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Silibinin kills skin cells mutated by UVA radiation and protects against cancer

A pair of University of Colorado Cancer Center studies published this month show that the milk thistle extract, silibinin, kills skin cells mutated by UVA radiation and protects against damage by UVB radiation - thus protecting against UV-induced skin cancer and photo-aging.

31 Jan 2013

Interrupting key interaction between p68 and calcium-calmodulin inhibits cancer metastasis

Disrupting a key interaction between two types of proteins in cells inhibits the spread of cancerous cells, providing researchers with a new pathway toward developing cancer-fighting drugs, according to new findings by Georgia State University scientists.

31 Jan 2013

Possible new direction for treatment of metabolic syndrome

Obesity might be a very modern problem, but a team of scientists from Taiwan and China is turning to the age-old principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to help fight it. Breaking research published in the Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics indicates a possible new direction for the treatment of metabolic syndrome.

31 Jan 2013

Erbin protein critical to brain excitement

Scientists have found an early step in how the brain's inhibitory cells get excited. A natural balance of excitement and inhibition keeps the brain from firing electrical impulses randomly and excessively, resulting in problems such as schizophrenia and seizures. However excitement is required to put on the brakes.

31 Jan 2013

Klotho protein plays important role in the health of myelin

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) led by Carmela Abraham, PhD, professor of biochemistry, along with Cidi Chen, PhD, and other collaborators, report that the protein Klotho plays an important role in the health of myelin, the insulating material allowing for the rapid communication between nerve cells.

31 Jan 2013

Mount Sinai to initiate immunological therapy trial against chronic pulmonary sarcoidosis

Patients are currently being enrolled in the first clinical trial to investigate the efficacy of immunological therapy for chronic pulmonary sarcoidosis. The trial is being conducted by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

31 Jan 2013

IL-13 protein could be the key to development of fibrosis in Crohn's disease

New research has shown that a protein, known as IL-13, could be the key to the development of fibrosis in Crohn's disease. This breakthrough could help to advance new medicines to treat people suffering with the disease.

30 Jan 2013

MiR-182 deeply involved in memory formation within the amygdala brain structure

It takes a lot to make a memory. New proteins have to be synthesized, neuron structures altered. While some of these memory-building mechanisms are known, many are not. Some recent studies have indicated that a unique group of molecules called microRNAs, known to control production of proteins in cells, may play a far more important role in memory formation than previously thought.

30 Jan 2013

Apolipoprotein E-4 useful in promoting neuron growth in the lab

A protein associated with neuron damage in people with Alzheimer's disease is surprisingly useful in promoting neuron growth in the lab, according to a new study by engineering researchers at Brown University.

30 Jan 2013

New clue to why some people fight infections better than others

As influenza spreads through the northern hemisphere winter, Dr Linda Wakim and her colleagues in the Laboratory of Professor Jose Villadangos from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, believe they have a new clue to why some people fight infections better than others.

30 Jan 2013

Researchers create CoQ9-deficient mutant mouse model with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy

At three to six months of life, this genetic alteration in mice -similar to that occurred in human- causes a rapid degeneration in the lower limbs to death for cardiac arrest.

30 Jan 2013

Insight into reasons why precocious puberty occurs in females

New research from Oregon Health & Science University has provided significant insight into the reasons why early-onset puberty occurs in females.

30 Jan 2013

ADRB receptors play a direct role in Src activation by PKA-mediated mechanism

Scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered the signaling pathway whereby a master regulator of cancer cell proteins - known as Src - leads to ovarian cancer progression when exposed to stress hormones. The researchers report in the current issue of Nature Communications that beta blocker drugs mitigate this effect and reduce cancer deaths by an average of 17 percent.

30 Jan 2013

NRC, AvidBiologics partner to develop three novel ADCs for treatment of cancer

AvidBiologics Inc., a life sciences company developing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), announces the conclusion of an agreement with the National Research Council Canada (NRC) to develop three novel ADCs for the treatment of cancer.

30 Jan 2013

Acceleron commences ACE-536 phase 2 study in myelodysplastic syndromes

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics for cancer and orphan diseases, today announced the initiation of a phase 2 study of its investigational protein therapeutic, ACE-536, to treat anemia in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

30 Jan 2013

Mice with mitochondrial mutation live longer, have less fat

If findings of a new study in mice are any indication, it might be possible to fine-tune cellular powerhouses called mitochondria, tweaking one aspect to increase insulin sensitivity, reduce body and fat mass, and even extend life. Exploiting this target could one day lead to novel treatments for type 2 diabetes - an endocrine system disease that affects 8 percent of the U.S. population. The research also points to promising new avenues of investigation in the biology of aging.

30 Jan 2013

Non-coding RNA essential for normal embryonic cardiogenesis

Many different tissues and organs form from pluripotent stem cells during embryonic development. To date it had been known that these processes are controlled by transcription factors for specific tissues. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, in collaboration with colleagues at MIT and the Broad Institute in Boston, have now been able to demonstrate that RNA molecules, which do not act as templates for protein synthesis, participate in these processes as well.

30 Jan 2013

Researchers identify mechanism by which S. aureus colonises nasal passages

A collaboration between researchers at the School of Biochemistry and Immunology and the Department of Microbiology at Trinity College Dublin has identified a mechanism by which the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) colonises our nasal passages.

29 Jan 2013

One-step, off-the-shelf tool can help evaluate genetic cause of mitochondrial diseases

More powerful gene-sequencing tools have increasingly been uncovering disease secrets in DNA within the cell nucleus. Now a research team is expanding those rapid next-generation sequencing tests to analyze a separate source of DNA—within the genes inside mitochondria, cellular power plants that, when abnormal, contribute to complex, multisystem diseases.

29 Jan 2013

Dectin-1 potential target for nasal polyposis

The transmembrane protein Dectin-1 appears to play a role in the pathogenesis of nasal polyposis, providing a potential new target for treating the condition, report Chinese researchers.

29 Jan 2013