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Mass spectrometry can help visualize how drugs work inside living cells to kill infectious microbes

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers report that mass spectrometry, a tool currently used to detect and measure proteins and lipids, can also now allow biologists to "see" for the first time exactly how drugs work inside living cells to kill infectious microbes.

3 Nov 2012

Researchers use baker's yeast to identify new therapies for Lou Gehrig's disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastatingly cruel neurodegenerative disorder that robs sufferers of the ability to move, speak and, finally, breathe.

29 Oct 2012

Nanoprobe inventor awarded NJIT Board of Overseers Excellence in Research Prize and Medal

NJIT Research Professor Reginald C. Farrow, PhD, who with his research team have discovered how to make nanoscale arrays of the world's smallest probe for investigating the electrical properties of individual living cells was awarded yesterday, Oct. 4, 2012, the NJIT Board of Overseers Excellence in Research Prize and Medal. This prize is the most prestigious research award at NJIT. It is the fifth time the award has been made.

6 Oct 2012

Conditionally reprogrammed cells help identify effective therapy for HPV-positive RRP

Using a newly discovered cell technology, Georgetown University Medical Center researchers were able to identify an effective therapy for a patient with a rare type of lung tumor. The single case study, reported in the September 27 issue of New England Journal of Medicine, provides a snapshot of the new technology's promising potential; however, researchers strongly caution that it could be years before validation studies are completed and regulatory approval received for its broader use.

28 Sep 2012

Study finds new regulator for heart formation

A new regulator for heart formation has been discovered by studying how embryonic stem cells adjust the packaging of their DNA. This approach to finding genetic regulators, the scientists say, may have the power to provide insight into the development of any tissue in the body - liver, brain, blood and so on.

28 Sep 2012

Early, intensive therapy with adalimumab can help treat rheumatoid arthritis

Early, intensive therapy with a biotechnologically produced medication can provide significantly faster pain relief for patients with rheumatic joint inflammation. Damage to joints can also be reduced when the medication is applied right at the beginning of the illness.

27 Sep 2012

New technique allows cells to make terpenes

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown how to synthesize in the laboratory an important set of natural compounds known as terpenes. The largest class of chemicals made by living organisms, terpenes are made within cells by some of the most complex chemical reactions found in biology.

24 Sep 2012

UC Davis plans to open West Coast Metabolomics Center

With a $9.3 million startup grant from the National Institutes of Health, the University of California, Davis, has announced plans to open the West Coast Metabolomics Center, a high-tech consortium of research and service laboratories that will help scientists better understand and develop more effective treatments for complex diseases like diabetes, cancer and atherosclerosis.

6 Sep 2012

Study demonstrates how DBP production is modulated by daily variations of temperature

Numerous processes in our body fluctuate in a regular pattern during the day. These circadian (or daily) variations can be driven by local oscillators present within our cells or by systemic signals controlled by the master pacemaker, located in the brain. Ueli Schibler, professor at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, unveils a molecular mechanism by which body temperature rhythms influence the expression of 'clock genes' and synchronize local oscillators.

24 Aug 2012

New method could increase number of genetic components in synthetic biologists' toolkit

Through the assembly of genetic components into "circuits" that perform logical operations in living cells, synthetic biologists aim to artificially empower cells to solve critical problems in medicine, energy and the environment. To succeed, however, they'll need far more reliable genetic components than the small number of "off-the-shelf" bacterial parts now available.

3 Aug 2012

Three papers focus on nucleosomes and may help uncover the rules governing gene transcription

A trio of groundbreaking publications from researchers in Northwestern University's Physical Sciences-Oncology Center (PS-OC) report important methodological advances that will enable a better understanding of how gene expression is regulated, both in normal cells and in cancer cells. This knowledge could lead to the development of more effective therapeutic agents to treat cancer patients.

2 Aug 2012

Two new targets could enhance the body's defenses against West Nile and hepatitis C

Two new targets have been discovered for antiviral therapies and vaccines strategies that could enhance the body's defenses against such infectious diseases as West Nile and hepatitis C. The targets are within the infection warning system inside living cells.

31 Jul 2012

Novel method of identifying molecules that can help prevent diabetes

Pancreatic beta cells produce insulin, responsible for controlling blood sugar levels and thus essential for our survival. Among the numerous factors that affect the workings of these cells, a protein called Cx36 was identified a few months ago by a research team at the UNIGE.

27 Jul 2012

NIH grants aim at creating 3-D tissue chips to help identify drug safety signals

Seventeen National Institutes of Health grants are aimed at creating 3-D chips with living cells and tissues that accurately model the structure and function of human organs such as the lung, liver and heart. Once developed, these tissue chips will be tested with compounds known to be safe or toxic in humans to help identify the most reliable drug safety signals - ultimately advancing research to help predict the safety of potential drugs in a faster, more cost-effective way.

25 Jul 2012

Cadherin-catenin-actin structure exerts force inside and between cells in living tissues

If you place certain types of living cells on a microscope slide, the cells will inch across the glass, find their neighbors, and assemble themselves into a simple, if primitive tissue. A new study at Stanford University may help explain this phenomenon, and then some, about the mechanical structure and behavior of complex living organisms.

17 Jul 2012

Study sheds light on the assembly of ribosome

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a series of intricate biochemical steps that lead to the successful production of proteins, the basic working units of any cell.

6 Jul 2012

3D printed templates of filament networks can improve function of engineered living tissues

Researchers are hopeful that new advances in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine could one day make a replacement liver from a patient's own cells, or animal muscle tissue that could be cut into steaks without ever being inside a cow.

2 Jul 2012

Study illustrates novel mechanical transduction properties of hematopoietic stem cells

A recent study led by Andrew Puca, Ph.D. under the supervision and direction of Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D. set out to illustrate novel mechanical transduction properties of Hematopoietic Stem Cells in relation to defining the expression of humoral factors by facilitating paracrine/autocrine signalling via microgravity.

2 Jul 2012

BioImageXD software can help analyze cell and tissue functions

Researchers in Finland and Germany have developed an open-source software that will make it significantly easier to process bioimaging data. The software, named BioImageXD, will help in analysing cell and tissue functions.

26 Jun 2012

Transplantation of tissue-engineered vein is a success and offers hope for patients who lack suitable veins for dialysis or bypass surgery

The first biologically tissue-engineered vein grown from a patient’s own stem cells has been successfully transplanted into a 10-year-old girl with portal vein obstruction, dramatically enhancing her quality of life.

15 Jun 2012