Amino Acid News and Research

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

Disorderly protein brings order to cell division

The secret to the ability of a molecule critical for cell division to throw off the protein yoke that restrains its activity is the yoke itself a disorderly molecule that seems to have a mind of its own, say investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Innsbruck Medical University and Max Planck Institute.

28 Jan 2007

Vascular targeted nanoparticles for imaging and treatment of brain tumors

Combining two promising approaches to diagnosing and treating cancer, a multidisciplinary research team at the University of Michigan has created a targeted multifunctional polymer nanoparticle that successfully images and kills brain tumors in laboratory animals.

4 Dec 2006

Templated self-assembly of quantum dots from aqueous solution using protein scaffolds

Quantum dots are rapidly becoming biomedical researchers' tool of choice for adding a fluorescent label to a wide variety of biomolecules.

20 Nov 2006

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus tricks cells to become tumors

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) subverts a normal cell process in order to promote tumor growth.

8 Nov 2006

Self-assembling nanoparticle releases drug into cell cytoplasm

A growing body of research leaves no doubt that nanoparticles can transport drugs into cancer cells, but what is less clear is that the drug payload can exit the tiny endosomes that pull nanoparticles into cells.

30 Oct 2006

Discovery of mechanism by which Ebola and Marburg viruses cause disease

Researchers in the Greene Infectious Disease Laboratory at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Caribbean Primate Research Center have discovered a key mechanism by which the Filoviruses, Ebola and Marburg, cause disease.

16 Oct 2006

Green tea slows down plaque formation in Huntington's disease

Green tea can apparently inhibit the formation of the lethal protein aggregates that are a characteristic feature of Huntington's disease (HD).

13 Sep 2006

Molecular chaperones protect cells

Falsely folded proteins and their aggregations in neurons are considered to be the cause of neurodegenerative diseases, among them Chorea Huntington.

13 Sep 2006

Scientists identify novel central nervous system proteins affected by chronic alcohol exposure

Researchers at the University at Buffalo studying the effects of alcohol on the brain, using zebrafish as a model, have identified several novel central nervous system proteins that are affected by chronic alcohol exposure.

31 Aug 2006

Molecular switch that regulates fat and cholesterol production identified

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified how a molecular switch regulates fat and cholesterol production

2 Aug 2006

New insights into how cells repair damaged DNA

Cancer researchers have discovered that a recently identified protein critical for repairing damaged genes uses an unusual mechanism to keep its repairs accurate.

26 Jul 2006

Birch bark compound may be potent prostate cancer fighter

A compound found in the bark of the white birch tree - betulonic acid, a derivative of betulinol - may finally have been rendered a water-soluble, bio-available drug, and is already showing the potential to be a possible agent against prostate cancer - in cell culture and in an animal model.

25 Jul 2006

Migraine with 'aura' linked to heart attacks

Researchers say that of the 28 million Americans who suffer from migraines, those who experience an "aura" before the start of the pain have an increased risk for heart attack or stroke.

19 Jul 2006

Proteolytic activity monitored by fluorescence resonance energy transfer through quantum-dot-peptide conjugates

Using a synthetic peptide modeled after the protein that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) uses to enter cells, a multi-institutional research team has created quantum dots that can penetrate the cell membrane and image internal structures in a cell.

10 Jul 2006

Probable cause for Parkinson's found

Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease and other brain disorders are among a growing list of maladies attributed to oxidative stress, the cell damage caused during metabolism when the oxygen in the body assumes ever more chemically reactive forms.

28 Jun 2006

"Lab on a chip" test for diabetes and cardiovascular disease

A Colorado State University chemistry professor has developed a way to rapidly test blood for signs of diabetes and cardiovascular disease - methods that could save patients and physicians significant time and money.

27 Jun 2006

In vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors in embryo

The conditions in which embryos are cultured in the laboratory during in vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors that are associated with certain developmental syndromes and other abnormalities in growth and development, such as low birth weight.

19 Jun 2006

Bioinformatics used to advance human disease research

The use of computers to advance human disease research - known as bioinformatics -- has received a major boost from researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI).

18 Jun 2006

Mechanism for neurodenegerative diseases linked to transport proteins

Hampering the transport of proteins within cells may underlie several adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington's, ALS and Kennedy disease. Understanding how this cell transport is blocked in these diseases may offer targets for future therapy.

9 Jun 2006

First analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes

Researchers have completed the first analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes, an accomplishment that has far-reaching implications for clinical diagnosis and treatment of many human diseases.

7 Jun 2006