Protein News and Research

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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Review outlines effective approaches to reduce recurrent hepatic encephalopathy

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neurologic complication of advanced liver disease, causing impaired functioning, reduced quality of life (QOL), and increased hospitalisation and mortality.

31 Jul 2026

Ketamine boosts neuroplasticity through microglia in female brains

Doctors use ketamine on patients as general anesthesia before surgery. They also prescribe it in low doses for pain management, and more recently, it's been used for treatment-resistant depression where other drugs have failed.

31 Jul 2026

Arginine boosts immune defenses against cancer and viral infections

The amino acid arginine helps to keep the human body humming, most notably by synthesizing proteins that carry out a range of cellular processes.

31 Jul 2026

TRF2 protein preserves muscle stem cell identity and regeneration

A protein best known for protecting the ends of chromosomes also helps muscle stem cells preserve their identity and repair damaged tissue, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

31 Jul 2026

Immune cell navigation breakthrough offers hope for better anti-inflammatory drugs

A scientific collaboration between the University of Bath (UK) and the UMass Chan Medical School (USA) have determined how a specific type of white blood cells, called neutrophils, move through the body.

31 Jul 2026

Brain immune cells drive recovery from ketamine anesthesia in females

During ketamine anesthesia, the brain's nerve cells fall silent-as consciousness returns, they begin to reconnect.

31 Jul 2026

New mechanism linked to septic heart injury protection uncovered

Sepsis triggers widespread inflammation, circulatory failure and metabolic stress, and cardiac dysfunction is a common complication associated with sharply poorer outcomes.

31 Jul 2026

Consuming less protein could have greater health benefits and extend lifespan

Protein-fortified foods are popping up everywhere, from cereal and coffee to even protein water. But a new review covering over 350 papers on protein restriction and aging-publishing July 31 in the Cell Press journal Cell Press Blue-suggests that consuming less protein could have greater health benefits and could, in some cases, extend lifespan.

31 Jul 2026

URI professor wins $1.5M grant to study cerebral amyloid angiopathy

A $1.5M grant has been awarded to William Van Nostrand, co-executive director of the University of Rhode Island's George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience and professor of pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences in the URI College of Pharmacy, to study cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), a disease prevalent in the elderly population and commonly found in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

31 Jul 2026

ESCRT-III proteins play an unexpected role in protecting DNA bridges during cell division

Every time a cell divides, it must accurately copy and distribute its DNA between two new cells. However, in some cases, chromosomes do not fully separate, leaving behind thin strands of DNA known as DNA bridges that connect the two newly formed cells.

31 Jul 2026

New stem cell vesicles accelerate diabetic wound healing

Diabetic foot ulcers are among the most serious complications of diabetes because prolonged inflammation, poor circulation, and defective angiogenesis can leave wounds open for months and increase the risk of infection and amputation.

31 Jul 2026

New research explains how embryos establish germline cell boundaries

Every embryo of an organism that reproduces sexually faces an early and consequential decision: which of its cell lineages will make up the mortal body, and which will become the germline, the lineage that eventually makes eggs or sperm and carries genetic information to the next generation.

30 Jul 2026

New computational technique traces ghost ancestry in modern human genomes

UC Berkeley researchers have identified regions of DNA that humans inherited from two unknown ancestors as a result of long-ago interbreeding among modern humans and at least four other archaic human relatives.

30 Jul 2026

Dual immunotherapy with neoadjuvant chemotherapy shows encouraging activity in ERBB2-negative breast cancer

A combination of two immunotherapy drugs showed encouraging activity when added to standard chemotherapy given prior to surgery for patients with high-risk, early-stage HER2-negative breast cancer, according to phase 2 clinical trial results from the ongoing I-SPY2 clinical trial platform.

30 Jul 2026

New OpenABE gene editor improves editing efficiency by up to 36 times

A joint research team led by Professor Daesik Kim (Department of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University), along with Professor Yong-Sub Kim (University of Ulsan College of Medicine) and Professor Jae-Hyun Park (Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine), has announced the development of 'OpenABE' (Open Adenine Base Editor).

30 Jul 2026

Texas A&M researchers build AI tools for tuberculosis drug discovery

When researchers screen potential tuberculosis drugs, they often end up with too many options. Some look promising but later prove to be costly dead ends.

30 Jul 2026

Cigarette smoke extract primes airway cells for greater nanoplastic damage

Researchers found that cigarette smoke extract weakened epithelial barriers and increased the proportion of human airway cells that were polystyrene nanoparticle-positive. Sequential treatment caused greater metabolic disruption and increased mucus-producing cells, suggesting heightened epithelial vulnerability, although the findings are limited to in vitro models.

30 Jul 2026

Discovery of calcium channel mechanism offers clues for brain disorder treatments

DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) announced that a research team led by Professor Byung Chang Suh of the Department of Brain Sciences has, for the first time, uncovered a novel molecular mechanism that regulates the "N-type voltage-gated calcium channel (CaV2.2)," which plays a critical role in neural signal transmission.

29 Jul 2026

Research offers a promising way to develop potent antivenoms against deadly snakebites

University of Maryland researchers discovered a new approach to treating venomous snake bites-using the same toxin-blocking proteins that snakes evolved to protect themselves.

29 Jul 2026