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CityU develops CRISPR-assisted method to identify RNA-binding proteins in living cells

While scientists still don't fully understand the diverse nature of RNA molecules, it is believed that the proteins binding to them, called RNA-binding proteins, are associated with many disease formation.

1 Jul 2020

Blood cell damage in COVID-19 may compromise oxygen transport

Researchers in the U.S. have shown that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may alter key protein structures on red blood cells and compromise the transport and delivery of oxygen in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

1 Jul 2020

Alzheimer’s drug could be re-purposed to reverse blood vessel damage in diabetes

Drugs that were developed to treat Alzheimer’s Disease could be re-purposed to prevent - or even reverse - the damage done to the blood vessels in people who are obese or suffer from type 2 diabetes, according to new research.

1 Jul 2020

Phosphorylation of SARS-CoV-2 N protein affects its function

Now, a new study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 shows the effect of phosphorylation on the state and function of the N protein.

1 Jul 2020

Study indicates that primitive proteins could have progressed to form living cells

What did the very first proteins – those that appeared on Earth around 3.7 billion years ago – look like? Prof. Dan Tawfik of the Weizmann Institute of Science and Prof. Norman Metanis of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have reconstructed protein sequences that may well resemble those ancestors of modern proteins, and their research suggests a way that these primitive proteins could have progressed to forming living cells.

1 Jul 2020

Researchers uncover a potentially promising strategy to target brain tumors

Gliomas with mutations in what are called the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) genes are the most common brain tumors diagnosed in younger adults aged 18 to 45 years.

30 Jun 2020

Genomic sequencing to provide precision medicine for aromatase deficiency

An international team of scientists from Switzerland Spain, has studied the genetic basis of aromatase deficiency, a rare metabolic disorder that prevents the production of estrogens in humans, according to new research in JCEM.

30 Jun 2020

A glycan analysis of SARS-CoV-2 ACE2 complex

Researchers in the U.S. have produced molecular dynamic simulations of the Spike protein found on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its interaction with the host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

29 Jun 2020

Study shows how gut bacteria helps people resist cholera

Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated, and it sickens as many as 4 million people a year. In a new article in the journal Cell, researchers describe how gut bacteria helps people resist the disease.

29 Jun 2020

New eye drops could prevent vision loss after retinal vein occlusion

Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center have developed eye drops that could prevent vision loss after retinal vein occlusion, a major cause of blindness for millions of adults worldwide.

29 Jun 2020

The gut shields the liver from fructose-induced lipogenesis

After one consumes food or a beverage containing fructose, the gastrointestinal system, or gut, helps to shield the liver from damage by breaking down the sugar before it reaches the liver, according to a new multi-center study led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

29 Jun 2020

Clinically approved drugs could disrupt SARS-CoV-2 from hijacking cells

An international team of researchers has analyzed how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, hijacks the proteins in its target cells.

29 Jun 2020

Chronic kidney disease medication doesn’t work, shows study

A major clinical trial from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) reports that a medication called allopurinol, which is prescribed to about 20% of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), doesn’t work as expected. The results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine on June 25, 2020.

28 Jun 2020

Genomics used to trace origin of SARS-CoV-2 in Canada

A new study published in June 2020 on the preprint server bioRxiv discusses the use of phylogenetic analysis to trace the origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and its spread into and then within Canada. The study findings may help optimize public health policies in the case of future outbreaks.

28 Jun 2020

Brazilian startup to develop a low-cost high-performance COVID-19 diagnostic test

Researchers at Biolinker, a biotech startup based in São Paulo, Brazil, are developing a low-cost high-performance COVID-19 diagnostic test using only locally sourced inputs.

26 Jun 2020

Researchers perform first X-ray measurements on SARS-CoV-2 main protease

A team of researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories has performed the first room-temperature X-ray measurements on the SARS-CoV-2 main protease -- the enzyme that enables the virus to reproduce.

26 Jun 2020

Pixatimod is active in lab studies against SARS-CoV-2

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) circulating the world has caused over 9.6 million cases and over 490,000 deaths as of June 26, 2020. With neither an effective vaccine nor therapeutic drug yet available, intensive and widespread research is ongoing to develop a pharmacological intervention that will halt the global pandemic.

25 Jun 2020

Superbug hijacks the wound healing system to cause serious and persistent disease

Monash University researchers have discovered that the devastating bacterial superbug Clostridioides difficile hijacks the human wound healing system in order to cause serious and persistent disease, opening up the development of new therapies to treat the disease.

25 Jun 2020

Research team solves 40-year old mystery in leukemia treatment

A research team led by the University of Kent and Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, has solved an almost 40-year old mystery in leukemia therapy and the drug nelarabine.

25 Jun 2020

G6PD enzyme offers a promising therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases

A team from the University of Valencia, the La Fe Hospital Health Research Institute, and the INCLIVA Institute have participated in the identification of an enzyme (G6PD) as a possible therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases or in controlling exacerbated inflammatory responses such as the one caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.

25 Jun 2020