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RNA interference approach holds great promise for treating cancer and other diseases

Inspired by tiny particles that carry cholesterol through the body, MIT chemical engineers have designed nanoparticles that can deliver snippets of genetic material that turn off disease-causing genes.

12 Feb 2014

New receptors act as biological postal code for treating cancer

Scientists have discovered that a polymer can provide a key to get into tumors: Prof. Prasad Shastri, Director of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry and core member of the cluster of excellence BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies at the University of Freiburg, and graduate students Julia Voigt and Jon Christensen have developed a new paradigm to home nanoparticles, containers that measure a few 100 nanometers in size, to endothelial cells.

11 Feb 2014

Engineers place tiny synthetic motors inside live human cells

For the first time, a team of chemists and engineers at Penn State University have placed tiny synthetic motors inside live human cells, propelled them with ultrasonic waves and steered them magnetically. It's not exactly "Fantastic Voyage," but it's close. The nanomotors, which are rocket-shaped metal particles, move around inside the cells, spinning and battering against the cell membrane.

11 Feb 2014

Researchers shed new light on pain associated with bacterial infections

Components in the outer wall of bacteria directly activate pain sensors, triggering immediate pain and inflammatory responses. This finding by a multinational team of researchers led by Professor Karel Talavera (KU Leuven, Belgium) and Professor Félix Viana (Institute of Neuroscience, Spain) sheds new light on pain associated with bacterial infections and reveals a new target for drugs designed to treat them.

11 Feb 2014

Researchers discover biological switch that regulates protein that causes fatty liver disease in mice

Studying a cycle of protein interactions needed to make fat, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered a biological switch that regulates a protein that causes fatty liver disease in mice.

11 Feb 2014

ACell releases new MatriStem Multilayer Wound Matrix device for hard-to-heal, full-thickness wounds

ACell, Inc., a leading regenerative medicine company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of tissue repair products, today announced that it has launched the new MatriStem Multilayer Wound Matrix device for deep, hard-to-heal, full-thickness wounds.

10 Feb 2014

Optogenetics technique allows scientists to control neurons' electrical activity

Optogenetics is a technique that allows scientists to control neurons' electrical activity with light by engineering them to express light-sensitive proteins. Within the past decade, it has become a very powerful tool for discovering the functions of different types of cells in the brain.

10 Feb 2014

Researchers reveal inner workings of nanomotor

Our cells produce thousands of proteins but more than one-third of these proteins can fulfill their function only after migrating to the outside of the cell. While it is known that protein migration occurs with the help of various 'nanomotors' that push proteins out of the cell, little is known about their precise mechanical functioning.

6 Feb 2014

Study shows similarities in pathogenesis of neurological diseases and HIV virus

A new study by George Washington University (GW) researcher Michael Bukrinsky, M.D., Ph.D., shows similarities in the pathogenesis of prion disease — misfolded proteins that can lead to neurological diseases — and the HIV virus.

5 Feb 2014

Researchers identify key step to prevent liver failure resulting from painkiller overdose

University of Adelaide researchers have identified a key step for the future prevention of liver failure resulting from taking too much of the everyday painkiller paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen).

5 Feb 2014

Researchers identify protein critical to hematopoietic stem cell function, blood formation

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a protein critical to hematopoietic stem cell function and blood formation. The finding has potential as a new target for treating leukemia because cancer stem cells rely upon the same protein to regulate and sustain their growth.

3 Feb 2014

Researchers design semi-synthetic proteins to analyse body's vital signal processes

Proteins play a fundamental role in almost all biological processes. They consist of chains constructed of up to 20 different amino acids, and their composition, structure and function are controlled by the genetic code.

29 Jan 2014

Biologists identify protein targets for next-generation of anti-HIV drugs

People infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can stave off the symptoms of AIDS thanks to drug cocktails that mainly target three enzymes produced by the virus, but resistant strains pop up periodically that threaten to thwart these drug combos.

29 Jan 2014

Researchers create vaginal cream using silver nanoparticles to control transmition of HIV

The product has proven efficiency in lab tests, although clinical trials are yet to be performed. After discovering that silver nanoparticles are capable of blocking the entry of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) into the organism, a group of researchers from the University of Texas, in collaboration with Humberto Lara Villegas, specialist in nanoparticles and virology from the University of Monterrey, Mexico (UDEM), create a vaginal cream to control the transmition of the virus.

28 Jan 2014

Researchers discover protein required for growth of hair-like structures on cell surfaces

A team of researchers from Penn State University and the University of California has discovered a protein that is required for the growth of tiny, but critical, hair-like structures called cilia on cell surfaces.

28 Jan 2014

Researchers identify how mutated protein can cause high blood pressure

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have identified how a mutated protein can lead to holes in a protein sitting in a cell's membrane. Such holes cause high blood pressure, and the discovery can now lead to new and better medication for high blood pressure.

28 Jan 2014

Rival proteins’ relative expression levels in cancer cells could be biomarkers for prognosis, treatment

Consider two drivers, each with a key that fits the same car. Driver 1 wants simply to turn on the ignition and leave the vehicle idling, ready and waiting to roll. Driver 2 wants to take it on a destructive joy ride.

24 Jan 2014

CWRU researchers receive NIAID grant to conduct HIV research and clinical trials

AIDS researchers from Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center have received a seven-year funding award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

23 Jan 2014

ECMO: A last-resort therapy for extremely severe cases of influenza

Physicians at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are employing a technology known as ECMO as a last-resort therapy for extremely severe cases of influenza. ECMO, short for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, is a sort of portable heart/lung bypass machine.

23 Jan 2014

Chinese and American researchers introduce new approach to gene therapy

Resistance of tumor cells toward multiple cytostatic drugs is a serious problem in cancer treatment. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a team of Chinese and American researchers has now introduced a new approach to gene therapy that could counter this problem: The gene that codes for resistance is “silenced” through the use of an ingenious nanocomplex.

22 Jan 2014

Membrane News and Research

RNA interference approach holds great promise for treating cancer and other diseases

New receptors act as biological postal code for treating cancer

Engineers place tiny synthetic motors inside live human cells

Researchers shed new light on pain associated with bacterial infections

Researchers discover biological switch that regulates protein that causes fatty liver disease in mice

ACell releases new MatriStem Multilayer Wound Matrix device for hard-to-heal, full-thickness wounds

Optogenetics technique allows scientists to control neurons' electrical activity

Researchers reveal inner workings of nanomotor

Study shows similarities in pathogenesis of neurological diseases and HIV virus

Researchers identify key step to prevent liver failure resulting from painkiller overdose

Researchers identify protein critical to hematopoietic stem cell function, blood formation

Researchers design semi-synthetic proteins to analyse body's vital signal processes

Biologists identify protein targets for next-generation of anti-HIV drugs

Researchers create vaginal cream using silver nanoparticles to control transmition of HIV

Researchers discover protein required for growth of hair-like structures on cell surfaces

Researchers identify how mutated protein can cause high blood pressure

Rival proteins’ relative expression levels in cancer cells could be biomarkers for prognosis, treatment

CWRU researchers receive NIAID grant to conduct HIV research and clinical trials

ECMO: A last-resort therapy for extremely severe cases of influenza

Chinese and American researchers introduce new approach to gene therapy

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