Biochemistry News and Research

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Cyclin D3 protein regulates size and quantity of RBCs

The adult human circulatory system contains between 20 and 30 trillion red blood cells (RBCs), the precise size and number of which can vary from person to person. Some people may have fewer, but larger RBCs, while others may have a larger number of smaller RBCs. Although these differences in size and number may seem inconsequential, they raise an important question: Just what controls these characteristics of RBCs?

29 Aug 2012

Researchers develop glue mixture that may reduce risks after laser vision correction surgery

Kansas State University researchers have developed a glue mixture that may reduce risks after laser vision correction surgery.

28 Aug 2012

Researchers discover new way to disarm harmful bacteria

Rather than trying to kill bacteria outright with drugs, Université de Montréal researchers have discovered a way to disarm bacteria that may allow the body's own defense mechanisms to destroy them. "To understand this strategy one could imagine harmful bacteria being like Darth Vader, and the anti-virulence drug would take away his armor and lightsaber," explained Dr. Christian Baron, the study's lead author and Professor at the Department of Biochemistry.

24 Aug 2012

Parental methylated histones not transferred to daughter DNA

It's widely accepted that molecular mechanisms mediating epigenetics include DNA methylation and histone modifications, but a team from Thomas Jefferson University has evidence to the contrary regarding the role of histone modifications.

24 Aug 2012

Researcher describes structure and function of tuberculosis efflux pump regulator

Edward Yu took note of the facts - nearly 2 million deaths each year, 9 million infected each year, developments of multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant and now totally drug-resistant strains - and decided to shift his research focus to tuberculosis.

23 Aug 2012

A father’s stress can lead to psychiatric disorders in female offspring

A study in mice conducted by researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) suggests that a woman's risk of anxiety and dysfunctional social behavior may depend on the experiences of her parents, particularly fathers, when they were young.

23 Aug 2012

Laminin-111 protein therapy could treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy

A novel treatment in development at the University of Nevada School of Medicine for the most common form of muscular dystrophy is advancing towards human trials with a $308,000 boost from the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

23 Aug 2012

SSEA4+ marker helps identify and isolate precursors of insulin-producing pancreatic cells

For the millions of people worldwide with type 1 diabetes who cannot produce sufficient insulin, the potential to transplant insulin-producing cells could offer hope for a long-term cure. The discovery of a marker to help identify and isolate stem cells that can develop into insulin-producing cells in the pancreas would be a critical step forward and is described in an article in BioResearch Open Access, a new bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

22 Aug 2012

PPR proteins recognise RNA targets via easy-to-understand code

The code determines the recognition of RNA molecules by a superfamily of RNA-binding proteins called pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins.

20 Aug 2012

Protein toxic to nerve cells in AD also contributes to memory loss

The underlying causes of Alzheimer's disease are not fully understood, but a good deal of evidence points to the accumulation of β-amyloid, a protein that's toxic to nerve cells. β-amyloid is formed by the activity of several enzymes, including one called BACE1. Most Alzheimer's disease patients have elevated levels of BACE1, which in turn leads to more brain-damaging β-amyloid protein.

20 Aug 2012

IntegenX introduces rapid human DNA analysis system

IntegenX Inc., a leading developer of rapid human DNA identification technology, today launched its RapidHIT Human DNA Identification System to the European law enforcement and forensic communities at the 6th European Academy of Forensic Science (EAFS) Conference in The Hague, The Netherlands.

20 Aug 2012

Paper-strip test could identify counterfeit versions of faked medicines in the world

In a thrust against the major problem of counterfeit medicines sold in developing countries, which causes thousands of illnesses and deaths annually, scientists today described development of a simple, paper-strip test that people could use to identify counterfeit versions of one of the most-frequently faked medicines in the world.

20 Aug 2012

New book on malaria tells story of Plasmodium falciparum Genome Project

Few infectious diseases can rival malaria's ability to kill and cripple. Each year the disease causes hundreds of millions of people to be sickened and more than a million - mostly African children under the age of five - die.

18 Aug 2012

Peptide combinations might offer more effective cancer therapy

Two studies suggest that two peptide agents used either together or individually with a low-dose of a standard chemotherapy drug might offer more effective cancer therapy than current standard single-drug treatments.

17 Aug 2012

Rhomboid enzymes and malaria treatment: an interview with Sinisa Urban

Rhomboid enzymes live in the cell’s membrane where their job is to cut the anchors of proteins, which releases the target proteins from the membrane.

16 Aug 2012

Scientists devise new fluorescent probes to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases

Sticky plaques of proteins called amyloids mark several different, though related degenerative brain diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Creutzfeld-Jacobs. The symptoms of these disorders overlap and methods to diagnose and monitor them are not very advanced.

16 Aug 2012

Rice University researcher to see how delays in gene transcription affect cellular processes

A Rice University researcher and his colleagues have received a National Institutes of Health grant to see how delays in gene transcription - life's most basic messaging system - affect cellular processes.

16 Aug 2012

Cancer patients with xerostomia can benefit from regenerative research

Biologists, surgical oncologists and regenerative medicine specialists from Rice University, the University of Delaware and the Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Del., have begun a four-year program aimed at using cells to grow whole salivary glands that can replace those destroyed by cancer radiation therapy.

16 Aug 2012

Early stage breast cancer in older women: an interview with Dr. Benjamin Smith

Early stage breast cancer in older women is a common problem. In the United States nearly half of women diagnosed with breast cancer are aged 65 or older. A sizeable proportion of those patients have early stage breast cancer.

15 Aug 2012

Study investigates ability of bifidobacteria to remove glycans from milk glycoproteins

A research team at the University of California, Davis, has found that important and resourceful bacteria in the baby microbiome can ferret out nourishment from a previously unknown source, possibly helping at-risk infants break down components of breast milk.

15 Aug 2012