Membrane News and Research

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UCSF researchers: B1N1 protein is necessary for heart to contract

UCSF researchers have discovered that a protein called B1N1 is necessary for the heart to contract. The findings, published in the Feb. 16 issue of the open access journal PLoS Biology, shed light not only on what makes a heart beat but also on heart failure, a disease where cardiac cells are no longer able to contract and pump blood through the body.

16 Feb 2010

Fast method for producing bone and cartilage tissue using body's own cells

Injuries to joints and cartilage can have serious consequences, including osteoarthritis. Cartilage degeneration in joints is a widespread disease in Germany and worldwide. Prof. Dr. Prasad Shastri is an expert in tissue engineering (TE), tissue construction and tissue cultivation using the body's own cells. He is Professor of Biofunctional Macromolecular Chemistry at the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS), a Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg, where he has been researching for the last year.

15 Feb 2010

Calcium waves could be relevant for understanding the origin of Alzheimer's disease

New insights on what causes Alzheimer's disease could arise from a recent discovery made by bioengineers from the University of California, San Diego. The finding concerns the infamous amyloid beta peptides (Aβ)-fragments of which form plaques thought to play a role in Alzheimer's disease.

15 Feb 2010

Researchers identify defective signaling pathway that contributes to the severity of cystic fibrosis

In a study that could lead to new therapeutic targets for patients with the cystic fibrosis, a research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a defective signaling pathway that contributes to disease severity.

15 Feb 2010

SRC-3 gene sends signal to cell membrane to promote cell motility

The master gene called SRC-3 (steroid receptor coactivator 3) not only enhances estrogen-dependent growth of cancer cells by activating and encouraging the transcription of a genetic message into a protein, it also sends a signal to the cell membrane to promote cell motility or movement - a key element of cancer spread or metastasis, said Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) researchers and collaborators in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Molecular Cell.

15 Feb 2010

Neurotoxin study may help find new therapies to block hyperactive ion channels

There are approximately 500 species of cone snails, each producing 50 - 200 different conotoxins. A similar number of peptide toxins are produced by snakes, spiders, sea anemones, scorpions and other venomous animals. The animals use the neurotoxins to paralyze their prey.

11 Feb 2010

Insight into mechanism H. pylori uses to evade the immune system

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the causal agent of chronic gastritis, ulcer and gastric cancer. It has the potential to persist in the human stomach for decades, sometimes causing neither harm nor clinical symptoms. Nevertheless, on some occasions, depending on the host immune system and the strain causing the infection, the outcome can be very serious. To maintain the infection, the bacterium must adapt to survive the host defences. One way to accomplish this is to sequentially change the external proteins on the bacterial surface.

10 Feb 2010

Vision of mountain climbers not adversely affected despite presence of edema at altitudes up to 6,300 meters

Swelling commonly occurs in the corneas of mountain climbers, but does not appear to affect vision at altitudes of up to 6,300 meters (about 20,670 feet), according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Feb 2010

Study may pave way for more refined treatments for brain tumors

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown once again that "ready, fire, aim," nonsensical though it may sound, can be an essential approach to research.

10 Feb 2010

Study of complement reaction can help eliminate reperfusion injuries

Researchers have teased out the molecular process that can shut down a marauding, often deadly immune response that kills thousands each year who suffer battlefield casualties, heart attacks, strokes, automobile accidents and oxygen deprivation, according to an article published in the January edition of Molecular Immunology.

10 Feb 2010

Implanted ventricular assist heart pump for infants project awarded $5.6M federal contract

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and their collaborators have been awarded a $5.6 million federal contract to pursue the continued development of an implanted ventricular assist heart pump for infants and small children with congenital or acquired heart disease. The project aims to provide much-needed access to the sophisticated technologies that have saved the lives of older heart failure patients.

5 Feb 2010

NHLBI awarded four contracts to test new devices to help children with congenital heart defects

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded four contracts totaling $23.6 million to begin preclinical testing of devices to help children born with congenital heart defects or those who develop heart failure.

5 Feb 2010

Amantadine binds to and blocks critical M2 proton channel necessary for influenza virus to infect healthy cells

Antiviral drugs block influenza A viruses from reproducing and spreading by attaching to a site within a proton channel necessary for the virus to infect healthy cells, according to a research project led by Iowa State University's Mei Hong and published in the Feb. 4 issue of the journal Nature.

4 Feb 2010

Scientists identify potential drug therapy target for malaria

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a protein made by the malaria parasite that is essential to its ability to take over human red blood cells.

4 Feb 2010

Pioneering paper claims Earth's chemical energy powered early life

For 80 years it has been accepted that early life began in a 'primordial soup' of organic molecules before evolving out of the oceans millions of years later. Today the 'soup' theory has been over turned in a pioneering paper in BioEssays which claims it was the Earth's chemical energy, from hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, which kick-started early life.

3 Feb 2010

Pall launches PallSep Biotech filtration system

Pall Corporation, a global leader in filtration, separation and purification, has introduced the PallSep Biotech system for the gentle separation of target molecules from complex biotechnology process fluids.

From Pall Corporation 3 Feb 2010

Compugen discovers CGEN-15001 protein for treatment of autoimmune disorders

Compugen Ltd. announced today the discovery and experimental validation of CGEN-15001 for the treatment of autoimmune disorders.

2 Feb 2010

Pandemic H1N1 influenza of swine origin has distinct means of transmission from seasonal flu

Current research suggests that pandemic H1N1 influenza of swine origin has distinct means of transmission from the seasonal flu, yet does not result in the pathogenic severity of avian flu viruses.

2 Feb 2010

Study shows antiviral drugs could offer protection against HIV, Ebola, herpes and hepatitis C

The development of antibiotics gave physicians seemingly miraculous weapons against infectious disease. Effective cures for terrible afflictions like pneumonia, syphilis and tuberculosis were suddenly at hand. Moreover, many of the drugs that made them possible were versatile enough to knock out a wide range of deadly bacterial threats.

2 Feb 2010

Researchers identify antiviral small molecule that is effective against numerous viruses

Viruses are insidious creatures. They differ from each other in many ways, and they can mutate - at times seemingly at will, as with HIV - to resist a host of weapons fired at them. Complicating matters further is that new viruses are constantly emerging.

2 Feb 2010

Membrane News and Research

UCSF researchers: B1N1 protein is necessary for heart to contract

Fast method for producing bone and cartilage tissue using body's own cells

Calcium waves could be relevant for understanding the origin of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers identify defective signaling pathway that contributes to the severity of cystic fibrosis

SRC-3 gene sends signal to cell membrane to promote cell motility

Neurotoxin study may help find new therapies to block hyperactive ion channels

Insight into mechanism H. pylori uses to evade the immune system

Vision of mountain climbers not adversely affected despite presence of edema at altitudes up to 6,300 meters

Study may pave way for more refined treatments for brain tumors

Study of complement reaction can help eliminate reperfusion injuries

Implanted ventricular assist heart pump for infants project awarded $5.6M federal contract

NHLBI awarded four contracts to test new devices to help children with congenital heart defects

Amantadine binds to and blocks critical M2 proton channel necessary for influenza virus to infect healthy cells

Scientists identify potential drug therapy target for malaria

Pioneering paper claims Earth's chemical energy powered early life

Pall launches PallSep Biotech filtration system

Compugen discovers CGEN-15001 protein for treatment of autoimmune disorders

Pandemic H1N1 influenza of swine origin has distinct means of transmission from seasonal flu

Study shows antiviral drugs could offer protection against HIV, Ebola, herpes and hepatitis C

Researchers identify antiviral small molecule that is effective against numerous viruses

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