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.

Amphinase molecule from frog could provide first drug treatment for brain tumours

A synthetic version of a molecule found in the egg cells of the Northern Leopard frog (Rana pipiens) could provide the world with the first drug treatment for brain tumours.

27 Jun 2007

Call for global push to advance research in synthetic biology

With research backgrounds ranging from materials engineering to molecular biophysics, seventeen leading scientists issued a statement announcing that, much as the discovery of DNA and creation of the transistor revolutionized science, there is a new scientific field on the brink of revolutionizing our approach to problems ranging from eco-safe energy to outbreaks of malaria.

26 Jun 2007

Roche makes offer to acquire Ventana Medical Systems

Roche will make a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Ventana Medical Systems for $75.00 per share in cash, or an aggregate of approximately $3 billion on a fully diluted basis.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 26 Jun 2007

Evolutionary dynamics of immune-related genes and pathways in disease vector mosquitoes

The genes that make up the immune system of the Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmits deadly viral diseases to humans have been identified in new research in Science.

23 Jun 2007

New compound kills fungal pathogens

A new mechanism to attack hard-to-treat fungal infections has been revealed by scientists from the biotech company Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., California, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) outstation in Grenoble, France.

23 Jun 2007

Anacor finds novel mechanism for lead anti-fungal drug, AN2690

Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company, has announced that the journal Science will publish results of research that details how AN2690, the company's lead clinical candidate, kills fungal cells by interfering with synthesis of a specific protein required for fungal growth.

23 Jun 2007

True nature of heterochromatin revealed

Not so long ago, the difficult-to-sequence, highly repetitive, gene-poor DNA found in regions of chromosomes known as heterochromatin was called "junk." Like dark matter in the universe, the true nature of heterochromatin was unknown.

19 Jun 2007

Rogue cells found that could cause spread of breast cancer

Stephanie Lebret completed the study for her PhD at Deakin's Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology under the supervision of Associate Professor Leigh Ackland.

17 Jun 2007

New computational method uses biological networks to better identify relationships between molecules

Scientists at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital (Canada), European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Germany), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) have created a new computational method called NetworKIN.

17 Jun 2007

Researchers shed light on shrinking of chromosomes

A human cell contains an enormous 1.8 metres of DNA partitioned into 46 chromosomes.

15 Jun 2007

New Rochester program to coordinate patient care, research for patients suffering with brain and spinal tumors

The University of Rochester Medical Center and its Department of Neurosurgery are establishing a new multidisciplinary program to coordinate patient care, research and community outreach efforts for patients suffering with brain and spinal tumors.

8 Jun 2007

New understanding of anti-malarial drug resistance

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say they are moving closer to understanding why the most lethal form of human malaria has become resistant to drug treatment in the past three decades.

8 Jun 2007

Mouse hibernation hormones described

A key hormone enables starving mice to alter their metabolism and “hibernate” to conserve energy, revealing a novel molecular target for drugs to treat human obesity and metabolic disorders, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

8 Jun 2007

Neural basis for anxiety behaviour discovered

People who suffer from anxiety tend to interpret ambiguous situations, situations that could potentially be dangerous but not necessarily so, as threatening.

5 Jun 2007

Combining molecular imaging technologies to stop/prevent heart attacks

The use of combined imaging technologies may hold the key to stopping and even preventing heart attacks, according to research reported at the 54th Annual Meeting of SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals.

5 Jun 2007