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Discovery of proteins key to normal brain function

MIT researchers have identified a family of proteins key to the formation of the communication networks critical for normal brain function.

21 Nov 2007

Life-threatening gene defect related to thoracic aortic disease discovered

A research team led by scientists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston has identified a defective gene that affects vascular smooth-muscle cells in people who suffer from hereditary thoracic aortic disease, which can kill victims with little warning in the prime of their lives.

13 Nov 2007

Case Western Reserve researchers breed a "Lance Armstrong" mouse

Case Western Reserve University researchers have bred a line of "mighty mice" (PEPCK-Cmus mice) that have the capability of running five to six kilometers at a speed of 20 meters per minute on a treadmill for up to six hours before stopping.

2 Nov 2007

Epilepsy-induced brain cell damage blocked in lab experiments

For some epilepsy patients, the side effects of epilepsy can be as troubling as the seizures.

29 Oct 2007

A fresh perspective to the study of cell activity

In process that is shrouded in mystery, rod-shaped bacteria reproduce by splitting themselves in two. By applying advanced mathematics to laboratory data, a team led by Johns Hopkins researchers has solved a small but important part of this reproductive puzzle.

12 Oct 2007

New bioengineered antimicrobials help cystic fibrosis patients breathe easier

By better understanding how antimicrobials bind and thereby get inactivated in the mucus of air passages, researchers at the University of Illinois may have found a way to help cystic fibrosis patients fight off deadly infections.

25 Sep 2007

N-cofilin molecule protects from neuronal disorders

Many neuronal disorders, including epilepsy, schizophrenia and lissencephaly – a form of mental retardation - result from abnormal migration of nerve cells during the development of the brain.

17 Sep 2007

How immune cells catch pathogens

To protect us from disease our immune system employs macrophages, cells that roam our body in search of disease-causing bacteria.

12 Jul 2007

How immune cells catch pathogens

To protect us from disease our immune system employs macrophages, cells that roam our body in search of disease-causing bacteria. With the help of long tentacle-like protrusions, macrophages can catch suspicious particles, pull them towards their cell bodies, internalise and destroy them.

11 Jul 2007

Engineered blood vessels work like native tissue

Blood vessels that have been tissue-engineered from bone marrow adult stem cells may in the future serve as a patient's own source of new blood vessels following a coronary bypass or other procedures that require vessel replacement, according to new research from the University at Buffalo Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

9 Jul 2007

Novel mutation associated with muscle identified

The study demonstrates that muscle weakness experienced by persons with a regulatory protein tropomyosin mutation is directly related to a mechanism by which the mutant tropomyosin modulates contractile speed and force-generation capacity.

17 Jun 2007

Scientists have captured on video the intracellular version of a postal delivery service

Reporting in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (BBRC), bioengineering researchers at UC San Diego published videos of a key message-carrying protein called paxillin moving abruptly from hubs of communication and transportation activity on the cell surface toward the nucleus.

3 Jun 2007

Molecular motors may speed nutrient processing

Matthew Tyska, Ph.D., recalls being intrigued, from the first day of his postdoctoral fellowship in 1999, with a nearly 30-year-old photograph.

1 Jun 2007

Simple equations track Listeria trails

Circles, slaloms, figure eights, and loop-the-loops , biologists studying the motion of Listeria monocytogenes sensed that these paths were related, but they didn't have a good way to define what fit in and what didn't.

16 May 2007

How inhaled anthrax paralyzes the body's defenses

University of Florida researchers have revealed how the inhaled form of anthrax paralyzes the body's defenses and prevents immune cells from reaching the site of infection.

8 May 2007

Cytokinetics initiates of phase II clinical trial for CK-1827452

Cytokinetics has announced the initiation of a Phase II clinical trials program evaluating CK-1827452, a novel cardiac myosin activator for the potential treatment of patients with either acutely decompensated or chronic heart failure.

15 Apr 2007

Scientists discover key player in embryonic muscle development

Muscle fibers are large cells that contain many nuclei. They begin, like all animal cells, as naive embryonic cells. These cells differentiate, producing intermediate cells called myoblasts that are now destined to become muscle.

12 Apr 2007

Cell structures exhibit novel behaviors, mimic red blood cells and liquid crystals

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University have manipulated the internal, structural components of cells, creating a set of simulated cellular structures with novel mechanical properties, including one that acts like a red blood cell and another that mimics the soft, elastic behavior commonly found in novel synthetic materials called liquid crystal elastomers.

11 Apr 2007

Researchers determine a critical factor in workings of proteins

Scientists know that a better understanding of how proteins bond could lead to more effective treatments for genetic disorders and other life-threatening conditions.

18 Feb 2007

Scientists find molecular cause for form of deafness

Scientists exploring the physics of hearing have found an underlying molecular cause for one form of deafness, and a conceptual connection between deafness and the organization of liquid crystals, which are used in flat-panel displays.

5 Feb 2007