Cell Membrane News and Research

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Gramicidin-Based Fluorescence Assay can help predict drug toxicity

Sometimes, toxic side effects aren't discovered until fairly late in the drug development process, when substantial amounts of time and money have already been invested in clinical trials.

9 Feb 2015

New findings could pave way to develop drug therapies for necrosis-related diseases

Strokes, heart attacks and traumatic brain injuries are separate diseases with certain shared pathologies that achieve a common end - cell death and human injury due to hypoxia, or lack of oxygen.

9 Feb 2015

Researchers report novel method for minimally invasive tissue ablation surgery

A team of researchers that includes scientists from the Quinnipiac University and the University of California, Berkeley reports a new method for minimally invasive tissue ablation surgery that combines electrolysis with reversible electroporation.

9 Feb 2015

Cell-penetrating nanoparticles can efficiently transport oligonucleotide drugs into cells

Therapeutic oligonucleotide analogs represent a new and promising family of drugs that act on nucleic acid targets such as RNA or DNA; however, their effectiveness has been limited due to difficulty crossing the cell membrane.

31 Jan 2015

Altered AHNAK gene may open door to improved treatment for keloid scars

Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit have identified a gene that may offer a better understanding of how keloid scars develop and potentially open the door to improved treatment for the often painful, itchy and tender scars.

23 Jan 2015

Using HIV drugs to treat AMD: an interview with Dr Mark Young

NRTIs are compounds which were originally developed in the 1960s as anti-cancer agents. They are similar in structure to the bases which make up DNA, and it was hoped that they would interfere with DNA replication in fast-growing cancer cells, slowing down or stopping tumour growth.

7 Jan 2015

TSRI scientists identify 'mechanoreceptor' protein that mediates sense of touch in mammals

A team led by biologists at The Scripps Research Institute has solved a long-standing mystery in neuroscience by identifying the "mechanoreceptor" protein that mediates the sense of touch in mammals.

5 Dec 2014

Scientists reveal how bacterial nanodrills enter into our cells to kill them

A team of scientists has revealed how certain harmful bacteria drill into our cells to kill them. Their study shows how bacterial 'nanodrills' assemble themselves on the outer surfaces of our cells, and includes the first movie of how they then punch holes in the cells' outer membranes.

3 Dec 2014

TSRI study examines body’s own response against chronic protein misfolding

“Protein misfolding” diseases such as cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer’s may be seriously exacerbated by the body’s own response against that misfolding, according to a new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute.

20 Nov 2014

Study shows how anesthesia affects cells in central nervous system

Anesthesia, long considered a blessing to patients and surgeons, has been a mystery for much of its 160-plus-year history in the operating room.

14 Nov 2014

Research shows mustard and garlic receptor is linked to cold-induced pain

Some people experience cold not only as feeling cold, but actually as a painful sensation. This applies even to fairly mild temperatures - anything below 20°C.

14 Nov 2014

Scientists find possible way to halt a common fault in different cancers

SCIENTISTS have found a possible way to halt one of the most common faults in many types of cancer, according to research presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool today (Wednesday).

6 Nov 2014

Researchers identify new technique to find rare stem cells

Deep within the bone marrow resides a type of cells known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These immature cells can differentiate into cells that produce bone, cartilage, fat, or muscle — a trait that scientists have tried to exploit for tissue repair.

7 Oct 2014

MIT researchers use disarmed version of anthrax toxin to deliver cancer drugs

Bacillus anthracis bacteria have very efficient machinery for injecting toxic proteins into cells, leading to the potentially deadly infection known as anthrax. A team of MIT researchers has now hijacked that delivery system for a different purpose: administering cancer drugs.

26 Sep 2014

Novel technique uses genetic tool and light to map neural networks

For years, neuroscientists have been trying to develop tools that would allow them to clearly view the brain's circuitry in action-from the first moment a neuron fires to the resulting behavior in a whole organism.

22 Sep 2014

Researchers uncover new pathways that transport sugar molecules to cells

Sugar is a vital source of energy for both plants and animals alike. Understanding just how sugar makes its way into the cell could lead to the design of better drugs for diabetes patients and an increase in the amount of fruits and vegetables farmers are able to grow.

16 Sep 2014

Internal water channels can pave way for novel approaches in drug development

G protein-coupled receptors are the largest class of cell surface receptors in our cells, involved in signal transmission across the cell membrane.

9 Sep 2014

NanoTracker™ Optical Tweezers system used at Leiden University to study the organisation of genomic DNA

JPK Instruments, a world-leading manufacturer of nanoanalytic instrumentation for research in life sciences and soft matter, reports on the use of the NanoTracker™ Optical Tweezers system in the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics in the Leiden Institute of Chemistry at Leiden University.

9 Sep 2014

Researchers measure stiffness of membrane surrounding red blood cells over time

It may look like fresh blood and flow like fresh blood, but the longer blood is stored, the less it can carry oxygen into the tiny microcapillaries of the body, says a new study from University of Illinois researchers.

8 Sep 2014