Small Molecules News and Research

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Promising antibiotic alternative to fight bacteria that causes strep throat

Researchers have discovered a promising alternative to common antibiotics used to fight the bacteria that causes strep throat. In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists discussed how their discovery could fight the infection with a reduced risk of antibiotic resistance.

22 Feb 2012

Study details how breast tumors may flip TGF-beta signalling switch

Signals can tell cells to act cancerous, surviving, growing and reproducing out of control. And signals can also tell cells with cancerous characteristics to stop growing or to die. In breast cancer, one tricky signal called TGF-beta does both - sometimes promoting tumors and sometimes suppressing them.

17 Feb 2012

Curcumin prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with AD

Curcumin, a substance extracted from turmeric, prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with a nervous disorder similar to Alzheimers. The study conducted at Link-ping University, indicates that it is the initial stages of fibril formation and fragments of the amyloid fibrils that are most toxic to neurons.

15 Feb 2012

Scientists identify molecular switch that controls ATF2's dual functions

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that as many as one in 51 men and women will be diagnosed with melanoma-the deadliest form of skin cancer-at some point during their lifetimes. A research team led by Ze'ev Ronai, Ph.D. at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) is working to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and progression of this disease in hopes of improving prevention and treatment strategies

3 Feb 2012

Small molecules at cell's membrane enable cell movement

Cell biologists at Johns Hopkins have identified key steps in how certain molecules alter a cell's skeletal shape and drive the cell's movement.

3 Feb 2012

Small molecules at the cell’s membrane enable cell movement

Cell biologists at Johns Hopkins have identified key steps in how certain molecules alter a cell’s skeletal shape and drive the cell’s movement.

31 Jan 2012

Researcher have identified thirty one regions of genome associated with circulating metabolites

In a study to the genetic variance of human metabolism, researchers have identified thirty one regions of the genome that were associated with levels of circulating metabolites, i.e., small molecules that take part in various chemical reactions of human body.

30 Jan 2012

Five scientists named recipients of Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award for cancer research

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation announced that five scientists with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named 2012 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award.

24 Jan 2012

Scientists identify compound that can help repair toxic RNA defect

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a compound that can help repair a specific type of defect in RNA, a type of genetic material.

18 Jan 2012

UI chemists debunk misconception about amphotericin

With one simple experiment, University of Illinois chemists have debunked a widely held misconception about an often-prescribed drug.

17 Jan 2012

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation names 18 new Fellows

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 18 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review.

11 Jan 2012

Studies identify genes and small molecules against protein conformational diseases

Two related studies from Northwestern University offer new strategies for tackling the challenges of preventing and treating diseases of protein folding, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cancer, cystic fibrosis and type 2 diabetes.

7 Jan 2012

Scripps professor receives pair of notable grants to study kinesin

Sathyanaryanan Puthanveettil, an assistant professor on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute, has been awarded a pair of notable grants to study a critical component of long-term memory formation.

6 Jan 2012

CHEST Foundation awards $100,000 for development of blood test for lung cancer

Lung cancer takes a heavy toll, contributing to more cancer deaths in the United States each year than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined. Contributing to this poor prognosis is the fact that lung cancer often goes undetected until the disease has reached an advanced and more difficult-to-treat stage.

31 Dec 2011

New initiative to detect cancers in earliest stages inside cells

A team of cancer imaging experts at Johns Hopkins has embarked on a five-year research initiative to speed development of early diagnostic tests and new treatments for breast, prostate and other common cancers.

29 Dec 2011

UCSF professor receives 2012 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize

Peter Walter, PhD, a professor in the Biochemistry and Biophysics Department within the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco has been awarded the 2012 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for his "outstanding research achievements in the field of cell biology."

26 Dec 2011

Researchers discover key interaction at heart of promising new treatment for Fabry disease

A research team led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a key interaction at the heart of a promising new treatment for a rare childhood metabolic disorder known as Fabry disease.

23 Dec 2011

Scientists identify why African naked mole-rat feels no pain when exposed to acid

British researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have found out why the African naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), one of the world's most unusual mammals, feels no pain when exposed to acid.

21 Dec 2011

EETs may also drive growth and spread of cancer

A group of small molecules called EETs - currently under scrutiny as possible treatment targets for a host of cardiovascular diseases - may also drive the growth and spread of cancer, according to researchers at the Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center (DF/CHCC) and other institutions.

20 Dec 2011

Blocking EETs may represent novel strategy for cancer therapy

Recent findings in mice suggest that blocking the production of small molecules produced in the body, known as epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), may represent a novel strategy for treating cancer by eliminating the blood vessels that feed cancer tumors.

20 Dec 2011