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.

Without glial cells, animals lose their senses

Sensory neurons have always put on a good show. But now it turns out they'll be sharing the credit. In groundbreaking research to appear in the October 31 issue of Science, Rockefeller University scientists show that while neurons play the lead role in detecting sensory information, a second type of cell, the glial cell, pulls the strings behind the scenes.

3 Nov 2008

How the Nodal gene family keeps the heart in the right (asymmetric) place

Asymmetry is crucial for the heart proper functioning, and now, scientists from the Institute Gulbenkian of Science in Portugal and Harvard University, have discovered that a family of genes, called Nodal, is crucial determining this asymmetry by controlling the speed and direction of the heart muscle cells during embryonic development.

2 Nov 2008

New method provides panoramic view of protein-RNA interactions in living cells

DNA, it has turned out, isn't all it was cracked up to be. In recent years we learned that the molecule of life, the discovery of the 20th century, did not - could not - by itself explain the huge differences in complexity between a human and a worm.

2 Nov 2008

Double-barreled immune cell approach for neuroblastoma

Adding an artificial tumor-specific receptor to immune system cells called T-lymphocytes that target a particular virus extended and improved the cells' ability to fight a form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, said researchers form Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Medicine.

2 Nov 2008

Scientists develop genome-wide platform to study how specialized proteins regulate RNA in living, intact cells

DNA, it has turned out, isn't all it was cracked up to be. In recent years we learned that the molecule of life, the discovery of the 20th century, did not -- could not -- by itself explain the huge differences in complexity between a human and a worm.

2 Nov 2008

Alternative splicing in genes more prevalent than previously believed

Scientists have long known that it's possible for one gene to produce slightly different forms of the same protein by skipping or including certain sequences from the messenger RNA.

2 Nov 2008

Gleevec holds potential as first drug to successfully treat neurofibromatosis

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine report that the anti-cancer drug Gleevec holds out promise to become the first effective treatment for neurofibromatosis, a genetic disease that has resisted treatments until now.

30 Oct 2008

By imaging live cells, researchers show how hepatitis C replicates

The hepatitis C virus is a prolific replicator, able to produce up to a trillion particles per day in an infected person by hijacking liver cells in which to build up its viral replication machinery.

30 Oct 2008

New grant for blood substitutes

Researchers in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Essex have been awarded almost £115,000 to develop a life-saving blood substitute.

29 Oct 2008

Drinking milk to ease milk allergy?

Giving children with milk allergies increasingly higher doses of milk over time may ease, and even help them completely overcome, their allergic reactions, according to the results of a study led by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and conducted jointly with Duke University.

29 Oct 2008

Rice can trigger a severe allergic reaction in babies

According to new research by Australian doctors, contrary to the current view of it as a hypo-allergenic foodstuff, rice can trigger a severe allergic reaction in babies.

29 Oct 2008

Protein in urine could be a predictor of heart disease

Scientists at the George Institute for International Health say urine tests should be incorporated into analysing heart disease risk.

29 Oct 2008

Researchers discover new way to attack some forms of leukemia

Each year, some 29,000 adults and 2,000 children are diagnosed with leukemia, a form of cancer that is caused by the abnormal production of white blood cells in the bone marrow. Current treatments rely primarily on killing the cancer cells, which also destroys normal cells. But what if a way could be found to reprogram cancerous cells back into normal cells? A team of Syracuse University researchers believes it may have found a way to do just that.

28 Oct 2008

Researchers discover how Sonic hedgehog gene controls brain development

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have discovered how the expression of the Sonic hedgehog gene is regulated during brain development and how mutations that alter this process cause brain malformations. The results appear online this month in Nature Genetics.

28 Oct 2008

High-fat diet could promote the development of Alzheimer's

A team of Université Laval researchers has shown that the main neurological markers for Alzheimer's disease are exacerbated in the brains of mice fed a diet rich in animal fat and poor in omega-3s. Details of the study-which suggests that diets typical of most industrialized countries promote the development of Alzheimer's-are outlined in the latest online edition of Neurobiology of Aging.

28 Oct 2008

Systems biology and glycomics used to study human inflammatory diseases

An innovative systems biology approach to understanding the carbohydrate structures in cells is leading to new ways to understand how inflammatory illnesses and cardiovascular disease develop in humans. The work was described in two recent publications by University at Buffalo chemical engineers.

28 Oct 2008

Gene against bacterial attack unravelled

Dutch researcher Joost Wiersinga from AMC Medical Centre in Amsterdam has unravelled a genetic defence mechanism against the lethal bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. The research is the next step towards a vaccine against this bacterium suitable for bioweapons.

28 Oct 2008

Novel cell division mechanism discovered

A novel cell division mechanism has been discovered in a microorganism that thrives in hot acid. The finding may also result in insights into key processes in human cells, and in a better understanding of the main evolutionary lineages of life on Earth. The study is published today in the online version of the journal of the American National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.

28 Oct 2008

New tuberculosis vaccine safer, more effective than BCG vaccine for HIV-positive people

A new tuberculosis vaccine could be safer and more effective than the currently available BCG vaccine, particularly for HIV-positive people, according to a study to be published in the November issue of Infection and Immunity, IANS/Times of India reports (IANS/Times of India, 10/24).

28 Oct 2008

A blood test for pre-eclampsia could be in the pipeline

A condition in pregnancy which costs the lives of thousands of babies each year may soon be identified by a simple blood test long before symptoms develop.

28 Oct 2008