Small Molecules News and Research

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Zebrafish model of human melanoma reveals new cancer gene

Looking at the dark stripes on the tiny zebrafish you might not expect that they hold a potentially important clue for discovering a treatment for the deadly skin disease melanoma. Yet melanocytes, the same cells that are are responsible for the pigmentation of zebrafish stripes and for human skin color, are also where melanoma originates.

24 Mar 2011

Elevations in 5 amino acids may signal future disease risk

Measuring the levels of small molecules in the blood may be able to identify individuals at elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes as much as a decade before symptoms of the disorder appear.

21 Mar 2011

Vitamin A may play key role in sperm cell formation and development of central nervous system

In a recently-published study mapping the structure and function of the so-called "orphan" nuclear receptor TR4, Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) investigators suggest that Vitamin A may play a more direct role than was previously known in certain physiological functions including sperm cell formation and the development of the central nervous system.

18 Mar 2011

Low calorie diet may delay or prevent aging and neurodegenerative diseases

Cells, which employ a process called autophagy to clean up and reuse protein debris leftover from biological processes, were the original recyclers. A team of scientists from Paul Greengard's Rockefeller University laboratory have linked a molecule that stimulates autophagy with the reduction of one of Alzheimer's disease's major hallmarks, amyloid peptide.

17 Mar 2011

Backscattering interferometry can precisely measure membrane protein interactions

A new laser technique has demonstrated that it can measure the interactions between proteins tangled in a cell's membrane and a variety of other biological molecules. These extremely difficult measurements can aid the process of drug discovery.

16 Mar 2011

USPTO grants second patent to Angiochem's EPiC drugs

Angiochem, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company, today announced that its second patent has been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. Patent number 7,902,156, is entitled "Aprotinin Polypeptides for Transporting a Compound Across the Blood-Brain Barrier".

15 Mar 2011

Arena fourth quarter net loss decreases to $28.2 million

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010, and reviewed recent developments.

11 Mar 2011

Wnt1 protein can improve function of endothelial progenitor cells

Circulating through the bloodstream of every human being is a rare and powerful type of cell, one that can actually create new blood vessels to bypass blockages that cause heart attacks and peripheral artery disease.

10 Mar 2011

CRT, ICR sign deal with ZoBio to discover and develop cancer drugs

Cancer Research Technology and The Institute of Cancer Research have signed a deal with Dutch drug discovery company, ZoBio BV, to discover and develop drugs to block a DNA repair target which may play a role in cancer cell survival.

10 Mar 2011

Adamis submits APC-100 IND to FDA for treatment of prostate cancer

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that it has recently submitted to the FDA an Investigational New Drug application for APC-100 to treat prostate cancer.

9 Mar 2011

Compugen reports positive results from CGEN-25068 in animal model to treat certain disease conditions

Compugen Ltd. announced today positive animal model results for CGEN-25068, a novel peptide predicted and selected in silico to block a specific protein-protein interaction known to play an important role in various immune-related disease conditions.

8 Mar 2011

SMER28 can reduce beta-amyloid accumulation in patients with Alzheimer's disease

If you can't stop the beta-amyloid protein plaques from forming in Alzheimer's disease patients, then maybe you can help the body rid itself of them instead. At least that's what scientists from New York were hoping for when they found a drug candidate to do just that.

8 Mar 2011

CDI announces publication of footprint-free iPSCs production method in PLoS ONE journal

Cellular Dynamics International, the world's largest producer of human tissue cells for drug discovery and safety testing, today announced the publication of research demonstrating an efficient and scalable method of creating DNA integration-free, or footprint-free, induced pluripotent stem cells under a feeder-free condition using chemically defined media.

5 Mar 2011

New computer-controlled system to create cell assembly line

Borrowing a page from modern manufacturing, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have built a microscopic assembly line that mass produces synthetic cell-like compartments.

4 Mar 2011

Scientists discover bacterial communication mediated pathway

A pathway whereby bacteria communicate with each other has been discovered by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The discovery has important implications for efforts to cope with the spread of harmful bacteria in the body.

3 Mar 2011

Omeros identifies orphan GPCR compounds associated to pancreatic cancer, cognitive disorders

Omeros Corporation today announced that it has identified compounds that interact selectively with two orphan G protein-coupled receptors linked to pancreatic cancer and cognitive disorders.

3 Mar 2011

Santaris licenses miR-33 from MGH to treat cardiovascular disorders

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of mRNA and microRNA targeted therapies, today announced that the Company has obtained an exclusive license from Massachusetts General Hospital for intellectual property related to the regulation of miR-33 for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders.

1 Mar 2011