Asparagine News and Research

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New UK SARS-CoV-2 variant circulating in US since November, says study

A new study by researchers at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, showed that the new variant has circulated in the US since November.

26 Jan 2021

How have new SARS-CoV-2 strains become more transmissible?

A new study discusses the effect of specific mutations on the sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2's spike protein to elastase, and on the intramolecular conformational changes.

22 Jan 2021

New UK-derived SARS-CoV-2 variant does not affect neutralizing antibodies efficiency, study says

A team of scientists conducted structural analysis of a newly emerged UK variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). They present evidence that suggests that while the new variant has increased infectivity it is not resistant to neutralizing antibodies.

13 Jan 2021

N439K mutation of SARS-CoV-2 may be more infectious and antibody resistant than Wuhan strain

Researchers from the Harbin Institute of Technology, China, modeled the complexes formed between the RBD and the human ACE2 and monoclonal antibodies.

27 Nov 2020

Promising yeast-expressed SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate effective in mice

Researchers at the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, USA, have published a report on the preprint server bioRxiv that describes a yeast-expressed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding domain (RBD) protein, a key target of current vaccine development efforts.

9 Nov 2020

Serum metabolite profile can help identify individuals at risk of alcohol-related disease

A new study from the University of Eastern Finland is the first in the world to show that the serum metabolite profile can be used to identify individuals likely at risk of developing an alcohol-related disease in the future.

19 Oct 2020

Researchers identify CoV Mac1 proteins as a potential SARS-CoV-2 drug target

A recent study by researchers at the University of Kansas and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* reveals that Mac1 protein implicated in the infection process of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a strikingly similar structure and activity in all coronaviruses – suggesting that possible future treatments targeting this protein may exert broad antiviral activity.

13 May 2020

Investigational drug may hold benefit for patients with lung and ovarian cancers

In a first-time disclosure of IPN60090, a small-molecule inhibitor of the metabolic enzyme glutaminase (GLS1), researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Therapeutics Discovery division and Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals reported the preclinical discovery and early-stage clinical development of this novel drug. IPN60090, now under investigation in a Phase I trial, may hold benefit for certain patients with lung and ovarian cancers.

27 Apr 2020

Research could open up new therapeutic strategies for some lung and kidney cancers

New findings from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center about how some cancer cells become "addicted" to glucose could open up fresh approaches to therapy strategies for cancers with high levels of an amino acid transporter called solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11).

30 Mar 2020

Weakness in lung and kidney cancer cells could serve as therapeutic target

An important discovery about how some cancers rely on glucose to survive could lead to development of tumor-specific treatments.

30 Mar 2020

New drug combo may improve pancreatic cancer therapy

A new study by scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have discovered a combination of two cancer-fighting drugs that successfully worked on pancreatic tumor in mice, shrinking them significantly, and paving the way for a speedy clinical trial designed to test their efficacy in humans.

18 Nov 2019

Human regenerative capacity discovered

Move over, salamanders, we humans can also regrow some of our body tissues. At least, this is what a new study published on October 9, 2019, in the journal Science Advances, reports. Using a mechanism quite similar to that by which amphibians like salamanders, and some zebrafish, grow back lost body parts, human joint cartilage can also regenerate itself.

10 Oct 2019

Reducing acrylamide in fried and baked snacks

In 2002, the discovery of acrylamide in certain snacks rattled consumers and the food industry. Acrylamide, a probable human carcinogen, forms by a chemical reaction during baking or frying.

11 Sep 2019

New research suggests another possible mechanism for Alzheimer’s

Neurofibrillary plaques and tau protein are among the most widely known pathological entities characterizing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but new research at the University of California, Riverside, has come up with another plausible explanation for this debilitating disorder.

13 Aug 2019

Research sheds light on how leukemia cells become resistant to drugs

Three children Alejandro Gutierrez, MD, treated for leukemia during his fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital still haunt him more than a decade later.

17 Apr 2019

Discovery of weakness in a rare cancer could be exploited with drugs

Cancer cells are, in some respects, impressive: They can grow relentlessly, sidestep the aging process by becoming immortal, and evade the immune system's persistent attacks. But in the process of acquiring such superpowers, the cells must occasionally relinquish other, more mundane skills--including the ability to produce certain nutrients.

15 Feb 2019

Simulations provide better understanding of calcium's role in titanium implant acceptance

Titanium-based materials are widely used in medical implant technology. Coating the surface of titanium materials with biologically active molecules has recently shown promise to improve how cells adhere to implants and promote tissue regeneration. The mechanisms behind how peptides stick to titanium, however, are not fully understood.

5 Sep 2018

Certain foods may assist spread of breast cancer

Researchers from Cambridge have come up with a new study that shows that some foods may influence the spread of certain cancers. Asparagine for example is a nutrient present in asparagus. If this nutrient is absent, the growth of breast cancer can be slowed, they note. The results of the study are published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.

8 Feb 2018

Scientists find way to reduce breast cancer spread

Scientists have discovered that an amino acid called asparagine is essential for breast cancer spread, and by restricting it, cancer cells stopped invading other parts of the body in mice, according to research part-funded by Cancer Research UK and published in the journal Nature today, (Wednesday).

7 Feb 2018

Russian scientists uncover previously unknown effect of leukemia drug

Researchers from RUDN University and Institute of Biomedical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences have identified an alternative mechanism for the effective antitumor drug -- an enzyme called L-asparaginase.

10 Nov 2017