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Researchers identify new way to influence the vital serotonin signaling system

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the University of Houston has found a new way to influence the vital serotonin signaling system - possibly leading to more effective medications with fewer side effects.

14 Feb 2013

New paper advances scientific understanding of glycoproteins’ structure and function

A Simon Fraser University chemist is the lead author on a new paper that advances scientific understanding of the structure and function of glycoproteins, in particular the number and positioning of sugars on them.

14 Feb 2013

Antibody therapeutics targeting GPCRs to be developed by alliance between MorphoSys and Heptares

MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) and UK-based Heptares Therapeutics, the leading GPCR drug discovery and development company, have signed an agreement to discover novel antibody therapeutics targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are membrane proteins involved in a broad range of biological processes and diseases.

13 Feb 2013

Researchers describe novel antiviral property of cholesterol-25-hydroxylase

A team of UCLA-led researchers has identified a protein with broad virus-fighting properties that potentially could be used as a weapon against deadly human pathogenic viruses such as HIV, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, Nipah and others designated "priority pathogens" for national biosecurity purposes by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

13 Feb 2013

Combining synthetic and natural toxins could disarm cancer, drug-resistant bacteria

Cancer researchers from Rice University suggest that a new man-made drug that's already proven effective at killing cancer and drug-resistant bacteria could best deliver its knockout blow when used in combination with drugs made from naturally occurring toxins.

13 Feb 2013

Berkeley Lab researchers resolve EGFR activation mystery

Researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have provided important new details into the activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a cell surface protein that has been strongly linked to a large number of cancers and is a major target of cancer therapies.

12 Feb 2013

Combination of two antibodies prevents growth and spread of triple-negative breast tumors

Cancer drugs of the new, molecular generation destroy malignant breast tumors in a targeted manner: They block characteristic molecules on tumor cells - receptors for the hormones estrogen or progesterone, or a co-receptor, called HER2, that binds to many growth factors. But about one in every six breast tumors has none of these receptors. Such cancers, called triple-negative, are particularly aggressive and notoriously difficult to treat.

10 Feb 2013

New technique can detect mercury contamination in water

Chemists at the University of Burgos (Spain) have manufactured a sheet that changes colour in the presence of water contaminated with mercury. The results can be seen with the naked eye but when photographing the membrane with a mobile phone the concentration of this extremely toxic metal can be quantified.

9 Feb 2013

Oral eosinophilic ulcers ‘a self-limiting, reactive condition’

A review of patients with oral eosinophilic ulcers suggests that the lesions should be considered a reactive, local condition rather than a CD30+ lymphoproliferative disorder.

8 Feb 2013

Previously poorly investigated signalling pathway crucial for proliferation of prostate cancer cells

A previously poorly investigated signalling pathway is crucial for the growth and proliferation of prostate cancer cells. An international research team discovered this when studying the enzyme "soluble adenylyl cyclase" that produces the second messenger molecule cAMP.

5 Feb 2013

An Introduction to the LV200 Bioluminescence Microscope

News-Medical speaks to Robert Schmalzigaug to explore the field of bioluminescence imaging and the applications of the LV200 microscope.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 5 Feb 2013

Nitric oxide shuts down brain's repair mechanisms

Nitric oxide, a gaseous molecule produced in the brain, can damage neurons. When the brain produces too much nitric oxide, it contributes to the severity and progression of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute recently discovered that nitric oxide not only damages neurons, it also shuts down the brain's repair mechanisms.

5 Feb 2013

Cartilage tympanoplasty can be performed successfully in 95% of young children

Cartilage tympanoplasty can be performed successfully in 95 percent of young children when appropriate conditions exist, according to a study in the February 2013 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

5 Feb 2013

Cloaked nanoparticles escape immune system surveillance to reach desired target

By cloaking nanoparticles in the membranes of white blood cells, scientists at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute may have found a way to prevent the body from recognizing and destroying them before they deliver their drug payloads. The group describes its "LeukoLike Vectors", or LLVs, in the January issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

4 Feb 2013

Study provides new insight on cancer prevention

Clear communication between cells is essential to every aspect of the body's internal function. But since cells can't talk, or send emails, how do they communicate?

4 Feb 2013

Scientists visualise molecular changes in Bax protein that force cells to die

Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have for the first time visualised the molecular changes in a critical cell death protein that force cells to die.

3 Feb 2013

Scientists identify cause of certain forms of epilepsy in cats

There is something sinister about epilepsy: the disease affects the very core of our being, our brain. Epileptic attacks can lead to seizures throughout the body or in parts of it. Clouding of consciousness or memory lapses are also possible. The causes are still only partially understood but in some cases brain tumours, infections, inflammations of the brain or metabolic diseases have been implicated.

2 Feb 2013

Bioelectric signals can identify cells that are likely to develop into tumors

Biologists at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences have discovered a bioelectric signal that can identify cells that are likely to develop into tumors. The researchers also found that they could lower the incidence of cancerous cells by manipulating the electrical charge across cells' membranes.

1 Feb 2013

MDGA proteins associated with autism suppress inhibitory synapse formation

Synapse development is promoted by a variety of cell adhesion molecules that connect neurons and organize synaptic proteins. Many of these adhesion molecules are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders; mutations in neuroligin and neurexin proteins, for example, are associated with autism and schizophrenia.

30 Jan 2013

The LINC complex essential for hearing

In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Karen Avraham and colleagues at Tel Aviv University identified a genetic mutation in two families with hereditary high frequency hearing loss. The mutated gene, which has not previously been linked to hearing loss, encodes NESP4, a protein that is expressed in the outer nuclear membrane (ONM) of the hair cells of the ear.

28 Jan 2013