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.

A suspect found for SIDS

New evidence is suggesting that a chemical imbalance in the brain may be the cause of some cot deaths.

8 Jul 2008

RNAs emerge as major players in gene regulation

Tiny strands of genetic material called RNA - a chemical cousin of DNA - are emerging as major players in gene regulation, the process inside cells that drives all biology and that scientists seek to control in order to fight disease.

6 Jul 2008

Research sheds light on the molecular basis of SIDS

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a condition that unexpectedly and unexplainably takes the lives of seemingly healthy babies aged between a month and a year.

3 Jul 2008

Resveratrol improves health, but not longevity in aging mice

Scientists have found that the compound resveratrol slows age-related deterioration and functional decline of mice on a standard diet, but does not increase longevity when started at middle age.

3 Jul 2008

Brain trick offers treatment hope for Alzheimer's

Scientists in the UK and Canada have made a significant step forward in the search for new drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease.

2 Jul 2008

Scientists fortify the cassava plant - a day's nutrition in a single meal

Scientists have determined how to fortify the cassava plant, a staple root crop in many developing countries, with enough vitamins, minerals and protein to provide the poor and malnourished with a day's worth of nutrition in a single meal.

30 Jun 2008

Growth hormone FGF21's link to starvation may be clue to increasing life span, researchers find

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that starvation blocks the effects of growth hormone via a mechanism that may have implications in treating diabetes and extending life span.

30 Jun 2008

Epigenetic changes occur over a person's lifetime

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that epigenetic marks on DNA-chemical marks other than the DNA sequence-do indeed change over a person's lifetime, and that the degree of change is similar among family members.

24 Jun 2008

Researchers create molecule that nudges nerve stem cells to mature

Inspired by a chance discovery during another experiment, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have created a small molecule that stimulates nerve stem cells to begin maturing into nerve cells in culture.

24 Jun 2008

Discovery of potential key to better drugs to fight Toxoplasmosis parasite

Discoveries by IU School of Medicine scientists have opened a promising door to new drugs for toxoplasmosis and other parasites that now can evade treatments by turning dormant in the body.

19 Jun 2008

Scientists identify proteins in mice that might act as biomarkers for growth hormone

Ohio University scientists have identified several proteins in mice that might act as biomarkers for growth hormone. The research could be the first step to finding a more reliable way to detect recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH), which some athletes and teenagers use illegally to boost muscle and reduce fat.

17 Jun 2008

Integrated control of malaria and other vector diseases is crucial

Combating malaria and other so-called vector diseases with chemical controls is increasingly ineffective, besides being hazardous for humans and the environment. These chemical controls must therefore be eliminated. In order to combat the diseases that insects and ticks transmit, all possible strategies must be united.

15 Jun 2008

Scientists closer to solving epilepsy mystery

Scientists in the United States believe they are a step closer to understanding why some people suffer from epileptic fits.

9 Jun 2008

Australia to enter the race to clone human embryo cells for stem-cell research

Melbourne's Monash University may be granted the first licence in Australia to clone human embryo cells for stem-cell research.

9 Jun 2008

Scientists demonstrate feasibility of preventing malaria parasite from becoming sexually mature

Researchers have demonstrated the possibility of preventing the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, which is responsible for more than a million malaria deaths a year, from becoming sexually mature.

5 Jun 2008

Public funding impacts progress of human embryonic stem cell research

Bolstered by supportive policies and public research dollars, the United Kingdom, Israel, China, Singapore and Australia are producing unusually large shares of human embryonic stem cell research, according to a report from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the June 2008 issue Cell Stem Cell.

5 Jun 2008

X chromosome exposed

An enzyme that binds differently to male and female sex chromosomes helps males to make up for their X chromosome shortage.

30 May 2008

Is shipping spreading disease?

Ships are inadvertently carrying trillions of stowaways in the water held in their ballast tanks. When the water is pumped out, invasive species could be released into new environments. Disease-causing microbes could also be released, posing a risk to public health, according to an article in the May issue of Microbiology Today.

28 May 2008

Americans believe wounded Iraq war veterans generally neglected

As part of the ongoing poll series, Debating Health: Election 2008, a recent survey by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Harris Interactive finds that a majority of Americans (62%) believe that wounded Iraq war veterans do not receive high quality care in military and Veteran's Administration (VA) hospitals once they return to the U.S. Similar majorities feel that veterans requiring rehabilitation care and mental health care do not receive high quality care (62% and 65% respectively).

26 May 2008

Boost for cancer research in Leicestershire

A new approach to pain relief, investigation of a gene that triggers colorectal cancer and the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer are three research projects at the University of Leicester, which are to benefit from funding from the Leicestershire and Rutland charity Hope Against Cancer.

21 May 2008