Biochemistry News and Research

RSS

Generation of iPSCs can be enhanced by modulating miRNA action

Stem cells are ideal tools to understand disease and develop new treatments; however, they can be difficult to obtain in necessary quantities. In particular, generating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be an arduous task because reprogramming differentiated adult skin cells into iPS cells requires many steps and the efficiency is very low - researchers might end up with only a few iPS cells even if they started with a million skin cells.

3 Feb 2011

Vegetarians, vegans need to increase omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12 to reduce heart disease risk

People who follow a vegan lifestyle - strict vegetarians who try to eat no meat or animal products of any kind - may increase their risk of developing blood clots and atherosclerosis or "hardening of the arteries," which are conditions that can lead to heart attacks and stroke. That's the conclusion of a review of dozens of articles published on the biochemistry of vegetarianism during the past 30 years.

3 Feb 2011

Malarial drugs may help treat specific form of frontotemporal dementia

Frontotemporal dementia is caused by a breakdown of nerve cells in the frontal and temporal region of the brain, which leads to, among other symptoms, a change in personality and behavior. The cause of some forms of frontotemporal dementia is a genetically determined reduction of a hormone-like growth factor, progranulin.

3 Feb 2011

Daily probiotic may help prevent upper respiratory tract infections in athletes: Research

Researchers at Loughborough University have revealed that a simple, daily probiotic might help prevent athletes catching colds during their training and competition.

2 Feb 2011

Extensive, reversible changes in heart take place when exposed to low oxygen levels

From the highest mountaintop comes a new research report in the FASEB Journal that gets to the bottom of what happens to the hearts of people when exposed to low-levels of oxygen, such as those on Mount Everest or in the intensive care unit of a hospital.

1 Feb 2011

USPTO Board of Patent Appeals rules in favor of Pacific Biosciences in case against Life Technologies

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. today announced that the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has rendered a decision in a previously announced patent interference provoked by Pacific Biosciences related to single molecule sequencing. The decision cancels all patent claims by Life Technologies Corporation involved in the interference.

1 Feb 2011

Histamine can be an important molecule to develop new treatments for MS

If you think histamines are your nemesis during allergy season, here's something that might change your perspective. New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that histamine could be an important molecule to developing new treatments for multiple sclerosis.

1 Feb 2011

Antibiotic may help in development of new anti-cancer agents: Researchers

An antibiotic known for its immunosuppressive functions could also point the way to the development of new anti-cancer agents, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have reported.

28 Jan 2011

WOUNDS article profiles efficacy of Quick-Med's antimicrobial BIOGUARD dressings

Quick-Med Technologies, Inc. announced today that the February 2011 issue of WOUNDS, the leading peer-reviewed journal in the wound care field, will feature an article authored by Quick-Med's Albina Mikhaylova, PhD. The article profiles the safety and antimicrobial efficacy of cutting edge antimicrobial dressings employing Quick-Med's patented NIMBUS technology and marketed by Derma Sciences, Inc. under its BIOGUARD® trademark.

28 Jan 2011

NIH awards CCTSI $2.2 million grant to advance personalized medicine

A federal grant totaling $2.2 million shows how the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Anschutz Medical Campus are using technology to advance the cutting-edge field of personalized medicine -- tailoring treatments to the individual based on their genetic make-up.

28 Jan 2011

McGill, GSK enter collaborative research agreement on cystic fibrosis

McGill University and GlaxoSmithKline plc have signed a collaboration agreement to develop a potential breakthrough approach to treat cystic fibrosis, a fatal genetic disease. The trans-Atlantic effort between researchers from McGill's Faculty of Medicine and their GSK collaborators in the UK, will focus on developing molecules that could treat the disease by correcting the dysfunction caused by the mutated gene.

28 Jan 2011

Discovery of aldose reductase enzyme can result in new therapies for asthma and COPD

Researchers have proved that a single "master switch" enzyme, known as aldose reductase, is key in producing excess mucous that clogs the airways of people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

28 Jan 2011

Gene signature can accurately predict breast cancer outcomes

Researchers from McGill University's Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Centre, the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School have discovered a gene signature that can accurately predict which breast cancer patients are at risk of relapse, thereby sparing those who are not from the burdens associated with unnecessary treatment.

28 Jan 2011

Functional tests are necessary to understand human disease despite genetic sequencing

Despite what you might have heard, genetic sequencing alone is not enough to understand human disease. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have shown that functional tests are absolutely necessary to understand the biological relevance of the results of sequencing studies as they relate to disease, using a suite of diseases known as the ciliopathies which can cause patients to have many different traits.

24 Jan 2011

Researchers reveal how genetic mutation contributes to cancer development

Scientists around the world have been hot on the trail of a genetic mutation closely associated with some brain cancers and leukemia since the mutation's discovery in 2008. The hunt is now yielding fruit. In the Jan. 18, 2011 issue of Cancer Cell, researchers reveal how the mutation contributes to cancer development and suggest potential ways to counter its effects.

21 Jan 2011

Scientists discover fundamental mechanism behind toxic protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases

Protein aggregation underlies several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's chorea or Parkinson's. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, now discovered a fundamental mechanism which explains how toxic protein aggregation occurs and why it leads to a widespread impairment of essential cellular functions.

20 Jan 2011

Small molecules may inhibit entry of Ebola into human cells

Ebola, a virus that causes deadly hemorrhagic fever in humans, has no known cure or vaccine. But a new study by University of Illinois at Chicago scientists has uncovered a family of small molecules which appear to bind to the virus's outer protein coat and may inhibit its entry into human cells.

20 Jan 2011

Dextran-coated onto iron oxide nanoparticles can detect cholera toxin: Study

A complex sugar may someday become one of the most effective weapons to stop the spread of cholera, a disease that has claimed thousands of lives in Haiti since the devastating earthquake last year.

19 Jan 2011

Study may help develop novel ways to combat lipotoxic cardiomyopathy, related heart disease

A team led by Rolf Bodmer, Ph.D. at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute recently unraveled an alternative pathway to lipotoxic cardiomyopathy in fruit flies - a genetic mechanism that occurs independently of a diet high in fat.

19 Jan 2011

iBio grants commercial, royalty-bearing license to Fiocruz/Bio-Manguinhos for new yellow fever vaccine

iBio, Inc. today announced the grant of a commercial, royalty-bearing license to Fiocruz/Bio-Manguinhos of Brazil to develop, manufacture and sell certain vaccines based upon iBio's proprietary technology. Fiocruz/Bio-Manguinhos will invest more than $6 million to bring the first product - a new yellow fever vaccine - through Phase I clinical trials.

18 Jan 2011

Biochemistry News and Research

Generation of iPSCs can be enhanced by modulating miRNA action

Vegetarians, vegans need to increase omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12 to reduce heart disease risk

Malarial drugs may help treat specific form of frontotemporal dementia

Daily probiotic may help prevent upper respiratory tract infections in athletes: Research

Extensive, reversible changes in heart take place when exposed to low oxygen levels

USPTO Board of Patent Appeals rules in favor of Pacific Biosciences in case against Life Technologies

Histamine can be an important molecule to develop new treatments for MS

Antibiotic may help in development of new anti-cancer agents: Researchers

WOUNDS article profiles efficacy of Quick-Med's antimicrobial BIOGUARD dressings

NIH awards CCTSI $2.2 million grant to advance personalized medicine

McGill, GSK enter collaborative research agreement on cystic fibrosis

Discovery of aldose reductase enzyme can result in new therapies for asthma and COPD

Gene signature can accurately predict breast cancer outcomes

Functional tests are necessary to understand human disease despite genetic sequencing

Researchers reveal how genetic mutation contributes to cancer development

Scientists discover fundamental mechanism behind toxic protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases

Small molecules may inhibit entry of Ebola into human cells

Dextran-coated onto iron oxide nanoparticles can detect cholera toxin: Study

Study may help develop novel ways to combat lipotoxic cardiomyopathy, related heart disease

iBio grants commercial, royalty-bearing license to Fiocruz/Bio-Manguinhos for new yellow fever vaccine

Biochemistry eBook

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Latest Life Science News