Cell Membrane News and Research

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New discovery could provide opportunity to improve blood glucose control

Many diabetes patients do not only have problems with their insulin, but also with the release of the hormone glucagon. Researchers at Uppsala University have now discovered a regulation mechanism which could provide an opportunity to improve blood glucose control in these patients.

26 Apr 2019

Neuroscientists propose new theory about amyloid precursor protein connection in Alzheimer's

Worldwide, 50 million people are living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. According to the Alzheimer's Association, every 65 seconds someone in the United States develops this disease, which causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.

23 Apr 2019

Hole-forming protein could help control cancer growth

Sometimes cells need to die. The process of cell death is encoded within the genome of all higher organisms to kill off cancerous cells, and as a normal part of development to shape a mass of embryonic cells into the organism it will become.

22 Apr 2019

Molecular target UNC45A is essential for cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth

Identifying a protein that plays a key role in cancer cell growth is a first step toward the development of a targeted cancer therapy. It is especially promising when this protein is dispensable for the growth of normal cells.

19 Apr 2019

Study uncovers new biomarker for personalized cancer treatments

Cancer cells are characterized by the ability to evade apoptosis, a type of programmed cell death that allows the organism to remove damaged cells.

16 Apr 2019

Researchers annotate key neuronal proteins in lamprey genome

The lamprey, an eel-like primitive vertebrate, is a popular organism for neurobiology studies because it has a relatively simple nervous system.

16 Apr 2019

Newly developed melanin nanoparticles could slow tumor growth

The dark skin pigment melanin protects us from the sun's damaging rays by absorbing light energy and converting it to heat.

5 Apr 2019

Scientists develop new accurate computational method to enhance drug target stability

Scientists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, and the University of Southern California have developed a new computational method for the design of thermally stable G protein-coupled receptors that are of great help in creating new drugs.

30 Mar 2019

Researchers unravel biomechanics of Ebola virus-host cell adhesion

It was recently reported that the number of Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 1,000, making it the second-worst outbreak in history after the 2014 outbreak in West Africa in which 29,000 people were infected and more than 11,000 died.

27 Mar 2019

Prostate cancer cells 'spit out' a protein that promotes tumor growth

Prostate cancer cells change the behavior of other cells around them, including normal cells, by 'spitting out' a protein from their nucleus, new research has found.

26 Mar 2019

Study finds previously unknown mechanism for microbes to save energy in lean times

In favorable conditions, many bacteria propel themselves to food sources and other sites of interest using whip-like molecular propellers known as flagella.

20 Mar 2019

Research: Pure omega-3 prescription drug significantly reduces the occurrence of ischemic events

Taking a high dose of icosapent ethyl--a pure and stable prescription form of the omega-3 fatty acid known as EPA--significantly reduces the occurrence of first, subsequent and total ischemic events, including heart attacks, strokes and related deaths, among people at high cardiovascular risk despite already being on statin therapy, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session.

19 Mar 2019

Researchers determine factors that cause stress development in the human body

In today's life, we often encounter situations when the organism's functions are overstrained, and the action of extreme factors causes the development of a stress response.

15 Mar 2019

Study unravels microscopic mysteries in the brains of C. elegans

It's the small pieces that make the big picture, and in this case, the pieces can't be seen by the naked eye. New research at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Universit used microscopy techniques to piece together the brain of the millimeter-long Caenorhabditis elegans, revealing that their neurons fire action potentials - a spike in voltage due to neurons sending sensory information in the cell membrane.

5 Mar 2019

Protein signaling in embryos is far more complex than previously thought

How cells in developing embryos communicate depends a great deal on context, according to scientists at Rice University.

2 Mar 2019

Researchers discover origin of resistance to lung cancer

For treating cancer, drugs based on molecules known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors are sometimes used. One such tyrosine kinase inhibitor, called osimertinib, has been used to treat EGFR-mutated lung cancer with a certain degree of efficacy.

25 Feb 2019

Researchers engineer 'antibody-like' T cell receptors to combat deadly virus

Researchers have engineered "antibody-like" T cell receptors that can specifically stick to cells infected with cytomegalovirus, or CMV, a virus that causes lifelong infection in more than half of all adults by age 40.

23 Feb 2019

Novel MRI sensor can peer deep into the brain to detect intracellular calcium activity

Calcium is a critical signaling molecule for most cells, and it is especially important in neurons. Imaging calcium in brain cells can reveal how neurons communicate with each other; however, current imaging techniques can only penetrate a few millimeters into the brain.

22 Feb 2019

Cell membrane complexes may be new target for drugs to kill cancer cells

Old molecules and new complexes: researchers at Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina have discovered cell membrane complexes called ceramidosomes that may be a new target for drugs to kill cancer cells.

13 Feb 2019

Human brain protein linked with autism has an effect on fruit fly behavior

A mutant gene that encodes a brain protein in a child with autism has been placed into the brains of fruit flies. Fruit flies hosting that gene produce the variant human brain protein and show abnormal behaviors of fear, repetitive activity and altered social interaction, reminiscent of autism impairments.

12 Feb 2019