Toxin News and Research

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Stem cell model sheds new light on the devastating process of neurodegeneration

A new study published today in Neuron led by The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute's Valentina Fossati, Ph.D., creates astrocytes - an integral support cell in the brain - from stem cells and shows that in disease-like environments, these normally helpful cells can turn into neuron-killers.

1 Jun 2020

Preventing novel coronavirus from entering into a host cell

How might the novel coronavirus be prevented from entering a host cell in an effort to thwart infection? A team of biomedical scientists has made a discovery that points to a solution.

30 May 2020

Eating one meal high in saturated fat may hinder our ability to focus

Fatty food may feel like a friend during these troubled times, but new research suggests that eating just one meal high in saturated fat can hinder our ability to concentrate - not great news for people whose diets have gone south while they're working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

12 May 2020

Study: Diarrhea-causing bacteria provoke host's response to increase infectivity

A type of E. coli bacteria that causes bloody diarrhea uses an amino acid produced by the body in response to infection to intensify its symptoms, according to a new study from UT Southwestern scientists.

12 May 2020

Scientists call for labeling to warn public about arsenic levels in rice

Scientists have called for labeling to warn the public about levels of arsenic in rice, after their research found half of rice varieties studied exceeded maximum limits on the deadly toxin.

4 May 2020

Scientists develop new way to deliver molecules that target specific genes within cells

A group of researchers from University of Toronto Engineering and SickKids Hospital have developed a new way to deliver molecules that target specific genes within cells.

4 May 2020

Researchers recreate how toxins from smoking cause DNA damage

Researchers from the University of York have recreated how toxins from smoking cause unique patterns of DNA damage.

28 Apr 2020

Disarmed anthrax toxin tested as a way to combat Covid-19

Disarmed anthrax toxin is being tested as a way of fighting the Covid-19 virus.

28 Apr 2020

UTSW researchers uncover shape of key protein involved in muscle contraction

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered the detailed shape of a key protein involved in muscle contraction. The report, published today in Neuron, may lead to improved understanding of muscle-weakening genetic conditions called congenital myasthenic syndromes.

12 Apr 2020

UDCA treatment affects C. diff life cycle, reduces inflammatory response in mice

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that a commonly used drug made from secondary bile acids can affect the life cycle of Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) in vitro and reduce the inflammatory response to C. diff in mice.

30 Mar 2020

Engineered botox more effective

A new study reports on an engineered botulinum neurotoxin (botox) that is more effective as well as safer to use in various medical procedures. The study was published in March 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

17 Mar 2020

Researchers solve the riddle of superbug toxin damage to gut

A powerful Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) collaboration has revealed that a bacterial superbug can prevent stem cells in the gut from carrying out their vital role of regenerating the inner lining of the intestine.

16 Mar 2020

Fish consumption during pregnancy associated with improved metabolic health of children

To eat or not to eat fish is a question that has long concerned pregnant women. Now, a new USC study shows that children whose mothers ate fish from one to three times a week during pregnancy were more likely to have a better metabolic profile -- despite the risk of exposure to mercury -- than children whose mothers ate fish rarely (less than once a week).

16 Mar 2020

Scientists discover link between Parkinson's and gene targeted by blue-green algae toxin

Scientists have discovered a possible link between Parkinson's disease and a gene impacted by a neurotoxin found in blue-green algae.

16 Mar 2020

New route for total synthesis of tetrodotoxin

In Japan, puffer fish is considered a delicacy, but the tickle to the taste buds comes with a tickle to the nerves: fugu contains tetrodotoxin, a strong nerve toxin.

6 Mar 2020

New technique helps study peptide-receptor interactions on the cell surface

In the past, biologically-active peptides - small proteins like neurotoxins and hormones that act on cell receptors to alter physiology - were purified from native sources like venoms and then panels of variants were produced in bacteria, or synthesized, to study the structural basis for receptor interaction.

5 Mar 2020