Molecular Biology News and Research

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Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis as well as learning how these interactions are regulated.

Cancer patients with COVID-19 more likely to die from the disease

People with cancer who develop COVID-19 are much more likely to die from the disease than those without cancer, according to physician-researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

2 May 2020

Intensivists caution against the use of premature novel therapies for COVID-19

Intensivists caution against the use of premature novel therapies in lieu of traditional critical care principles in patients with COVID-19 in a recent correspondence letter in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.

27 Apr 2020

COST Action creates “Task Force” of researchers to contribute to Covid-19 research

STRATAGEM COST Action (New diagnostic and therapeutic tools against multidrug resistant tumors) has created a "Task Force" of researchers contributing to Covid-19 research.

23 Apr 2020

Meis1 protein plays key role in stopping cell division in the heart

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have discovered a protein that works with others during development to put the brakes on cell division in the heart, they report today in Nature.

23 Apr 2020

Study shows new diagnostic option for catching degenerative eye disease in its earliest stages

A paper published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO), "Imaging hydroxyapatite in sub-retinal pigment epithelial deposits by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy with tetracycline staining," demonstrates a potential new diagnostic option for catching a degenerative eye disease in its earliest stages.

22 Apr 2020

Researchers uncover how cancer cells don their invisibility cloaks

Immunotherapy drugs that target a protein called programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) on the surface of cancer cells have quickly become a mainstay to treat many forms of cancer, often with dramatic results. But exactly how cancer cells turn on this protein was not completely understood.

22 Apr 2020

Experts share contingency plans to address increased COVID-19 cases in urban areas

In "Mobilization and Preparation of a Large Urban Academic Center During the COVID-19 Pandemic,"- published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society - experts from Philadelphia's Temple University Hospital share their contingency plans for meeting an increased demand for hospitalization, as well as their protocols and training plans to minimize health care staff exposure to COVID-19 and ensure proper active and reserve staffing.

22 Apr 2020

ATS publishes first official clinical practice guidelines for sarcoidosis

New guidance is available for physicians who must go through a number of steps to provide a probable diagnosis of sarcoidosis - an inflammatory disease that affects the lungs, lymph glands, and other organs.

20 Apr 2020

New gene promoters could improve treatments for neurological diseases

A recently developed system for switching on the activity of genes could improve treatments for a broad range of neurological diseases.

18 Apr 2020

Delayed clearance of SARS-CoV2 may explain why men fare worse than women

Researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine may have solved a mystery surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic: Why men infected by the virus generally show more severe symptoms and are more likely than women to die from COVID-19.

17 Apr 2020

Researchers discover unique structure and function of rotavirus VP3 protein

After eluding researchers for more than 30 years, the VP3 protein of rotavirus has finally revealed its unique structure and function to a team led by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine.

17 Apr 2020

Six novel coronaviruses found in bats

While the world grapples with the pandemic, which has spread to 185 countries and territories, infecting more than 2.15 million people and killing more than 143,000 people, a team of researchers at the Smithsonian's Global Health Program has found six novel coronaviruses in bats in Myanmar.

16 Apr 2020

Transposable elements play key role in genetic expression and evolution, study shows

Until recently, little was known about how transposable elements contribute to gene regulation. These are little pieces of DNA that can replicate themselves and spread out in the genome.

15 Apr 2020

UMass Amherst scientists prepare chemical solution for COVID-19 diagnostic tests

Answering an urgent call for assistance from regional health care systems, a volunteer team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is preparing, testing and delivering thousands of vials of viral transport media, a chemical solution needed for COVID-19 diagnostic testing.

15 Apr 2020

Stray dogs possible origin of COVID-19 pandemic

After tracing coronavirus signatures in different species, a new research article published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution shows that stray dogs (more specifically dog intestines) may have acted as the origin of current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic.

14 Apr 2020

Temple researchers receive NIAID grant to study immunological synapse formation

Switching immune cells on is a critical step in combating infection. In the case of T cells, which are key players in immunity, this happens when dormant T cells circulating in the blood encounter a suspicious agent on the surface of specialized antigen-presenting cells.

14 Apr 2020

JGU Mainz and Masaryk University announce plans for close cooperation on RNA research

Financed as a European Union Twinning project, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Masaryk University, the second-largest university in the Czech Republic, have announced plans for close cooperation with regard to research into ribonucleic acids.

7 Apr 2020

Scientist proposes geroprotective strategies to reduce lethality of COVID-19 in the elderly

The Biogerontology Research Foundation, a registered UK charity supporting and promoting aging and longevity research worldwide since 2008, today announced the publication of a paper titled "Geroprotective and senoremediative strategies to reduce the comorbidity, infection rates, severity, and lethality in gerophilic and gerolavic infections" in the leading journal Aging.

6 Apr 2020

Experimental drug APN01 prevents COVID-19 infection in the lab

With the world gripped with the COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), there is a frantic rush to find an effective drug that can be used to treat the disease.

6 Apr 2020

ATS releases new guidance to help clinicians manage COVID-19 patients

An American Thoracic Society-led international task force has released a guidance document to help clinicians manage COVID-19 patients in the face of a worldwide pandemic and minimal empirical evidence to guide treatment.

6 Apr 2020