Mycology News and Research

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TUM biophysicists map changes in energy landscape of zipper-like protein molecule

Biophysicists at TUM, the Technische Universitaet Muenchen, have published the results of single-molecule experiments that bring a higher-resolution tool to the study of protein folding. How proteins arrive at the three-dimensional shapes that determine their essential functions - or cause grave diseases when folding goes wrong - is considered one of the most important and least understood questions in the biological and medical sciences.

20 Jan 2010

HSF1A stimulates more protein chaperones and reduces protein misfolding

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have found some compounds that improve a cell's ability to properly "fold" proteins and could lead to promising drugs for degenerative nerve diseases, including Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

20 Jan 2010

Antibiotic drops are safe and effective for treating swimmer's ear

When treating the pain and inflammation of swimmer's ear, antibiotic drops are the most effective — and safest - therapy, finds a new review of studies.

20 Jan 2010

Study provides new insights into genetics and evolution

Researchers from the University of Geneva and the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics led an analysis of the sequenced genomes of parasitic wasps. Generally unknown to the public, the parasitic wasps kill pest insects. They are like 'smart bombs' that seek out and kill only specific kinds of insects.

19 Jan 2010

Molecules capable of reversing brain abnormalities in PD identified

Scientists identified several molecules capable of reversing the brain abnormalities of Parkinson's disease (PD), while also uncovering new clues for its origin in a study just published in the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms. PD is characterised by abnormal deposits of a brain protein called alpha-synuclein throughout the damaged brain regions, but exactly what they do there is not clear. The fact that their numbers and spreading are associated disease progression has made them, however, a major point of interest in PD research.

18 Jan 2010

Over-the-counter medications can help manage minor ailments

Nonprescription medications in the home medicine cabinet could save a trip to the doctor. The January issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter lists more than a dozen over-the-counter medications that can help manage minor ailments.

18 Jan 2010

Economist examines innovative mechanisms for funding global health programs

The Economist examines the "dramatic" change in funding for projects aimed at fighting diseases in the developing world. "In 1990 more than two-thirds of the $5.6 billion spent on global health assistance came from governments.

9 Jan 2010

UI cell membrane protein study may lead to new methods of tracking metastasizing cancer cells

With the discovery of a new type of chemical modification on an important muscle protein, a University of Iowa study improves understanding of certain muscular dystrophies and could potentially lead to new treatments for the conditions.

4 Jan 2010

Defects in protein-secretion machinery linked to neural tube closure

Spinal cord disorders like spina bifida arise during early development when future spinal cord cells growing in a flat layer fail to roll up into a tube. In the Dec. 6 issue of Nature Cell Biology, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine team with colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley to report a never-before known link between protein transport and mouse spinal cord development, a discovery that opens new doors for research on all spinal defects.

29 Dec 2009

Small molecules reverse protein trafficking and mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's disease models

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremors, muscle rigidity, and slowed movements. There is currently no cure for the disease, and current Parkinson's therapies only address disease symptoms, not the disease's cellular cause.

29 Dec 2009

CtIP protein plays a critical role in DNA repair

La Jolla, CA-In order to preserve our DNA, cells have developed an intricate system for monitoring and repairing DNA damage. Yet precisely how the initial damage signal is converted into a repair response remains unclear. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have now solved a crucial piece of the complex puzzle.

28 Dec 2009

Discovery of protein transport promotes new research on spinal defects

27 Dec 2009

Researchers to discover how to combat the negative aspects of fungi

Mold and mildew may be doomed. Researchers are closer to understanding how these and other fungi grow. "Fungi have a big impact on our dinner plate," said Dr. Brian Shaw, Texas AgriLife Research plant pathologist.

22 Dec 2009

New technology sheds light on intracellular transport

Using new technology developed in his University of Oregon lab, chemist Andrew H. Marcus and his doctoral student Eric N. Senning have captured what they describe as well-orchestrated, actin-driven, mitochondrial movement within a single cell.

18 Dec 2009

FDA grants marketing approval for EnzySurge's new SilverStream solution for prescription use

EnzySurge Ltd. (EnzySurge), a provider of innovative solutions for the advanced chronic wound management market, announced today that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its new SilverStream(TM) solution for prescription use. The FDA also cleared DermaSept, an Over-the-Counter version of the SilverStream product.

15 Dec 2009

Researchers study incidence of heterosis for different characteristics

When two gene pools combine, you might expect the characteristics of the offspring to end up somewhere in the middle between those of its parents. But children often have characteristics that are better or worse than that middle value, sometimes even better than both parents.

9 Dec 2009

RCT licensee Dyax receives approval from the FDA for KALBITOR

RCT licensee Dyax Corp. has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for KALBITOR® (ecallantide) for the treatment of acute attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in patients 16 years of age and older.

7 Dec 2009

New study helps understand the positive effect of dietary restriction on healthy ageing

A new study of the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing could help to understand the positive effect of dietary restriction on healthy ageing.

5 Dec 2009

Protein plays a key role in cancer and DNA repair

A protein that plays a key role in copying DNA also plays a vital role in repairing breaks in it, UC Davis scientists have found. The work is helping researchers understand how cancer cells can resist radiation and chemotherapy, as well as how cells become cancerous in the first place.

4 Dec 2009

Combination of green tea and DAPH-12 chemicals may help prevent brain disorders

Scientists at Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI) and the University of Pennsylvania have found that combining two chemicals, one of which is the green tea component EGCG, can prevent and destroy a variety of protein structures known as amyloids. Amyloids are the primary culprits in fatal brain disorders such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's diseases.

4 Dec 2009