Biochemistry News and Research

RSS

$3.2M grant to explore how chemicals affect human health

Most people would agree that arsenic, lead, mercury, benzene and carbon monoxide pose dangers to humans. Not many, though, realize that the average person is exposed to about 10,000 different chemicals per day.

12 Aug 2009

Cannabis Science reports on future plans for cannabis drug trials

Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTCBB: CBIS) has announced that it has completed its review of the FDA licensing requirements and has made key progress with mapping out its initial cannabis drug medicines for FDA clinical trials.

12 Aug 2009

New understanding of role hyaluronic acid in skeletal growth

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and the University of Connecticut Health Center (U.C.H.C.) have gained new understanding of the role hyaluronic acid (HA) plays in skeletal growth, chondrocyte maturation and joint formation in developing limbs.

12 Aug 2009

New findings on anti-cancer activity of thiazole antibiotics

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine researchers have discovered how some recently approved drugs act against cancer cells. The finding may lead to a more effectively targeted anti-cancer strategy.

11 Aug 2009

Easy-to-swallow drug restores autoimmune function in diabetics

Found in 30% of all human cancer tumors, the Ras protein literally "drives cells crazy," says Prof. Yoel Kloog, the dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University. Prof. Kloog was the first in the world to develop an effective anti-Ras drug against pancreatic cancer, currently in clinical trials. Now, new research published in the June issue of the European Journal of Pharmacology shows that the drug might be able to slow the progression of diabetes as well.

11 Aug 2009

New class of molecules capable of blocking formation of tau protein fibrils

A new class of molecules capable of blocking the formation of specific protein clumps that are believed to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease pathology has been discovered by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. By assaying close to 300,000 compounds, they have identified drug-like inhibitors of AD tau protein clumping, as reported in the journal Biochemistry.

11 Aug 2009

Burnham as a comprehensive center in a new National Cancer Institute (NCI) Chemical Biology Consortium

The consortium will establish a new paradigm in the use of public-private partnerships to translate knowledge from leading academic institutions into new drug treatments for patients with cancer. Both the La Jolla, Calif. campus of Burnham and its new Lake Nona campus in Orlando, Fla. will participate in the consortium.

10 Aug 2009

ISI to host eSolutions Conference in September 2009

Image Solutions Inc. (ISI), a leading provider of electronic submissions management and publishing solutions for the life sciences industry, has unveiled a prestigious line-up of speakers for its annual eSolutions Conference in Barcelona, Spain, this September to support an agenda aimed at reinventing the regulatory function.

10 Aug 2009

Chemists rationally design inhibitors against an RNA molecule that causes myotonic muscular dystrophy

Chemists at the University at Buffalo have used rational drug design to synthesize small, cell-permeable molecules that are effective in vitro against two common types of myotonic muscular dystrophy, a result that has implications for potentially curing muscular dystrophy, as well as other diseases.

9 Aug 2009

GE Global Research Biosciences technology celebrated fifth anniversary

From creating a new business in digital pathology to developing next generation diagnostic imaging agents and life sciences tools that are breaking new ground in the detection and treatment of disease, the Biosciences technology organization at GE Global Research today celebrated its fifth anniversary.

6 Aug 2009

A new startup at California Nanosystems Institute

UCLA's newly launched on-campus technology incubator at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) has opened lab space to MediSens Wireless, a startup company that develops and manufactures personal body-monitoring systems for medical and health applications.

6 Aug 2009

Research looks at cellular stress response to low oxygen

Gary Chiang, Ph.D., and colleagues at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have elucidated how the stability of the REDD1 protein is regulated. The REDD1 protein is a critical inhibitor of the mTOR signaling pathway, which controls cell growth and proliferation.

5 Aug 2009

Viral RNA linked to human immune response

In its fight against an intruding virus, an enzyme in our immune system may sense certain types of viral RNA pairs, according to scientists.

4 Aug 2009

Stem cell technology innovation could reduce the number of animal experiments

Researchers from the University of Bath are embarking on a project to use stem cell technology that could reduce the number of animal experiments used to study conditions such as motor neurone disease.

4 Aug 2009

New function for missing protein in Duchenne muscular dystrophy found

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and National Institutes of Health have identified a new function for the protein missing in people with the most common and ultimately lethal form of childhood muscular dystrophy.

3 Aug 2009

New microchip technology may accelerate drug discovery for cancer, other diseases

Flasks, beakers and hot plates may soon be a thing of the past in chemistry labs. Instead of handling a few experiments on a bench top, scientists may simply pop a microchip into a computer and instantly run thousands of chemical reactions, with results - literally shrinking the lab down to the size of a thumbnail.

From Siemens Healthineers 3 Aug 2009

Lasers and nanotubes offer potential future cancer treatments

By injecting man-made, microscopic tubes into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second zap of a laser, scientists have discovered a way to effectively kill kidney tumors in nearly 80 percent of mice. Researchers say that the finding suggests a potential future cancer treatment for humans.

3 Aug 2009

Opportunities and risks posed by synthetic biology

The new research field of synthetic biology will, in the medium term, open up a great deal of potential for combining novel genetic methods with engineering principles. This will facilitate the development, not only of new vaccines and medicines, but also of fuels and new materials.

3 Aug 2009

Dynamic, 3D pattern formation within protein-based gel

Modern regenerative medicine is on the lookout for implantable materials that can change as the surrounding tissue does, and two Stanford University researchers have made some new gel materials that do just that. Karin Straley and Professor Sarah Heilshorn have developed a method for preparing protein-based implant materials that can evolve with the changing needs of the host biological system. Not only can their new materials change in different ways at different times, they can do so at different places within the implant materials.

31 Jul 2009

Scientists re-engineer human enzyme to become resistant to harmful agents such as chemotherapy

Scientists from the Université de Montréal and McGill University have re-engineered a human enzyme, a protein that accelerates chemical reactions within the human body, to become highly resistant to harmful agents such as chemotherapy, according to a new study published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

28 Jul 2009