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Novel inhibitor offsets neurotoxic effects of tPA - possible new stroke treatments

A research team lead by the Burnham Institute has synthesized and tested a new series of inhibitors that can prevent the type of nerve cell injury and death associated with many neurodegenerative diseases and stroke.

6 Jul 2005

Researchers find enzyme vital for controlling the early stages of cell death

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found an enzyme vital for controlling the early stages of cell death - a beneficial and normal process when it works right, but malignant in a variety of cancers when it malfunctions.

30 Jun 2005

Protein that was thought to simply turn genes on and off now looks to be more like a cellular dimmer switch

The scientists showed for the first time that when certain parts of a protein molecule are modified - flexible, randomly structured regions believed to be only minor players in the protein world - they become important in turning genes on and off, but in a way that resembles a dimmer switch rather than an on-off switch.

30 Jun 2005

New drug candidate against HIV-infection

As a part of a research collaboration, scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy at Gotenborg University, Sweden, have developed a new drug candidate against HIV-infection. The new substance, named alphaHGA, will be tested on patients this year.

30 Jun 2005

Viagra's non-blood pressure effect successfully mimics vasopressin action

Normally your kidneys filter about 50 gallons of blood a day, remove such waste as salts and minerals, and concentrate it into urine. When you exercise or don't take in water, your blood "thickens" and instead of removing water, the kidney reverses the process, pulls in water from the body that would normally go into the urine, and puts it into the blood, thus maintaining water balance.

29 Jun 2005

A new method for manipulating macromolecules

The technique uses double-stranded DNA to direct the behavior of other molecules. In previous DNA nanotechnology efforts, duplex DNA has been used as a static lattice to construct geometrical objects in three dimensions.

29 Jun 2005

Scientists solve structure of a critical innate immune system protein

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have solved the structure of a crucial human immune system molecule called TLR3, an acronym for Toll-like receptor three. In an upcoming issue of the journal Science, the protein is described as a large horseshoe-shaped coil composed of 23 leucine-rich repeats (LRRs).

27 Jun 2005

Researchers successfully treat laboratory model of a lysosomal storage disease called GM1

Physicians might one day be able to treat a disease that destroys brain cells in children using genetically modified cells to transport a "drug" to the site of the dying neural cells (cells that transmit impulses).

27 Jun 2005

Light used to regulate protein synthesis

Proteins are the puzzle-pieces of life, involved in how organisms grow and flourish, but studying their complex biological processes in living systems has been extremely difficult.

27 Jun 2005

Metabasis and Merck collaborate to develop new treatment for diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity

Metabasis Therapeutics and Merck announced today that they have formed a collaboration to research, develop and commercialize novel small molecule therapeutics with potential to treat several diseases, including type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity, by activation of an enzyme in the liver called AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK).

27 Jun 2005

Study sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of chronic wounds

A study conducted by NYU School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with the Wound Healing Program at Columbia University, sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of chronic wounds.

26 Jun 2005

Scientists identify inhibitors of the anthrax toxin

A collaborative team of scientists led by The Burnham Institute's Maurizio Pellecchia, Ph.D., has identified inhibitors of the anthrax toxin, termed lethal factor ("LF") that could be developed into an emergency treatment for exposure to inhalation anthrax.

21 Jun 2005

Finding may impact understanding of mechanical facets of many diseases

An international team led by Jeffrey J. Fredberg, professor of bioengineering and physiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, has found that the cell modulates its mechanical properties in much the same way as a glassblower shapes fine glassware.

20 Jun 2005

Unique arrays of proteins tethered onto self-assembled DNA nanostructures

In the fifty-year history since the structure of DNA was first revealed, what was once a Nobel prize- winning research discovery has become an omnipresent cultural icon co-opted for promoting everything from fragrances to musical acts.

20 Jun 2005

Neurocrine Biosciences issued new U.S. patent

Neurocrine Biosciences announced today the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 6,903,106 covering a novel polymorphic form (different crystal structure) of its proprietary compound indiplon for the treatment of insomnia.

16 Jun 2005

Wonder drug attacks range of cancers

A team of cancer research scientists from the Royal Marsden Hospital in London say the drug 17AAG has shown in early trials, promising signs of fighting a range of cancers.

16 Jun 2005

Scientists discover new way of bringing "bio-prospecting" out of the rainforest and into the lab

Nature is a seemingly endless storehouse of interesting - and potentially life-saving - biological molecules. But tracking down and harvesting those chemicals in their natural form can be time-consuming, expensive and unreliable.

15 Jun 2005

Nanotechnology used to smuggle a powerful chemotherapeutic drug inside tumor cells

University of Michigan scientists have created the nanotechnology equivalent of a Trojan horse to smuggle a powerful chemotherapeutic drug inside tumor cells - increasing the drug's cancer-killing activity and reducing its toxic side effects.

15 Jun 2005

Tetanus toxin may help fight depression, anxiety, anorexia and Parkinson's

A team of researchers from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Institute of Neuroscience at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has discovered that tetanus toxin, which causes tetanus, could be extremely useful as a therapy against psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety and anorexia, and to slow the progress of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease.

14 Jun 2005

New technology developed at Cornell University could make it just as easy to identify genes

A supermarket checkout computer can identify thousands of different items by scanning the tiny barcode printed on the package. New technology developed at Cornell University could make it just as easy to identify genes, pathogens, illegal drugs and other chemicals of interest by tagging them with color-coded probes made out of synthetic tree-shaped DNA.

14 Jun 2005

Molecule News and Research

Novel inhibitor offsets neurotoxic effects of tPA - possible new stroke treatments

Researchers find enzyme vital for controlling the early stages of cell death

Protein that was thought to simply turn genes on and off now looks to be more like a cellular dimmer switch

New drug candidate against HIV-infection

Viagra's non-blood pressure effect successfully mimics vasopressin action

A new method for manipulating macromolecules

Scientists solve structure of a critical innate immune system protein

Researchers successfully treat laboratory model of a lysosomal storage disease called GM1

Light used to regulate protein synthesis

Metabasis and Merck collaborate to develop new treatment for diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity

Study sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of chronic wounds

Scientists identify inhibitors of the anthrax toxin

Finding may impact understanding of mechanical facets of many diseases

Unique arrays of proteins tethered onto self-assembled DNA nanostructures

Neurocrine Biosciences issued new U.S. patent

Wonder drug attacks range of cancers

Scientists discover new way of bringing "bio-prospecting" out of the rainforest and into the lab

Nanotechnology used to smuggle a powerful chemotherapeutic drug inside tumor cells

Tetanus toxin may help fight depression, anxiety, anorexia and Parkinson's

New technology developed at Cornell University could make it just as easy to identify genes

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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