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.

James Bond affects the development of breasts!

Breakthrough Breast Cancer has announced that UK scientists have discovered that a gene - named after the James Bond villain Scaramanga - can trigger the development of breasts. This has important implications for breast cancer, as reported in the journal Genes and Development.

1 Sep 2005

New lotion repairs sun damaged skin

Scientists in the U.S. have developed a lotion which repairs sun damaged skin.

1 Sep 2005

MRSA risk doubled in critically ill patients with glucose in their airways

Critically ill patients with glucose in their airways seem to be at double the risk of picking up serious hospital acquired infections, including MRSA, suggests research in Thorax.

1 Sep 2005

Compound called GRN163L blocks lung cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a compound that shows promise as a way to block the spread, or metastasis, of lung cancer.

1 Sep 2005

Pomegranate fruit extracts can block enzymes that contribute to osteoarthritis

The study looked at the ability of an extract of pomegranate fruit against Interleukin-1b (IL-1b), a pro-inflammatory protein molecule that plays a key role in cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis.

1 Sep 2005

When it comes to inflammation, too much of a good thing can be deadly

In some severely injured patients, this normal healing process can develop into a lethal, whole-body response, including bloodstream infection (sepsis) and multiple organ failure. How and why inflammation turns from healing to harming is still mysterious, so doctors can't accurately predict how each injured patient will fare.

31 Aug 2005

Discovery of gene that may play a role in centronuclear myopathy

By studying the molecules that regulate the formation of muscle, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a gene that may play a role in a rare muscular disease in humans.

31 Aug 2005

U.S. to toughen mad cow safeguards after case in Texas

The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) has now formally closed its investigation of the first native U.S. case of mad cow disease, in June this year.

31 Aug 2005

Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome in children may be helped by cancer drugs

Children who suffer from a rare disease called progeria, which accelerates aging and often kills patients when they are in their teens, may possibly be helped by drugs being developed to treat cancer.

31 Aug 2005

Virginia Tech engineer investigates enzyme link to Huntington's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer diseases

Several neurologically based afflictions, such as Huntington's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer diseases, have been correlated to a higher than normal presence of a specific type of enzymes, called transglutaminases (TGase) in the human body.

30 Aug 2005

Danish scientists have identified which head and neck cancer patients will benefit from additional drug treatment during radiotherapy

Tumours that have low concentrations of oxygen (hypoxia) are resistant to radiotherapy. A drug called nimorazole (a hypoxia radiosensitiser) can improve the outcome of radiotherapy for patients with these types of tumours. However, at the moment there is no way to identify people with tumours that lack oxygen, who need this additional drug treatment, from those that only need radiotherapy.

30 Aug 2005

Simple new way to modify collagen, paving the way for better infection-fighting bandages

Collagen often pops up in beauty products and supermodel lips. But by mating collagen with a molecular hitchhiker, materials scientists at Johns Hopkins hope to create some important medical advances.

30 Aug 2005

Designer molecules that combine metals such as copper with natural organic materials could treat diseases in the body

That's the finding of chemists at Ohio State University, who have successfully tested such molecules against portions of HIV and Hepatitis C virus RNA in the laboratory. They've also created molecules that act like ACE, or angiotensin-converting enzyme, inhibitors - drugs that are used to lower blood pressure.

30 Aug 2005

Step towards understanding cell mutations that cause a variety of human diseases

A step towards understanding cell mutations that cause a variety of human diseases, particularly in children - including that which brings about premature aging and early death - has been taken by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Silberman Institute of Life Sciences and the John Hopkins University School of Medicine.

30 Aug 2005

Australian National University facility to help reveal secrets of life

High technology that will enhance the ability of biologists to conduct cutting-edge research has been opened at the Research School of Biological Sciences (RSBS) at the Australian National University.

30 Aug 2005

Anti-cancer antibodies produced in chickens

A team of researchers have produced the first fully functional, human sequence monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in chickens.

29 Aug 2005

Blocking Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) with anticancer drugs

A class of anticancer drugs currently being evaluated in phase 3 clinical trials may also be an effective treatment for Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), a fatal genetic disorder that causes premature aging.

29 Aug 2005

Three-dimensional molecular structure of a promising malaria-vaccine component

An international team of scientists that includes a researcher from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory has determined the three-dimensional molecular structure of a promising malaria-vaccine component.

29 Aug 2005

Drugs known as farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) may hold promise for premature aging disorder

In a surprising development, a research team led by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), has found that a class of experimental anti-cancer drugs also shows promise in laboratory studies for treating a fatal genetic disorder that causes premature aging.

29 Aug 2005

New tool to help unravel the function of an elusive DNA structure

A Rensselaer researcher has developed a new tool to help unravel the function of an elusive DNA structure. The findings, which were presented today at the 230th national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Washington, D.C., could lead to a better understanding of diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

29 Aug 2005