Biochemistry News and Research

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Researchers uncover protein structural clues associated to PD

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have uncovered structural clues about the protein linked to Parkinson's disease (PD), which ultimately could lead to finding a cure for the degenerative neurological disorder.

18 Jun 2011

Precisely mapped allosteric binding site will facilitate design of drugs with minimal side effects

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have obtained a precise molecular map of the binding site for an allosteric inhibitor in a subtype of the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor, which is commonly expressed in brain cells.

17 Jun 2011

Specific lipid mixtures can overcome lethal effects of multidrug-resistant bacteria

"Super bugs," which can cause wide-spread disease and may be resistant to most, if not all, conventional antibiotics, still have their weaknesses. A team of Canadian scientists discovered that specific mixtures of antimicrobial agents presented in lipid (fatty) mixtures can significantly boost the effectiveness of those agents to kill the resistant bacteria.

17 Jun 2011

University of Houston chemist develops two different materials against E. coli

A University of Houston (UH) chemist who is developing materials for detecting and repelling E. coli has published papers in two high-impact journals this month.

16 Jun 2011

Magnesium essential for absorption and metabolism of vitamin D and calcium

Magnesium deficiency is an important factor in the results obtained from vitamin D. According to Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, magnesium expert and Medical Director of the nonprofit Nutritional Magnesium Association, the effectiveness and benefits of vitamin D are greatly undermined in the absence of adequate levels of magnesium in the body.

15 Jun 2011

STCEID to establish Center of Excellence in Infection Genomics

The South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at The University of Texas at San Antonio announced today it will receive $4.6 million over the next five years from the U.S. Department of Defense's Army Research Office to establish a Center of Excellence in Infection Genomics to support microbiology research, teaching and outreach activities aligned with Army priorities.

13 Jun 2011

Research provides better understanding of interplay between genomes of malaria parasites, humans

For tens of thousands of years, the genomes of malaria parasites and humans have been at war with one another. Now, University of Pennsylvania geneticists, in collaboration with an international team of scientists, have developed a new picture of one way that the human genome has fought back.

10 Jun 2011

Neuroscientists uncover the source of visual system's 'false alarms'

On rare occasion, the light-sensing photoreceptor cells in the eye misfire and signal to the brain as if they have captured photons, when in reality they haven't. For years this phenomenon remained a mystery. Reporting in the June 10 issue of Science, neuroscientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered that a light-capturing pigment molecule in photoreceptors can be triggered by heat, as well, giving rise to these false alarms.

10 Jun 2011

UAB acquires first cell-processing workstation from SANYO

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has taken a significant step toward making sophisticated cell therapy a part of patient care with its acquisition of the first cell-processing workstation (CPWS) from SANYO North America Corporation (SANYO) in the United States.

9 Jun 2011

Metabolomics analysis shows 3IS as early predictive, sensitive biomarker of acute kidney injury

Metabolon, Inc., the leader in metabolomics, biomarker discovery and analysis, announces the publication of "Metabolomics Analysis Reveals Elevation of 3-Indoxyl Sulfate in Plasma and Brain during Chemically-induced Acute Kidney Injury in Mice: Investigation of Nicotinic Acid Receptor Agonists", in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.

9 Jun 2011

Insight into how cancer cells acquire selective survival advantage

Research led by David Litchfield of The University of Western Ontario has identified how biochemical pathways can be "rewired" in cancer cells to allow these cells to ignore signals that should normally trigger their death. It's one way that cancer cells may become resistant to therapy.

9 Jun 2011

UAB first in U.S. with cell-processing workstation

8 Jun 2011

Scientists find neuronal cells die in Alzheimer's disease

In what they are calling a new direction in the study of Alzheimer's disease, UC Santa Barbara scientists have made an important finding about what happens to brain cells that are destroyed in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

8 Jun 2011

McGill researcher develops speedier technique for predicting protein folding pathways

Protein folding has nothing to do with laundry. It is, in fact, one of the central questions in biochemistry. Protein folding is the continual and universal process whereby the long, coiled strings of amino acids that make up proteins in all living things fold into more complex three-dimensional structures.

8 Jun 2011

Clinical-research expert moving to Stanford

Steven Goodman, MD, PhD, has worn many hats through his long and varied career, from pediatrician to biostatistician, from epidemiologist to clinical trial expert, from scientist to, well, opera singer. Admittedly, opera has been more of a hobby for him than a career path, but it does give some indication of his ability to master a wide range of subjects.

7 Jun 2011

Cyterix raises $9.2M in Series A financing from The Column Group and SV Life Sciences

Cyterix Pharmaceutics, Inc. announced today that the company has raised $9.2 million in a Series A financing from The Column Group and SV Life Sciences. Cyterix is developing novel cancer therapeutics based on a prodrug approach that targets extra-hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes that are over-expressed in many cancers to a high frequency, but not in normal tissues.

7 Jun 2011

Study links exposure to BPA with lowered male fertility

Daily exposure to a chemical that is prevalent in the human environment, bisphenol A (BPA), causes lowered fertility in male mice, according to the results of a new study that will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

6 Jun 2011

DFG to form new collaborative research centers as of 1 July 2011

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish 21 new Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) as of 1 July 2011. This was decided by the relevant Grants Committee at its spring meeting in Bonn.

4 Jun 2011

GW researchers demonstrate Mta1 gene's role in survival of schistosomes

By using mice lacking a crucial gene that controls the process of chromatin remodeling of cytokines including those responsible for inflammation and comparing them to normal wild type mice with the gene, researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences have shown that the gene, Mta1, is essential for the parasite Schistosoma haematobium to establish a productive infection and survival in the host.

4 Jun 2011

MreB protein molecules assemble into larger units in bacterial cell wall

Almost all bacteria owe their structure to an outer cell wall that interacts closely with the supporting MreB protein inside the cell. As scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry and at the French INRA now show, MreB molecules assemble into larger units, but not - as previously believed - into continuous helical structures.

4 Jun 2011