implant requires no external hardware

Cochlear implants - medical devices that electrically stimulate the auditory nerve - have granted at least limited hearing to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who otherwise would be totally deaf.

9 Feb 2014

Prions and their shadow proteins: an interview with Dr Jiri Safar, Co-Director of the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center

The prion diseases were originally discovered by Dr Gajdusek and Dr Gibbs. The first disease discovered was Kuru, which was affecting native tribes in the Papua New Guinea highlands in the 1950s.

9 Feb 2014

Study points to molecular pathway to treat recurring, deadly malignancies

Analyzing the genomes of twin 3-year-old sisters – one healthy and one with aggressive leukemia – led an international team of researchers to identify a novel molecular target that could become a way to treat recurring and deadly malignancies.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers identify protein that promotes growth of brain cells damaged by MS

Vittorio Gallo, PhD, Director of the Center for Neuroscience Research at Children's National Health System, and other researchers have found a "potentially novel therapeutic target" to reduce the rate of deterioration and to promote growth of brain cells damaged by multiple sclerosis (MS). Current therapies can be effective in patients with relapsing MS, but have little impact in promoting tissue growth.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers create promising compound for cancer treatment

A promising compound for cancer treatment has been syntesised in a laboratory by an RMIT University researcher during his PhD research.

9 Feb 2014

Moderate aerobic exercise helps preserve nerve cells in retina after damage

Moderate aerobic exercise helps to preserve the structure and function of nerve cells in the retina after damage, according to an animal study appearing February 12 in The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings suggest exercise may be able to slow the progression of retinal degenerative diseases.

9 Feb 2014

Some neurologic diseases associated with prenatal exposure to inflammatory immune responses

Johns Hopkins researchers report that fetal mice — especially males — show signs of brain damage that lasts into their adulthood when they are exposed in the womb to a maternal immune system kicked into high gear by a serious infection or other malady. The findings suggest that some neurologic diseases in humans could be similarly rooted in prenatal exposure to inflammatory immune responses.

7 Feb 2014

New low-cost device may help pathologists to quickly diagnose pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a particularly devastating disease. At least 94 percent of patients will die within five years, and in 2013 it was ranked as one of the top 10 deadliest cancers.

7 Feb 2014

Gladstone-led study represents important step towards cure for type 1 diabetes

A cure for type 1 diabetes has long eluded even the top experts. Not because they do not know what must be done-but because the tools did not exist to do it. But now scientists at the Gladstone Institutes, harnessing the power of regenerative medicine, have developed a technique in animal models that could replenish the very cells destroyed by the disease.

7 Feb 2014

Researchers identify protein that regulates how genetic information transcribed from DNA to mRNA

Molecular biologists from Indiana University are part of a team that has identified a protein that regulates the information present in a large number of messenger ribonucleic acid molecules that are important for carrying genetic information from DNA to protein synthesis.

7 Feb 2014

Researchers examine how toxin triggers motor neuron death

In most cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, a toxin released by cells that normally nurture neurons in the brain and spinal cord can trigger loss of the nerve cells affected in the disease, Columbia researchers reported today in the online edition of the journal Neuron.

7 Feb 2014

Research suggests that male mice may be vulnerable to effects of maternal inflammation than females

Johns Hopkins researchers report that fetal mice - especially males - show signs of brain damage that lasts into their adulthood when they are exposed in the womb to a maternal immune system kicked into high gear by a serious infection or other malady.

7 Feb 2014

Findings could open door to development of new therapies for treatment of prostate cancer

SCIENTISTS at the University of York have discovered how the prostate gland develops for the first time, according to research published today (Thursday, February 6) in Stem Cell Reports.

7 Feb 2014

Studies shed more light on genetic basis of bone marrow failure

The study, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, detected and identified a new disease gene (ERCC6L2). In its normal form, the gene plays a key role in protecting DNA from damaging agents, but when the gene is mutated the cell is not able to protect itself in the normal way.

7 Feb 2014

TSRI scientists discover unusual protein that probably helps some bacteria evade immune response

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has discovered an unusual bacterial protein that attaches to virtually any antibody and prevents it from binding to its target. Protein M, as it is called, probably helps some bacteria evade the immune response and establish long-term infections.

7 Feb 2014

Researchers design microfluidic platform to see how cancer cells invade specific organs

Nearly 70 percent of patients with advanced breast cancer experience skeletal metastasis, in which cancer cells migrate from a primary tumor into bone - a painful development that can cause fractures and spinal compression.

7 Feb 2014

Cedars-Sinai research team receives grant to develop treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

A Cedars-Sinai research team led by Paul W. Noble, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine and director of the Women's Guild Lung Institute, has been awarded $628,816 by California's stem cell agency to develop a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a deadly disease that destroys the lungs and damages other vital organs.

7 Feb 2014

B Cell News and Research

Scientists develop new approach to design drugs from genome sequence

Optogenetics technique allows scientists to control neurons' electrical activity

Researchers examine link between gender and genetic disorder

New cochlear implant requires no external hardware

Prions and their shadow proteins: an interview with Dr Jiri Safar, Co-Director of the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center

Study points to molecular pathway to treat recurring, deadly malignancies

Researchers identify protein that promotes growth of brain cells damaged by MS

Researchers create promising compound for cancer treatment

Moderate aerobic exercise helps preserve nerve cells in retina after damage

Some neurologic diseases associated with prenatal exposure to inflammatory immune responses

New low-cost device may help pathologists to quickly diagnose pancreatic cancer

Gladstone-led study represents important step towards cure for type 1 diabetes

Researchers identify protein that regulates how genetic information transcribed from DNA to mRNA

Researchers examine how toxin triggers motor neuron death

Research suggests that male mice may be vulnerable to effects of maternal inflammation than females

Findings could open door to development of new therapies for treatment of prostate cancer

Studies shed more light on genetic basis of bone marrow failure

TSRI scientists discover unusual protein that probably helps some bacteria evade immune response

Researchers design microfluidic platform to see how cancer cells invade specific organs

Cedars-Sinai research team receives grant to develop treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Industry focus eBook - Cell and gene therapy (2nd edition) eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

Latest News