Enzyme News and Research

RSS

Inbreeding in bed bugs one key to massive increases in infestations

New research on the bed bug’s ability to withstand the genetic bottleneck of inbreeding, announced today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) annual meeting, provides new clues to explain the rapidly growing problem of bed bugs across the United States and globally. After mostly disappearing in the US in the 1950s, the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) has reappeared with a vengeance over the past decade. These stubborn pests have developed a resistance to the insecticides, known as pyrethroids, commonly used against them.

6 Dec 2011

Researchers reveal how podocytes may regenerate themselves during normal kidney function

Damage to podocytes -- a specialized type of epithelial cell in the kidney -- occurs in more than 90 percent of all chronic kidney disease. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have uncovered an unexpected pathway that reveals for the first time how these cells may regenerate and renew themselves during normal kidney function.

6 Dec 2011

Researchers uncover binding pocket of 'functional significance' in Ras oncoprotein

A drug discovery team at Genentech, Inc., has uncovered a chink in the molecular armor of Ras, the most commonly occurring oncogene, which is a gene that when mutated has the potential of causing cancer in humans.

5 Dec 2011

Implantable replacement cartilages hold promise for damaged knees, shoulders, ears and noses

A lab discovery is a step toward implantable replacement cartilage, holding promise for knees, shoulders, ears and noses damaged by osteoarthritis, sports injuries and accidents.

3 Dec 2011

Baby boomers more likely to develop HCV

Experts at Montefiore Medical Center urge the general public to be tested for the Hepatitis C virus, especially baby boomers, adults born between 1946-1964, who could be most at risk for this disease. Baby boomers are more likely to have been exposed to dangerous risk factors decades ago, such as sharing a drug needle, being tattooed or pierced with unsterilized tools or receiving a tainted blood transfusion.

2 Dec 2011

Blocking telomerase increases cancer cells' sensitivity to radiation treatment

Shortening end caps on chromosomes in human cervical cancer cells disrupts DNA repair signaling, increases the cells' sensitivity to radiation treatment and kills them more quickly, according to a study in Cancer Prevention Research.

2 Dec 2011

Scottsdale resident donates $1 million to TGen pancreatic cancer initiative

A son's passion to find a cure for the cancer that claimed the life of his mother has led to a new series of clinical trials under a Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) initiative to find a cure for pancreatic cancer.

2 Dec 2011

White tea, witch hazel and rose have potential health and beauty properties

Age-old remedies could hold the key to treating a wide range of serious medical problems, as well as keeping skin firmer and less wrinkled, according to scientists from London's Kingston University.

2 Dec 2011

Combination of two techniques promises to improve effectiveness of experimental gene therapies

yeast or phages act not only to tag and target but also to exchange specific genes in DNA A combination of two techniques promises to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of experimental gene therapies, while also reducing potential side effects says a new research report published in the December 2011 issue of the FASEB Journal.

1 Dec 2011

Ranbaxy receives FDA approval for first generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first generic version of the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor.

30 Nov 2011

DNA gyrase B could rapidly eliminate TB, shorten treatment time

In research at SRI International, scientists evaluating new drug targets against tuberculosis (TB) recently validated the preclinical effectiveness of a target that could rapidly eliminate infections and potentially shorten treatment time. The new drug target is a protein called DNA gyrase B, found in bacteria that cause TB infections.

30 Nov 2011

BioMarin commences GALNS Phase 2 study in mucopolysaccharidosis IVA

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 study for GALNS (N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulfatase) in patients under five years of age with mucopolysaccharidosis IVA.

30 Nov 2011

Herbicide atrazine linked to reproductive dysfunction

An international team of researchers has reviewed the evidence linking exposure to atrazine - an herbicide widely used in the U.S. and more than 60 other nations - to reproductive problems in animals. The team found consistent patterns of reproductive dysfunction in amphibians, fish, reptiles and mammals exposed to the chemical.

29 Nov 2011

New technique to accomplish 'accelerated serendipity' using robotics

Scientists can now take that "a-ha" moment to go with a method Princeton University researchers developed - and successfully tested - to speed up the chances of an unexpected yet groundbreaking chemical discovery.

29 Nov 2011

New protein involved in defense mechanism against cancer

Researchers of the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet and the University of Cologne, Germany, have identified a new protein involved in a defense mechanism against cancer.

28 Nov 2011

Novel proteomics based method detects inhibition of intracellular deubiquitylating enzymes

Researchers at the University of Oxford and Progenra, Inc. are pleased to announce the publication of a research article entitled "Activity-Based Chemical Proteomics Accelerates Inhibitor Development for Deubiquitylating Enzymes" that details a novel proteomics based method to detect inhibition of intracellular deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs).

28 Nov 2011

Most people with Timothy syndrome mutation have autistic symptoms

Neuroscientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have homed in on potential differences in autistic people's brain cells by studying brainlike spheres grown in an elaborate process from skin cells.

28 Nov 2011

Scientists decode how Machado-Joseph disease arises

Neurodegenerative diseases represent one of the greatest challenges of our aging society. However, investigation into these diseases is made particularly difficult due to the limited availability of human brain tissue. Scientists from the Life & Brain Research Center and Neurology Clinic of Bonn University have now taken a roundabout path: They reprogrammed skin cells from patients with a hereditary movement disorder into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and obtained functional nerve cells from them.

24 Nov 2011

Cancer medicine component could prevent heart attacks

A substance in medicines for cancer and epilepsy could also prevent heart attacks, according to researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, who have been using it to stimulate the body's own defence system against blood clots.

23 Nov 2011

Mutations that affect lysosomes play a role in causing persistent stuttering

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have obtained new evidence that at least some persistent stuttering is caused by mutations in a gene governing not speech, but a metabolic pathway involved in recycling old cell parts.

23 Nov 2011