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Scientists develop MitoFish for in vivo studies of mitochondria transport in nerve cells

Scientists have demonstrated a new way to investigate mechanisms at work in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, which also could prove useful in the search for effective drugs. For new insights, they turned to the zebrafish, which is transparent in the early stages of its life. The researchers developed a transgenic variety, the "MitoFish," that enables them to see - within individual neurons of living animals - how brain diseases disturb the transport of mitochondria, the power plants of the cell.

6 Dec 2012

Tyk2 enzyme helps regulate obesity through differentiation of brown adipose tissue

Approximately 68 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to the National Cancer Institute, which puts them at greater risk for developing cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and a host of other chronic illnesses. But an international team of scientists led by Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researcher Andrew Larner, M.D., Ph.D., has successfully reversed obesity in mice by manipulating the production of an enzyme known as tyrosine-protein kinase-2 (Tyk2).

6 Dec 2012

University of Chicago professor wins Manpei Suzuki International Prize for diabetes work

Graeme Ian Bell, PhD, the Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics and an investigator in the Kovler Diabetes Center at the University of Chicago, has been awarded the Manpei Suzuki International Prize for 2012 for his pioneering work in understanding the role of genetics in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.

5 Dec 2012

New method can generate stable human mesenchymal stem cells for bone engineering

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) can develop into bone cells and are useful for tissue engineering and regeneration. However, when grown in the laboratory they quickly lose their ability to continue dividing and they die.

5 Dec 2012

Arthrobotrys oligospora produces nanoparticles that could kill tumors

Arthrobotrys oligospora doesn't live a charmed life; it survives on a diet of roundworm. But a discovery by a team led by Mingjun Zhang, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, could give the fungus's life more purpose-as a cancer fighter.

5 Dec 2012

Researchers investigate GPER receptor as possible new drug target for breast cancer

Five-year breast cancer survival rates have improved dramatically over the past 50 years, but tumors can recur up to ten or more years after they are detected. When tumors recur, they are even more difficult to treat.

5 Dec 2012

microRNAs play an important role during embryonic development

Sanford-Burnham researchers discover that microRNAs play an important role in germ layer formation-the process that determines which cells become which organs during embryonic development

3 Dec 2012

Specific transporters could be exploited to deliver toxic substances into cancer cells

Whitehead Institute scientists report that certain molecules present in high concentrations on the surfaces of many cancer cells could be exploited to funnel lethal toxic molecules into the malignant cells. In such an approach, the overexpression of specific transporters could be exploited to deliver toxic substances into cancer cells.

3 Dec 2012

Scientists demonstrate how glowing fish can help screen drugs that control metabolic disorders

A tiny, translucent zebrafish that glows green when its liver makes glucose has helped an international team of researchers identify a compound that regulates whole-body metabolism and appears to protect obese mice from signs of metabolic disorders.

2 Dec 2012

Scientists sequence DNA of biopsied tissue from colon polyps

The causes underlying the development of certain types of common cancers have not yet been elucidated. In order to better determine the origin and the sequence of events responsible for the onset of colon cancer, the teams led by Thanos Halazonetis and Stylianos Antonarakis, professors at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have sequenced the DNA of biopsied tissue from colon polyps.

2 Dec 2012

Researchers study antimicrobial peptides in fish gills to find solution for blocking human infections

Living in an environment teaming with bacteria and fungi, fish have evolved powerful defenses against waterborne pathogens, including antimicrobial peptides located in their gills. Undergraduate researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are studying the biology and the mechanics of one of those peptides with the hope they can use that knowledge to create engineered surfaces that kill bacteria responsible for foodborne illnesses and hospital-acquired infections.

1 Dec 2012

DFG to establish 11 Collaborative Research Centres in Jan 2013

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish eleven Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) as of 1 January 2013. This was decided by the responsible Grants Committee during its fall session in Bonn.

30 Nov 2012

Two Sanford-Burnham projects win International Space Station Research Competition

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) today announced that two of the Institute's research teams have won Space Florida's International Space Station (ISS) Research Competition. Eight teams were selected from a pool of international applicants to send experiments to space in late 2013.

30 Nov 2012

JQ1 cancer drug may be useful in purging latent HIV infection

Breakthrough drugs have made it possible for people to live with HIV longer than ever before, but more work must be done to actually cure the disease. One of the challenges researchers face involves fully eradicating the virus when it is latent in the body.

30 Nov 2012

Researchers discover alternative mechanism for Ras protein activation

The protein Ras plays an important role in cellular growth control. Researchers have focused on the protein because mutations in its gene are found in more than 30 percent of all cancers, making it the most prevalent human oncogene.

28 Nov 2012

Carnosic acid promotes eye health

Herbs widely used throughout history in Asian and early European cultures have received renewed attention by Western medicine in recent years. Scientists are now isolating the active compounds in many medicinal herbs and documenting their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In a study published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Stuart A. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D. and colleagues at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) report that carnosic acid, a component of the herb rosemary, promotes eye health.

28 Nov 2012

Renowned biotech researcher to receive TJU's Lennox K. Black International Prize

Thomas Jefferson University will honor the renowned biotech researcher whose discoveries led to a slew of innovative drugs that revolutionized treatment including Herceptin-one of the first gene-based medications for breast cancer-with its prestigious Lennox K. Black International Prize for Excellence in Biomedical Research.

27 Nov 2012

California researchers develop new strategy to find novel antibiotics for bacterial infections

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have developed a new strategy for finding novel antibiotic compounds, using a diagnostic panel of bacterial strains for screening chemical extracts from natural sources.

27 Nov 2012

Paper illuminates importance of PKM2 in cancer development and progression

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have tracked down a cancer-promoting protein's pathway into the cell nucleus and discovered how, once there, it fires up a glucose metabolism pathway on which brain tumors thrive.

26 Nov 2012

Max Planck scientists identify unknown proteins of the herpesvirus

The genome encodes the complete information needed by an organism, including that required for protein production. Viruses, which are up to a thousand times smaller than human cells, have considerably smaller genomes. Using a type of herpesvirus as a model system, the scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich and their collaboration partners at the University of California in San Francisco have shown that the genome of this virus contains much more information than previously assumed.

26 Nov 2012

Biochemistry News and Research

Scientists develop MitoFish for in vivo studies of mitochondria transport in nerve cells

Tyk2 enzyme helps regulate obesity through differentiation of brown adipose tissue

University of Chicago professor wins Manpei Suzuki International Prize for diabetes work

New method can generate stable human mesenchymal stem cells for bone engineering

Arthrobotrys oligospora produces nanoparticles that could kill tumors

Researchers investigate GPER receptor as possible new drug target for breast cancer

microRNAs play an important role during embryonic development

Specific transporters could be exploited to deliver toxic substances into cancer cells

Scientists demonstrate how glowing fish can help screen drugs that control metabolic disorders

Scientists sequence DNA of biopsied tissue from colon polyps

Researchers study antimicrobial peptides in fish gills to find solution for blocking human infections

DFG to establish 11 Collaborative Research Centres in Jan 2013

Two Sanford-Burnham projects win International Space Station Research Competition

JQ1 cancer drug may be useful in purging latent HIV infection

Researchers discover alternative mechanism for Ras protein activation

Carnosic acid promotes eye health

Renowned biotech researcher to receive TJU's Lennox K. Black International Prize

California researchers develop new strategy to find novel antibiotics for bacterial infections

Paper illuminates importance of PKM2 in cancer development and progression

Max Planck scientists identify unknown proteins of the herpesvirus

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