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Pathogens can delay entry into cells to ensure their survival, say researchers

Pathogens make themselves feel at home in the human body, invading cells and living off the plentiful amenities on offer. However, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, together with colleagues at Harvard University, reveal an opposite strategy used to ensure infection success. Pathogens can actually delay their entry into cells to ensure their survival.

26 Aug 2010

Research on myosin II protein can lead to novel treatment for memory disorders

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a mechanism that plays a critical role in the formation of long-term memory. The findings shed substantial new light on aspects of how memory is formed, and could lead to novel treatments for memory disorders.

26 Aug 2010

Motor proteins play critical role in stabilization of long-term memories

Functioning much like gears in a machine, cellular motor proteins are critical to dynamic functions throughout the body, including muscle contraction, cell migration and cellular growth processes. Now, neuroscientists from UC Irvine and the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute report that motor proteins also play a critical role in the stabilization of long-term memories. The findings add an unexpected dimension to the story of how memories are encoded and suggest new targets for therapeutic interventions.

26 Aug 2010

Over-expression of Arpc1b promotes tumorigenic properties of breast cancer cells: Research

A major discovery, led by researchers from The George Washington University Medical Center, promises to revolutionize the way scientists think about key aspects of cellular lifecycle and offers a new avenue for cancer researchers to explore in their quest to one day slow down the progression of cancer.

21 Jul 2010

TRPV4 activity vital to prevent skin dehydration

Japanese research group led by Prof. Makoto Tominaga and Dr. Takaaki Sokabe (National Institute for Physiological Sciences: NIPS) found that TRPV4 ion channel in skin keratinocytes is important for formation and maintenance of barrier function to prevent dehydration. Their finding was reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

15 May 2010

Study: New anti-cancer agents halt cancer metastasis

ke microscopic inchworms, cancer cells slink away from tumors to travel and settle elsewhere in the body. Now, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College report in today's online edition of the journal Nature that new anti-cancer agents break down the loping gait these cells use to migrate, stopping them in their tracks.

15 Apr 2010

New method may shed light on the mechanism behind folding and misfolding of proteins

Researchers at the Department of Chemistry at the Technische Universit-t M-nchen (TUM) have developed a method that allows the observation of local movements in proteins on a time scale of nanoseconds to microseconds.

16 Mar 2010

New findings shed light on how genetic damage to muscle cell proteins can lead to nemaline myopathy

New findings that shed light on how genetic damage to muscle cell proteins can lead to the development of the rare muscle-wasting disease, nemaline myopathy, are reported today (15 March) in the Biochemical Journal.

15 Mar 2010

Bionanomotors can be used some day to move and manipulate molecules at nanoscale

A group of Marshall University researchers and their colleagues in Japan are conducting research that may lead to new ways to move or position single molecules-a necessary step if man someday hopes to build molecular machines or other devices capable of working at very small scales.

3 Feb 2010

Researchers identify a key piece in the ageing process

Understanding how aged and damaged mother cells manage to form new and undamaged daughter cells is one of the toughest riddles of ageing, but scientists now know how yeast cells do it. In a groundbreaking study researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, show how the daughter cell uses a mechanical "conveyor belt" to dump damaged proteins in the mother cell.

2 Feb 2010

New study indicates viruses employ a novel mechanism to spread more quickly than thought possible

New video footage of a virus infecting cells is challenging what researchers have long believed about how viruses spread, suggesting that scientists may be able to create new drugs to tackle some viruses.

22 Jan 2010

Motility mechanism of malaria pathogens explained

How do one-celled parasites move from the salivary gland of a mosquito through a person's skin into red blood cells? What molecular mechanisms form the basis for this very important movement of the protozoa?

23 Dec 2009

Discovery suggests how toxin-filtering cells go awry

Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital have identified an important genetic cause of a devastating kidney disease that is the second leading cause of kidney failure in children, according to The NephCure Foundation.

22 Dec 2009

New technology sheds light on intracellular transport

Using new technology developed in his University of Oregon lab, chemist Andrew H. Marcus and his doctoral student Eric N. Senning have captured what they describe as well-orchestrated, actin-driven, mitochondrial movement within a single cell.

18 Dec 2009

Energid Technologies to develop robotic device for endotracheal intubation

The US Army, through the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), has awarded Energid Technologies a contract to develop a robotic approach to airway management.

11 Dec 2009

Discovery of cell fibrous structure may provide clues to diagnose and treat medical disorders

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Engineering in Oncology Center have shown that in healthy cells, a bundled "cap" of thread-like fibers holds the cell's nucleus, its genetic storehouse, in its proper place.

3 Dec 2009

Portuguese scientists identify a molecular mechanism that can lead to metastases in breast cancers

Portuguese scientists identified a molecular mechanism that can lead to metastases (spread of the cancer from the original site to other remote parts of the body) in breast cancers. Abnormally high levels of P-cadherin - an adhesion molecule that enables cells to bind together - occur in about a third of all breast cancers and are associated with poor prognosis.

1 Dec 2009

Comprehensive investigation employing FRET to study amino acid transporter GAT1 reported

In the December 2009 issue of the Journal of General Physiology (www.jgp.org), Moss et al. report a comprehensive investigation employing F-rster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to study the {gamma}-amino acid (GABA) transporter GAT1, a member of the family that includes transporters for neurotransmitters dopamine (DAT), serotonin (SERT), norepinephrine (NET) and glycine (GlyT).

1 Dec 2009

Protein mutation can cause a new form of heart failure

Over the course of a lifetime, the heart pumps some 250 million liters of blood through the body. In the order to do this, the muscle fibers of the heart have to be extremely durable. The research group headed by Dr. Wolfgang Rottbauer, vice chair of the Department of Medicine III at Heidelberg University Hospital (Chairman: Prof. Dr. H. A. Katus), has discovered a protein that is responsible for the stability of the smallest muscular unit, the sarcomere.

25 Nov 2009

The Australian Institute of Policy and Science awards Dr Jake Baum for malaria research

Research aimed at developing drugs that stop malaria parasites from spreading throughout the body has seen Dr Jake Baum, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, named a Young Tall Poppy by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science.

25 Sep 2009

Actin News and Research

Pathogens can delay entry into cells to ensure their survival, say researchers

Research on myosin II protein can lead to novel treatment for memory disorders

Motor proteins play critical role in stabilization of long-term memories

Over-expression of Arpc1b promotes tumorigenic properties of breast cancer cells: Research

TRPV4 activity vital to prevent skin dehydration

Study: New anti-cancer agents halt cancer metastasis

New method may shed light on the mechanism behind folding and misfolding of proteins

New findings shed light on how genetic damage to muscle cell proteins can lead to nemaline myopathy

Bionanomotors can be used some day to move and manipulate molecules at nanoscale

Researchers identify a key piece in the ageing process

New study indicates viruses employ a novel mechanism to spread more quickly than thought possible

Motility mechanism of malaria pathogens explained

Discovery suggests how toxin-filtering cells go awry

New technology sheds light on intracellular transport

Energid Technologies to develop robotic device for endotracheal intubation

Discovery of cell fibrous structure may provide clues to diagnose and treat medical disorders

Portuguese scientists identify a molecular mechanism that can lead to metastases in breast cancers

Comprehensive investigation employing FRET to study amino acid transporter GAT1 reported

Protein mutation can cause a new form of heart failure

The Australian Institute of Policy and Science awards Dr Jake Baum for malaria research

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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