Molecule News and Research

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First viable mouse model of Hirschsprung's disease developed

About one in every 5,000 babies is born without enteric neurons in distal colon resulting in Hirschsprung's disease. Because of the lacking neurons, contents of the gut cannot pass normally resulting in constipation and enlargement of colon.

7 Jan 2019

New bioinspired material interacts with surrounding tissues to promote wound healing

Imperial researchers have developed new bioinspired material that interacts with surrounding tissues to promote healing.

7 Jan 2019

New, potential therapy can disrupt myeloid cells that promote tumor growth

Cancerous tumors trick myeloid cells, an important part of the immune system, into perceiving them as a damaged part of the body; the tumors actually put myeloid cells to work helping them grow and metastasize (spread).

7 Jan 2019

New method for automation of DNA origami

Nature has made extravagant use of a simple molecule--DNA, the floorplan of all earthly life.

4 Jan 2019

New technique helps measure concentration of insecticides on surface of mosquito nets

Insecticide-infused mosquito netting is in widespread use around the world to limit the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria.

3 Jan 2019

Scavenging molecule offers long-lasting protection against toxic nerve agents in rodents

For the first time, scientists have created a scavenging molecule that provides long-lasting preventative protection against toxic nerve agents in rodents.

3 Jan 2019

Rockefeller scientists uncover genetic mutation responsible for tuberculosis vulnerability

If you live in the United States, you are unlikely to come into contact with the microbe that causes tuberculosis. Your odds of encountering the microbe are so low, in fact, that risk factors for the disease can easily go unnoticed: If you happened to carry a gene that predisposed you to tuberculosis, you likely wouldn't know.

2 Jan 2019

Peptide isolated from spirulina extract may counteract arterial hypertension

Spirulina is more and more celebrated as a "superfood" because of its possible beneficial properties, albeit its mechanism of action is still subjected to investigation. With the scientific name of Arthrospira platensis, spirulina is a cyanobacterium, a bacterium capable of photosynthesis. Sometimes classified as a "blue algae", it was supposedly used as a food by the Aztecs.

31 Dec 2018

MUSC researchers link higher levels of AGEs to ER-positive breast cancer risk

Poor diet and lack of exercise are associated with cancer development, but the underlying biology is not well understood. Advanced glycation end products could offer a biological link to help us understand how certain lifestyle behaviors increase cancer risk or lessen the likelihood that an anti-cancer therapy will be effective.

28 Dec 2018

How physical activity decreases belly fat in humans

Some of you may have made a New Year's resolution to hit the gym to tackle that annoying belly fat. But have you ever wondered how physical activity produces this desired effect? A signaling molecule called interleukin-6 plays a critical role in this process, researchers report December 27 in the journal Cell Metabolism.

28 Dec 2018

Researchers discover key mechanism in the brain that enables us to rapidly focus attention

University of Queensland researchers have discovered a key mechanism in the brain that may underlie our ability to rapidly focus attention.

28 Dec 2018

Kanazawa University researchers unravel link between inflammation and cancer

Severe inflammation in tissues is often associated with the occurrence of cancer. The mechanism linking both these conditions is not clearly understood. Furthermore, inflamed and cancerous tissues contain a heterogenous mix of damaged and protective cells.

27 Dec 2018

Statins reduce the formation of brown adipose tissue

A certain proportion of the adult population has not only white adipose (or fatty) tissue, but also the brown kind. This brown adipose tissue helps to convert sugar and fat into heat. People with brown adipose tissue are better at regulating their body temperature in the winter, and are less likely to suffer from excess weight or diabetes.

21 Dec 2018

New approach to destroy HIV reservoirs

Current HIV treatments need to be taken for life by those infected as antiretroviral therapy is unable to eliminate viral reservoirs lurking in immune cells. Institut Pasteur scientists have identified the characteristics of CD4 T lymphocytes that are preferentially infected by the virus - it is their metabolic (or energy-producing) activity1 that enables the virus to multiply.

21 Dec 2018

Study provides information about chemotherapeutic drugs binding to plasma proteins

Chemotherapy is use of drugs to cure a disease but more specifically, it refers to drug therapy for cancer. Cancer chemotherapy can be done with a single drug or a combination of drugs and is usually systematic in nature, that is to say that a drug is administered through the blood circulation to eliminate cancer cells in many parts of the body.

21 Dec 2018

Elegant, low-cost approach enhances single-cell RNA sequencing

Droplet microfluidics has revolutionized single-cell RNA sequencing, offering a low-cost, high-throughput method for single-cell genomics. However, this method has been limited in its ability to capture complete RNA transcription information.

20 Dec 2018

Molecule discovery could hold the key to novel gene therapies for skin problems

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered a protein that could hold the key to novel gene therapies for skin problems including psoriasis - a common, chronic skin disease that affects over 100 million people worldwide.

20 Dec 2018

Researchers find new way to cut the power of tumors

Instead of tackling tumors head-on, an international team of researchers from the University of Geneva and the Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc in Amsterdam has chosen to regulate their vascularization by intervening with cellular receptor that is overexpressed specifically in cancer blood vessels.

20 Dec 2018

New genetically modified common houseplant purifies air around it

We like to keep the air in our homes as clean as possible, and sometimes we use HEPA air filters to keep offending allergens and dust particles at bay.

20 Dec 2018

Novel ferrocenyl phosphines developed as potent antimalarial drugs

A team of researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design and Nanyang Technological University have developed novel ferrocene-based molecules that impair the malaria parasite's metabolic function leading to parasite death.

20 Dec 2018