Amino Acid News and Research

RSS

Amino Acid is one of several molecules that join together to form proteins. There are 20 common amino acids found in proteins.

Arginase, IDO could hold clues to help 79 million Americans with prediabetes

Two enzymes that are elevated in prediabetes could hold clues to helping the 79 million Americans with the condition avoid serious vascular complications and maybe even identify those most at risk for full-blown diabetes, researchers say.

13 Dec 2012

UBC researcher helps create new gel that could glue blood vessels back together

A University of British Columbia researcher has helped create a gel - based on the mussel's knack for clinging to rocks, piers and boat hulls - that can be painted onto the walls of blood vessels and stay put, forming a protective barrier with potentially life-saving implications.

12 Dec 2012

Researchers decipher mechanism by which anophelin binds to thrombin

An international project lead by the Molecular and Cell Biology Institute of Porto University with the participation of researchers from IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute) has, for the first time ever, deciphered the mechanism by which a substance called anophelin binds to an enzyme (thrombin) involved in the process of blood coagulation.

12 Dec 2012

Novel antidepressant targets brain receptors responsible for learning and memory

A first-of-its-kind antidepressant drug discovered by a Northwestern University professor and now tested on adults who have failed other antidepressant therapies has been shown to alleviate symptoms within hours, have good safety and produce positive effects that last for about seven days from a single dose.

7 Dec 2012

Researchers uncover molecular structure of master regulator central to melanoma

With the X-ray vision of DESY's light source DORIS, a research team from Hamburg and Iceland has uncovered the molecular structure of a master regulator central to the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma.

1 Dec 2012

Scientists can produce new proteins by following certain rules

By following certain rules, scientists can prepare architectural plans for building ideal protein molecules not found in the real world. Based on these computer renditions, previously non-existent proteins can be produced from scratch in the lab. The principles to make this happen appear this month in Nature magazine.

1 Dec 2012

New study on mice could open door to methods of regulating cell proliferation in humans

A newly-engineered strain of mice whose dividing cells express a fluorescent protein could open the door to new methods of regulating cell proliferation in humans.

1 Dec 2012

Inovio's SynCon DNA vaccine effective at inducing CD8+ T cell responses specific to CMV

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that testing of multiple synthetic vaccine constructs for cytomegalovirus (CMV) induced robust T cells in mice, demonstrating the potential for a SynCon DNA vaccine to treat this virus that causes infant death and congenital abnormalities, is associated with cerebral palsy and brain tumors, and is the most common viral infection in organ transplant recipients. CMV is also associated with numerous inflammatory diseases and cancers, and is implicated in hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

26 Nov 2012

Researchers characterize novel lysosomal PQ protein linked to cystinosis

Researchers at the Université Paris Descartes/CNRS and the Université libre de Bruxelles have made a major breakthrough in the study of cystinosis, a genetic disease that can lead to serious disorders, notably fatal kidney failure.

23 Nov 2012

Heidelberg researchers uncover function of specific molecular chaperones

Clumped proteins can be dissolved with the aid of cellular repair systems - a process of critical importance for cell survival especially under conditions of stress. Heidelberg researchers have now decrypted the fundamental mechanism for dissolving protein aggregates that involves specific molecular chaperones.

22 Nov 2012

Arginine and proline supplementation favor wound healing in diabetic rats

Chronic wounds such as foot ulcers are a common problem for diabetics and are the cause of more than 80 percent of the lower leg amputations in these patients. There is currently no effective way to improve healing of these types of wounds, but new research offers hope.

16 Nov 2012

CLR01 effectively inhibits synaptotoxicity in mice with Alzheimer's

Last March, researchers at UCLA reported the development of a molecular compound called CLR01 that prevented toxic proteins associated with Parkinson's disease from binding together and killing the brain's neurons.

16 Nov 2012

International research team discovers gene that nearly triples risk of Alzheimer's disease

A gene so powerful it nearly triples the risk of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by an international team including researchers from Mayo Clinic. It is the most potent genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's identified in the past 20 years. The findings were reported Wednesday in the online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

15 Nov 2012

Radiopharmaceutical Tektrotyd continues to receive interest and recognition

Physicians - attendees of the 25th Annual EANM (European Association of Nuclear Medicine) Congress (October 27-31, Milan) - expressed their continuing interest in and recognition for Tektrotyd, a radiopharmaceutical responsible for significant progress in diagnostics/therapy of neuroendocrine tumours.

8 Nov 2012

In silico drug design may lead to new approach in treatment of Alzheimer's

Researchers at Dalhousie University have discovered a new technique using "computer-aided" drug design that may lead to an entirely new approach in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

8 Nov 2012

NAI receives U.S. patent allowance for sustained release beta-alanine products

Natural Alternatives International, Inc., a leading formulator, manufacturer and marketer of customized nutritional supplements, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance of its patent application directed to sustained release formulations of beta-alanine.

6 Nov 2012

Studies show standardizing computer programs help improve genetic testing for Lynch Syndrome

Many patients who have genetic testing for Lynch syndrome, a hereditary predisposition to colon cancer, receive the inconclusive result "variants of uncertain clinical significance."

3 Nov 2012

Nitisinone treatment effectively prevents tyrosinemia in children

A consortium of Quebec researchers coordinated by the Medical Genetics Service of the Sainte-Justine UHC has just published the findings of a 25-year study on the treatment of tyrosinemia, a life-threatening liver disease of genetic origin, which is screened at birth in the province of Quebec, where it is much more frequent than anywhere else in the world.

1 Nov 2012

University of Sheffield scientists reveal secrets of DNA repair

Scientists from the University of Sheffield have unlocked one of the secrets to DNA repair -helping doctors identify DNA base damage and a patient's susceptibility to certain types of cancer.

1 Nov 2012

Homocysteine not linked to cognition in FEP

Patients experiencing a first episode of psychosis have significantly higher homocysteine levels than mentally healthy individuals, researchers report.

26 Oct 2012