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.

Engineers have found a way to modify a plastic to anchor molecules that promote nerve regeneration, blood vessel growth or other biological processes

In the study led by Dr. Christine Schmidt, the researchers identified a piece of protein from among a billion candidates that could perform the unusual feat of attaching to polypyrrole, a synthetic polymer (plastic) that conducts electricity and has shown promise in biomedical applications.

17 May 2005

Valium puts humans and amoeba to sleep

Biologists at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have discovered that the popular sedative Valium has similar effects on the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum as it does in humans. Their surprising finding that Valium, as well as a "natural Valium" molecule found in human brains, causes the social amoeba to enter a dormant or "sleep" phase, may provide new insights into how cells in higher organisms, including humans, communicate with each other.

16 May 2005

Unsuspected protein CD147, regulates the production of plaque-forming peptides that are the defining feature of Alzheimer's

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered an unsuspected subunit of the protein complex gamma-secretase, which plays a central role in Alzheimer's disease.

15 May 2005

Nephrogenic Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuresis - a new genetic disease

Two infant boys whose bodies were overloaded with excess fluid have led UCSF pediatricians to the discovery of a new genetic disease. In the process, they have discovered a rare type of mutation where different substitutions in a single amino acid cause two different, opposite genetic disorders.

4 May 2005

Newly identified fly genes provide clue to tumour growth

Researchers from the Oxford University Department of Human Anatomy and Genetics have found a new class of genes that are critical for cell growth and may be involved in the uncontrolled growth that takes place in cancer. The discovery could provide a key to future tumour therapies.

4 May 2005

Researchers zero in on sleep gene

Zeroing in on the core cellular mechanisms of sleep, researchers at University of Wisconsin Medical School have identified for the first time a single gene mutation that has a powerful effect on the amount of time fruit flies sleep.

27 Apr 2005

Inherited variations in mitochondrial DNA linked to renal and prostate cancer

More than 20 million men in the United States with a particular signature set of inherited characteristics and mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are at significantly increased risk for developing renal and prostate cancers, according to research at Emory University.

20 Apr 2005

Searching for the right pharmaceutical agent: survival as the indicator

Tumor cells divide fast. They thus require a high supply of components for their DNA, like purines. The biosynthesis of purines could now be a new point of attack for chemotherapy. However, without a natural model, the search for an inhibitor for a cellular process is like the proverbial search for a needle in a haystack. An American research team has developed a clever way to quickly conjure the desired "needle" out of the hay, presenting several candidates to act as starting points for the design of a purine synthesis inhibitor.

19 Apr 2005

Breakdown in brain cell communication may contribute to the most common biochemical cause of mental retardation

The process is akin to a baseball game gone bad. Imagine if a pitcher were joined by six players simultaneously winding up on the mound. Crouched behind home plate, the single catcher would soon be overwhelmed. Even if the coach sent in teammates to catch the extra balls, confusion would reign on the field.

12 Apr 2005

Why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting the results of a recent study that addresses why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases, which include Alzheimer's disease and a cluster of ailments called the familial amyloidoses.

7 Apr 2005

Fibril shape is the basis of prion strains and cross-species prion infection

New research on prions, the infectious proteins behind "mad cow" disease and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease in humans, suggests that the ability of prions in one species to infect other species depends on the shape of the toxic threadlike fibers produced by the prion. Two studies on the topic appear in the 8 April issue of the journal Cell.

7 Apr 2005

Blue-green algae linked to Alzheimer's disease

An international team of researchers, including scientists from the University of Dundee have announced that cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) found throughout the world may produce a toxin linked to certain types of neurological disease.

5 Apr 2005

Potential therapeutic role for the ataxin-3 protein for Machado-Joseph disease

The repetition of three little "letters" within the gene that codes for the ataxin-3 protein is both the cause of and perhaps a solution to Machado-Joseph disease and an entire family of similar genetic disorders, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

3 Apr 2005

Dozens of new genes identified in X chromosome

By intensely and systematically comparing the human X chromosome to genetic information from chimpanzees, rats and mice, a team of scientists from the United States and India has uncovered dozens of new genes, many of which are located in regions of the chromosome already tied to disease.

3 Apr 2005

Structure of key protein in innate immune response

In a report published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists in Korea announced their elucidation of three-dimensional structure of CD14 and showed how it is perfectly suited to bind to certain bacterial products.

21 Mar 2005

Key target for Foot-and-Mouth drug revealed

A complete picture of Foot-and-Mouth Disease's key replication enzyme could lead to the development of new drugs to control the disease without recourse to vaccination or slaughter, scientists report today.

21 Mar 2005

New center focuses on rare Batten disease

For children with Batten disease and their families, the cruelty of the disease, which robs children of their sight, their cognitive faculties and finally their lives, is made worse by the hunt for a doctor experienced at recognizing and treating patients.

16 Mar 2005

Gene identified that confers susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration

By combining the tools of high-throughput biology and statistical genetics, scientists at Rockefeller University, Yale University School of Public Health and the National Eye Institute have identified a gene that confers susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of vision loss in the United Sates for those over 60.

14 Mar 2005

Protein sequenced from 75,000 year old Iraqi

An international team led by researchers at the Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Liepzig, Germany and Washington University in St. Louis, has extracted and sequenced protein from a Neanderthal from Shanidar Cave, Iraq dating to approximately 75,000 years old.

9 Mar 2005

Canadians alerted to the presence of acrylamide in some foods

In 2002, Health Canada alerted Canadians to the presence of acrylamide in some foods, following reports by scientists in Sweden. Since then, Health Canada scientists have participated in international research efforts aimed at understanding how acrylamide is formed in foods and the health implications.

7 Mar 2005