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Professors receive Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic

The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof "for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells".

7 Oct 2013

Doctors prescribe antibiotics for sore throats and acute bronchitis, say researchers

A vast majority of people who see their doctors for sore throats or acute bronchitis receive antibiotics, yet only a small percentage should, according to analyses of two major national surveys being presented at IDWeek 2013-. Those illnesses usually are caused by viruses, and antibiotics - which only treat bacterial infections - do not help.

5 Oct 2013

Metabolic enzymes in opium poppy are used to produce valuable painkilling drugs

University of Calgary scientists have discovered metabolic enzymes in the opium poppy that play "widespread roles" in enabling the plant to make painkilling morphine and codeine, and other important compounds.

5 Oct 2013

Research findings show how flawed transport gene contributes to autism

Researchers say it's clear that some cases of autism are hereditary, but have struggled to draw direct links between the condition and particular genes. Now a team at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has devised a process for connecting a suspect gene to its function in autism.

1 Oct 2013

Shortage of zinc may contribute to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have made a discovery that, if replicated in humans, suggests a shortage of zinc may contribute to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which have been linked to defective proteins clumping together in the brain.

1 Oct 2013

Scientists unravel secrets of mechanism that snips our genes

Certain diseases such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy are linked to genetic mutations that damage the important biological process of rearranging gene sequences in pre-messenger RNA, a procedure called RNA splicing.

27 Sep 2013

Scientists develop sophisticated assay to track cell growth at low nutrient concentrations

The budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a prime organism for studying fundamental cellular processes, with the functions of many proteins important in the cell cycle and signaling networks found in human biology having first been discovered in yeast.

18 Sep 2013

Microbiologist finds breakthrough herbal medicine treatment for common human fungal pathogen

A Kansas State University microbiologist has found a breakthrough herbal medicine treatment for a common human fungal pathogen that lives in almost 80 percent of people.

13 Sep 2013

New antibody could prevent Candida infections in patients who receive central lines

A team of researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has developed an antibody that could prevent Candida infections that often afflict hospitalized patients who receive central lines.

12 Sep 2013

New research explains how DNA strands repair themselves

Researchers have discovered the details of how cells repair breaks in both strands of their DNA, a potentially devastating kind of DNA damage.

12 Sep 2013

Viamet initiates phase 2 clinical trial of antifungal agent VT-1161 for treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis

Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the initiation of the phase 2 clinical program for its antifungal agent VT-1161. The initial phase 2 study is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of VT-1161 in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and is being conducted at leading clinical centers in the United States.

7 Sep 2013

Disease Twofer: Parkin Problem Leads To Parkinson’S And Impairs Response To TB

University of California, San Francisco researchers report that a key protein associated with Parkinson's disease also plays a major role in the destruction of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.

5 Sep 2013

Parkin protein plays key role in destruction of bacteria that cause tuberculosis

A protein at the center of Parkinson's disease research now also has been found to play a key role in causing the destruction of bacteria that cause tuberculosis, according to scientists led by UC San Francisco microbiologist and tuberculosis expert Jeffery Cox, PhD.

5 Sep 2013

Researchers identify possible treatment strategy for ALS and other neurodegenerative disorders

Researchers have tied mutations in a gene that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative disorders to the toxic buildup of certain proteins and related molecules in cells, including neurons. The research, published recently in the scientific journal Cell, offers a new approach for developing treatments against these devastating diseases.

29 Aug 2013

Glutathione peroxidase activity protects against symptoms of Huntington's disease

Leicester geneticists have discovered a potential defence against Huntington's disease - a fatal neurodegenerative disorder which currently has no cure.

26 Aug 2013

Scientists discover that chromosomal rearrangements can be advantageous

In a pioneer study published in the latest issue of the scientific journal Nature Communications, a research team at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci-ncia (IGC; Portugal), led by Miguel Godinho Ferreira in collaboration with Isabel Gordo, show for the first time that chromosomes rearrangements (such as inversions or translocations) can provide advantages to the cells that harbor them depending on the environment they are exposed.

23 Aug 2013

FDA approves first mass spectrometer system in U.S. for identification of bacteria, yeasts

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing in the U.S. of the first mass spectrometer system for automated identification of bacteria and yeasts that are known to cause serious illness in humans.

22 Aug 2013

Probiotic does not prevent clinical relapse in patients with Crohn's disease

Despite previous data showing beneficial effects, the probiotic Saccharomuces boulardii (S. boulardii) does not prevent clinical relapse in patients with Crohn's disease, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

16 Aug 2013

Chemical compound prevents fungal cells from adhering to surfaces

Targeting serious and sometimes deadly fungal infections, a team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) has discovered a chemical compound that prevents fungal cells from adhering to surfaces, which, typically, is the first step of the infection process used by the human pathogen Candida albicans (C. albicans).

14 Aug 2013

Bacterial strains that delay cell division might be used to design drugs that stop division entirely

In 1958 a group of scientists working in Denmark made the striking observation that bacterial cells are about twice as large when they are cultured on a rich nutrient source than when they are cultured on a meager one.

13 Aug 2013