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.

Targeting specific enzyme reverses radiation-induced immune suppression in cancer

Researchers at the University of Chicago identified a mechanism to make immune cells reprogrammed by radiation therapy attack tumors rather than protect them.

30 Oct 2026

Targeting ANO6 protein weakens pancreatic cancer and boosts immunity

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers identified a potential therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer after showing that tumor growth can be slowed and immune suppression can be reduced in preclinical trials by blocking a particular protein, called anoctamin 6 (ANO6).

30 Oct 2026

Newly discovered protein helps preserve egg chromosome integrity during aging

Eggs follow a very different developmental path from sperm. Once a male hits puberty, sperm cells are produced continuously throughout his life.

29 Oct 2026

New metabolic score may help predict healthy aging and disease risk

Studies conducted in various countries indicate that approximately 60% of people over the age of 65 currently live with two or more chronic conditions simultaneously.

29 Oct 2026

New framework guides safer obesity drug prescribing in older adults

Today, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) released a new framework to assist clinicians to safely prescribe obesity medications in older adults.

29 Oct 2026

Worried nuts will cause weight gain? A large review puts that concern in perspective

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials found that eating nuts modestly reduced body fat and improved cholesterol levels without significantly changing body weight. The review did not establish that nuts rich in monounsaturated fats offered greater body-composition benefits than those rich in polyunsaturated fats.

29 Oct 2026

Can broccoli sprouts help with insulin resistance? New review offers clues

A review published in the British Journal of Nutrition examines how carotenoids and bioactive compounds in Brassicaceae microgreens may influence obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes through metabolic and inflammatory pathways. Small human trials involving broccoli sprouts have reported improvements in selected metabolic markers, but larger, longer-term studies are needed to establish their clinical benefits.

29 Oct 2026

Fish, shellfish or seaweed? A Korean study found striking differences in chemical exposure

A national study of 4,279 Korean adults found that higher finfish consumption was associated with increased blood concentrations of PFAS, PCBs, and mercury, while shellfish showed narrower associations with three PFAS. Persistent chemical mixtures were also associated with modest increases in liver health biomarkers, and mediation analysis identified a positive PFAS-related pathway, although finfish intake was not significantly associated with GGT overall.

29 Oct 2026

Evolutionary changes in key enzyme help bacteria fine-tune protein synthesis

Evolutionary changes in key protein synthesis enzyme, isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IleRS), may help bacteria fine-tune how quickly proteins are made, report researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan; the University of Zagreb Faculty of Science, Croatia; and ETH Zürich, Switzerland.

29 Oct 2026

Researchers find simple way to boost engineered T-cell therapies

Researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a promising new strategy to make cancer-fighting immune cells stronger and potentially longer-lasting, a discovery that could help improve the effectiveness of immunotherapies that use a patient's own immune cells to attack cancer.

29 Oct 2026

New study identifies potential targets for KRAS-related treatment resistance

Decoding of messenger RNA (mRNA) occurs during translation, the vital cellular process that builds proteins. Errors in this process are known to lead to cancer growth.

29 Oct 2026

New host target identified to block hepatitis E virus

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute viral hepatitis, yet antiviral treatment remains largely limited to the off-label use of ribavirin. Ribavirin can cause substantial toxicity, is contraindicated during pregnancy and does not reliably benefit every patient.

29 Oct 2026

New mechanism helps cancer cells selectively produce proteins that drive tumor growth

A previously unknown mechanism helps cancer cells selectively produce proteins that drive tumor growth - such as KRAS - in common cancers, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

29 Oct 2026

Large genetic study uncovers new risk factors for Alzheimer's

A large-scale international study, led by Ole Andreassen at University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, in collaboration with international consortium, offers new insights for understanding the disease and developing future treatments.

29 Oct 2026

New mathematical method maps gene roles across different species

Much of what we know about biology comes from animal models, particularly mice. Applying these insights to humans, however, is not always straightforward.

29 Oct 2026

New iron contrast agent offers safer cardiac MRI scans

The Biomolecular Nanotechnology research group led by Ikerbasque research professor Aitziber L. Cortajarena from CIC biomaGUNE has developed a new iron-based contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging that can be used for both diagnosis and treatment.

29 Oct 2026

Novel transporter protein discovery opens new pathways for central nervous system therapies

Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have identified a transporter protein with the potential to open new avenues for improving creatine delivery into the brain and for developing other therapies targeting the central nervous system.

29 Oct 2026

Insights into enzyme selectivity open new pathways for pharmaceutical synthesis

Enzymes are the molecular tools of life. They accelerate chemical reactions and are able to distinguish very precisely between molecules that are similar to one another. The high selectivity of many enzymes is key to the production of important medicines such as penicillin and cyclosporine. But how did enzymes develop this ability to distinguish between similar chemical functionalities with such precision.

29 Oct 2026

Ancient protein model shows early steps in energy metabolism

Researchers in Japan engineered ancestral nucleoside diphosphate kinase variants with restricted amino acid repertoires to explore alternative catalytic functions. One variant, Arc1-12KR, retained its protein fold despite lacking catalytic histidine and unexpectedly converted two ADP molecules into ATP and AMP. The findings reveal alternative catalytic potential in simplified proteins and offer clues to possible routes of energy metabolism during early protein evolution.

29 Oct 2026

High-fat diets in mouse parents alter offspring brain development

Researchers fed breeding pairs of mice five diets with different fat and sugar contents to examine how parental nutrition affects offspring brain development. High-fat diets, alone or combined with high sugar, delayed early motor development and altered brain structure in young adult offspring, while the high-sugar-only diet produced no significant changes in individual brain regions after correction for multiple comparisons.

28 Oct 2026