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New study finds liver instead of the brain as source of Alzheimer’s plaques

Unexpected results from a Scripps Research Institute and ModGene, LLC study could completely alter scientists' ideas about Alzheimer's disease—pointing to the liver instead of the brain as the source of the "amyloid" that deposits as brain plaques associated with this devastating condition. The findings could offer a relatively simple approach for Alzheimer's prevention and treatment.

4 Mar 2011

New computer-controlled system to create cell assembly line

Borrowing a page from modern manufacturing, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have built a microscopic assembly line that mass produces synthetic cell-like compartments.

4 Mar 2011

CT scanning offers benefit to patients undergoing dental implant surgery

Computerized tomography has proved a useful tool in reconstructive dental implant surgery where a bone graft is required. It provides reliable information in diagnosis and treatment planning and has been used to determine the volume of bone for grafts.

4 Mar 2011

Majority of U.S. adults age 50 and over fail to take colon cancer screening

Despite the fact that colon cancer screening saves lives, the majority of U.S. adults age 50 and over who are eligible for such screening fail to take advantage of it. Consider the numbers: In 2000, only 16.3 million of 80 million eligible adults received colon cancer screening such as the fecal occult blood test, sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.

2 Mar 2011

EPO grants three core patents to caprotec's CCMS technology

caprotec bioanalytics GmbH announced today that the European Patent Office has granted the last of three core patents protecting its proprietary and revolutionary Capture Compound Mass Spectrometry technology.

28 Feb 2011

TCD announces first patient treated in its TCD-717 Phase I trial

Traslational Cancer Drugs Pharma, S.L. (“TCD”) announced today that the first patient was treated on Friday the 18th of February with TCD-717 in a Phase I study performed in patients with advanced solid tumors. TCD-717 is a first-in-class, small molecule that precisely inhibits Choline Kinase Alpha, an enzyme heavily involved in the carcinogenic process. A total of 30 patients are planned to be treated in the trial, which will be conducted in accordance with FDA approval, in two leading medical centers in the U.S. The Principal Investigators are Dr. Julie Brahmer at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; and Dr. Patricia LoRusso at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.

28 Feb 2011

Simpler method of making water-soluble short protein chains with spiral structures

Researchers have developed a simple method of making short protein chains with spiral structures that can also dissolve in water, two desirable traits not often found together. Such structures could have applications as building blocks for self-assembling nanostructures and as agents for drug and gene delivery.

25 Feb 2011

Scientists complete protein 3D structural sequence essential for cellular function

Researchers at IRB Barcelona have completed the 3D structural sequence adopted by several essential proteins in the exchange of substances between the extra and intracellular milieu. This finding provides a global perspective of the structural changes that occur in these relevant proteins during basic cell processes, such as protein synthesis, the regulation of metabolism and cell volume, and nerve transmission.

24 Feb 2011

Pretreatment with FDA-approved drug allows successful pregnancies in radiation-exposed rhesus monkeys

A strategy developed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers to shield the ovaries of female mammals from the damaging effects of radiation and chemotherapy has passed an important milestone. A collaborative study with investigators from Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU), published online in the journal Fertility and Sterility, reports that brief preexposure of the ovaries to an FDA-approved agent called FTY720 preserved the fertility of female rhesus monkeys exposed to potentially lethal doses of radiation.

23 Feb 2011

Cerasome filled molecular-sized bubbles to target liver cancer cells

Nanotechnology may open a new door on the treatment of liver cancer, according to a team of Penn State College of Medicine researchers. They used molecular-sized bubbles filled with chemotherapy drugs to prevent cell growth and initiate cell death in test tubes and mice.

23 Feb 2011

Phase I/II safety, efficacy data for Bellicum's BPX-101 presented at 2011 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of Phase I/II safety and efficacy data for BPX-101, a novel drug-activated dendritic cell vaccine for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), in three separate posters at the 2011 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium held in Orlando, Florida on February 17 – 19, 2011.

19 Feb 2011

How Huntington's disease proteins move from cell to cell

One bad apple is all it takes to spoil the barrel. And one misfolded protein may be all that's necessary to corrupt other proteins, forming large aggregations linked to several incurable neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

19 Feb 2011

Scientists discover evidence linking brain function variations to birth size, weight of placenta

Scientists have discovered the first evidence linking brain function variations between the left and right sides of the brain to size at birth and the weight of the placenta. The finding could shed new light on the causes of mental health problems in later life.

18 Feb 2011

Scientists discover axons can send signals to cell body

Neurons are complicated, but the basic functional concept is that synapses transmit electrical signals to the dendrites and cell body, and axons carry signals away.

18 Feb 2011

Researchers identify normal movement mechanisms of PrPC in brain

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified the motors that move non-infectious prion proteins (PrPC) - found within many mammalian cells - up and down long, neuronal transport pathways.

18 Feb 2011

Two studies investigate frontiers of islet cell transplantation for treating diabetes

Two studies published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation investigate frontiers of islet cell transplantation for treating diabetes. Researchers in Milan, Italy re-examine the role of bone marrow stem cells in diabetic therapy and islet cell regeneration and Canadian researchers offer improved strategies for optimizing pancreatic islet culture in vitro.

18 Feb 2011

Positive preliminary data from ongoing PSMA ADC phase 1 study against prostate cancer

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported positive preliminary data from an ongoing phase 1 study of PSMA ADC, an antibody-drug conjugate designed to selectively deliver chemotherapy to cells that express prostate-specific membrane antigen.

17 Feb 2011

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Metallic copper surfaces kill microbes on contact, decimating their populations, according to a paper in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. They do so literally in minutes, by causing massive membrane damage after about a minute's exposure, says the study's corresponding author, Gregor Grass of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism of bacteriocide.

17 Feb 2011

Study sheds light on novel functions of certain PCSK enzymes

Recent studies conducted at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr-al on a group of PCSK enzymes could have a positive impact on health, from cholesterol to osteoporosis.

17 Feb 2011

Study explores role of proline containing peptides in inhibiting anti-apoptotic function of XIAP

Basic and translational research on cancer, and development of new cancer therapeutics, has focused on different aspects of cancer cellular function. One area of focus is the life and death of a cancer cell. Apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death, is a fundamental process of cells including cancer cells. The signal transduction pathways of apoptosis involve many different proteins and their interactions with each other.

16 Feb 2011

Membrane News and Research

New study finds liver instead of the brain as source of Alzheimer’s plaques

New computer-controlled system to create cell assembly line

CT scanning offers benefit to patients undergoing dental implant surgery

Majority of U.S. adults age 50 and over fail to take colon cancer screening

EPO grants three core patents to caprotec's CCMS technology

TCD announces first patient treated in its TCD-717 Phase I trial

Simpler method of making water-soluble short protein chains with spiral structures

Scientists complete protein 3D structural sequence essential for cellular function

Pretreatment with FDA-approved drug allows successful pregnancies in radiation-exposed rhesus monkeys

Cerasome filled molecular-sized bubbles to target liver cancer cells

Phase I/II safety, efficacy data for Bellicum's BPX-101 presented at 2011 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium

How Huntington's disease proteins move from cell to cell

Scientists discover evidence linking brain function variations to birth size, weight of placenta

Scientists discover axons can send signals to cell body

Researchers identify normal movement mechanisms of PrPC in brain

Two studies investigate frontiers of islet cell transplantation for treating diabetes

Positive preliminary data from ongoing PSMA ADC phase 1 study against prostate cancer

Metallic copper surfaces kill bacteria on contact

Study sheds light on novel functions of certain PCSK enzymes

Study explores role of proline containing peptides in inhibiting anti-apoptotic function of XIAP

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