Membrane News and Research

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New set of controls for stem cells discovered

Natural changes in voltage that occur across the membrane of adult human stem cells are a powerful controlling factor in the process by which these stem cells differentiate, according to research published by Tufts University scientists.

3 Dec 2008

MG53 protein found to be a key initiator of membrane repair in damaged tissue

The study, released in Nature Cell Biology, is the first to specifically pinpoint a protein responsible for promoting cell repair.

3 Dec 2008

More evidence on why the Mediterranean diet is good for heart

Researchers have discovered one potential mechanism by which briefly cutting off, then restoring, blood flow to arteries prior to a heart attack lessens the damage caused, according to a study published today in the journal Cardiovascular Research.

2 Dec 2008

Crossing scientific boundaries to understand the rejection of drugs

A physicist from The University of Nottingham and a mathematical modeller from The University of Southampton are joining forces in the hope of answering a biological mystery - how do our bodies reject some of the drugs that are sent to cure us?

30 Nov 2008

Breakthrough for dialysis patients

Suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a growing number of patients at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), have become the beneficiaries of a North American breakthrough: high efficacy hemodiafiltration (HDF).

28 Nov 2008

Defective calcium metabolism in nerve cells contributes to neurological disorder

Defective calcium metabolism in nerve cells may play a major role in a fatal genetic neurological disorder that resembles Huntington's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a mouse study.

26 Nov 2008

Researchers discover how brain cells can survive a stroke

Brain researchers at the University of Oslo in Norway have penetrated deeply into the innermost secrets of the brain to find out how brain cells can survive a stroke.

26 Nov 2008

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals awarded U.S. patent for anti-viral applications of phospholipid-targeting antibodies

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent Number No. 7,455,833, which includes broad claims covering anti-viral applications of antibodies that directly bind to aminophospholipids.

25 Nov 2008

MorphoSys granted U.S. patent on antibodies against GM-CSF to treat inflammatory disorders

MorphoSys AG and the University of Melbourne announced today that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has confirmed that it will issue U.S. Patent No. 7,455,836, covering key uses of antibodies against GM-CSF.

25 Nov 2008

Scientists find cells reorganize shape to fit situation

Flip open any biology textbook and you're bound to see a complicated diagram of the inner workings of a cell, with its internal scaffolding, the cytoskeleton, and how it maintains a cell's shape.

24 Nov 2008

Researchers shed new light on genetics of Parkinson's

A new study by Narendra et al. suggests that Parkin, the product of the Parkinson's disease-related gene Park2, prompts neuronal survival by clearing the cell of its damaged mitochondria.

24 Nov 2008

Targeted nanoparticles boost platinum-based anticancer therapy

A research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-Harvard Center for Nanotechnology Excellence has custom-designed nanoparticles that can deliver the anticancer drug cisplatin specifically to prostate cancer cells.

20 Nov 2008

Phosphaplatins kill ovarian, testicular, head and neck cancer cells

A new class of compounds called phosphaplatins can effectively kill ovarian, testicular, head and neck cancer cells with potentially less toxicity than conventional drugs, according to a new study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

19 Nov 2008

Nontoxic nanoparticle delivers and tracks drugs

A nontoxic nanoparticle developed by Penn State researchers is proving to be an all-around effective delivery system for both therapeutic drugs and the fluorescent dyes that can track their delivery.

18 Nov 2008

Study helps clarify role of vitamin D in cancer therapy

A colon cancer cell isn't a lost cause. Vitamin D can tame the rogue cell by adjusting everything from its gene expression to its cytoskeleton.

17 Nov 2008

Simple, inexpensive method for detecting contaminants in heparin

The blood-thinning drug heparin is highly effective when used to prevent and treat blood clots in veins, arteries and lungs, but earlier this year its reputation as a lifesaver was sullied when contaminated heparin products caused serious allergic reactions that led to a large number of deaths.

17 Nov 2008