Molecular Biology News and Research

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Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis as well as learning how these interactions are regulated.

Study analyzes role of PARP enzyme in eukaryotes

An Ohio State University molecular biologist leveraged a supercomputer to help better define the family tree of a group of enzymes that have been implicated in a wide range of human diseases and are important targets for anti-cancer therapies.

8 Mar 2011

Scientists develop new method that uncovers combined effects of genes

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the German Cancer Research Centre, both in Heidelberg, Germany, have developed a new method that uncovers the combined effects of genes.

8 Mar 2011

Klotho protein discovery can lead to new class of drugs for treatment of obesity

An important discovery in mice may make a big difference in people's waistlines thanks to a team of Harvard scientists who found that reducing the function of a transmembrane protein, called Klotho, in obese mice with high blood sugar levels produced lean mice with reduced blood sugar levels.

8 Mar 2011

Study shows how individual cells behave during blood vessel formation

Biologists tend to look at cells in bulk, observing them as a group and taking the average behavior as the norm - the assumption is that genetically identical cells all behave the same way.

8 Mar 2011

Neuropathologist receives AAN Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer's disease research

The American Academy of Neurology has awarded the 2011 Potamkin Prize to Dennis Dickson, M.D., a neuropathologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida and the Robert E. Jacoby Professor for Alzheimer's Disease Research.

3 Mar 2011

'Implementation science' approach to play a critical role in next phase of PEPFAR program

An "implementation science" approach will play a critical role in the next phase of The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, according to an editorial in JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

3 Mar 2011

Glycogen study findings shed light on possible route to treat Lafora disease

Indiana University scientists have solved a perplexing mystery regarding one of the body's main energy storage molecules, in the process shedding light on a possible route to treatment of a rare but deadly disease in teenagers.

2 Mar 2011

Cancer drug may help combat flu

Ever get a flu shot and still get the flu? If so, there's new hope for flu-free winters in the years to come thanks to a new discovery by researchers who found that a drug called DMXAA, originally developed as anti-tumor agent, enhances the ability of flu vaccines to ward off this deadly virus.

1 Mar 2011

Research uncovers new details about protein interactions in retina

Science fiction novelist and scholar Issac Asimov once said, "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny.' " This recently rang true for an international team of researchers when they observed something they did not expect.

1 Mar 2011

New study: Little historical evidence justifies economic downturns linked with large cuts in health aid

The World Bank and World Health Organization have voiced fears that policymakers will break their commitments to support desperately needed global health services in low- and middle-income countries because of the ongoing global economic downturn. Yet, according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health, there is surprisingly little historical evidence to justify reversing these commitments.

28 Feb 2011

Study: HT may affect symptom load and quality of life unrelated to hypothyroidism

Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an inflammatory disorder of the thyroid, is the most common cause of hypothyroidism, but a study has suggested that even when thyroid function is normal, HT may increase symptoms and decrease quality of life, as described in an article in Thyroid, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

27 Feb 2011

Foreign-born scientists and artists receive sixth annual Vilcek Prize for Biomedical Science

The Vilcek Foundation is pleased to announce the 2011 winners of its annual prizes honoring the contributions of foreign-born scientists and artists.

24 Feb 2011

Scientists suggest that lateral habenula can be a prime locus of human depression

A team of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory and UC San Diego has collected evidence suggesting that a previously overlooked portion of the brain could be a prime locus of human depression.

24 Feb 2011

Ibio acquires Orphan Drug Designation and Fabry disease therapeutic program from Kentucky

iBio, Inc. today announced it has acquired Orphan Drug Designation for plant-produced human alpha galactosidase A and related property rights from an affiliate of Kentucky Bioprocessing LLC and has initiated a program, based on its iBioLaunch platform, to develop an improved version of the enzyme for therapy of Fabry disease.

23 Feb 2011

AAN honors three researchers with 2011 Potamkin Prize for dementia study

The American Academy of Neurology is awarding its 2011 Potamkin Prize to three researchers for their work in dementia. Dennis Dickson, MD, with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, Eva Maria Mandelkow, MD, PhD, and Eckhard Mandelkow, PhD, both of the Max-Planck-Unit for Structural Molecular Biology in Hamburg, Germany, will receive the Award during the AAN's 63rd Annual Meeting in Hawaii, April 9 - 16, 2011.

17 Feb 2011

Researchers develop new pneumococcal vaccine through novel discovery approach

Pneumococcus accounts for as much as 11 percent of mortality in young children worldwide. While successful vaccines like Prevnar exist, they are expensive and only work against specific pneumococcal strains, with the risk of becoming less effective as new strains emerge.

17 Feb 2011

Muscle, aptly enough, is born of cellular bullying, and not mutual consent

In fact, according to new research from Johns Hopkins, the fusion of muscle cells is a power struggle that involves a smaller mobile antagonist that points at, pokes and finally pushes into its larger, stationary partner using a newly identified finger-like projection.

17 Feb 2011

Molecular explanation to higher tendency for autism among males

George Washington University researcher, Dr. Valerie Hu, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and her team at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, have found that male and female sex hormones regulate expression of an important gene in neuronal cell culture through a mechanism that could explain not only higher levels of testosterone observed in some individuals with autism, but also why males have a higher incidence of autism than females.

17 Feb 2011

New fully human monoclonal antibodies to battle Chikungunya

The Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), an institute of the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and VIVALIS, a French biopharmaceutical company, announced today the discovery of two new fully human monoclonal antibodies which could battle Chikungunya, a disease that currently has no available vaccine or specific treatment.

16 Feb 2011

New study finds racial disparities among elderly Americans in hospital readmissions

Elderly black patients were more likely to be readmitted to the hospital after a prior hospital stay for a heart attack, heart failure, or pneumonia, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health researchers.

16 Feb 2011

Molecular Biology News and Research

Further Reading

Study analyzes role of PARP enzyme in eukaryotes

Scientists develop new method that uncovers combined effects of genes

Klotho protein discovery can lead to new class of drugs for treatment of obesity

Study shows how individual cells behave during blood vessel formation

Neuropathologist receives AAN Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer's disease research

'Implementation science' approach to play a critical role in next phase of PEPFAR program

Glycogen study findings shed light on possible route to treat Lafora disease

Cancer drug may help combat flu

Research uncovers new details about protein interactions in retina

New study: Little historical evidence justifies economic downturns linked with large cuts in health aid

Study: HT may affect symptom load and quality of life unrelated to hypothyroidism

Foreign-born scientists and artists receive sixth annual Vilcek Prize for Biomedical Science

Scientists suggest that lateral habenula can be a prime locus of human depression

Ibio acquires Orphan Drug Designation and Fabry disease therapeutic program from Kentucky

AAN honors three researchers with 2011 Potamkin Prize for dementia study

Researchers develop new pneumococcal vaccine through novel discovery approach

Muscle, aptly enough, is born of cellular bullying, and not mutual consent

Molecular explanation to higher tendency for autism among males

New fully human monoclonal antibodies to battle Chikungunya

New study finds racial disparities among elderly Americans in hospital readmissions

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