Biochemistry News and Research

RSS

Scientists decode entire genome of lyre-leaved rock cress

It would appear reasonable to assume that two closely related plant species would have similar genetic blueprints. However, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in T-bingen, working in cooperation with an international research team have now decoded, for the first time, the entire genome of the lyre-leaved rock cress (Arabidopsis lyrata), a close relative of the thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), the model plant used by geneticists.

22 Apr 2011

Nature solves complex topological puzzles in DNA substrate recognition with elegant simplicity

A major discovery about an enzyme's structure has opened a window on understanding DNA repair. Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have determined the structure of a nuclease that will help scientists to understand several DNA repair pathways, a welcome development for cancer research.

21 Apr 2011

Stealth Peptides launches mitochondrion targeting compound Bendavia at Experimental Biology 2011

Stealth Peptides Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative mitochondrial therapies, introduced its lead clinical candidate, Bendavia™, a novel compound that targets the mitochondrion, during multiple scientific sessions of the Experimental Biology 2011 meeting.

20 Apr 2011

Squamous cell cancers can originate from hair follicle stem cells, finds study

Squamous cell cancers, which can occur in multiple organs in the body, can originate from hair follicle stem cells, a finding that could result in new strategies to treat and potentially prevent the disease, according to a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.

20 Apr 2011

Plant hormone auxin acts as a signalling molecule in embryo development

During the development of organisms, a particular event repeatedly occurs: a signal appears temporarily, but the processes it triggers must be maintained - for example, when the fate of cells in the embryo is established.

20 Apr 2011

NIH awards U of M's scientist with $10 million grant for HIV research

Reuben Harris, professor in the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences, has been awarded a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to direct a large-scale research effort to study a human antiviral protein with potential for treating HIV and other viral diseases.

19 Apr 2011

Scientists identify networks of genes critical in embryonic-heart development

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have identified networks of genes that play an important role in embryonic-heart development, advancing knowledge of how healthy hearts develop-and offering clues about how to combat a common birth defect known as congenital heart disease.

18 Apr 2011

Researchers discover strategy that promotes new blood vessel formation

Researchers at The University of Western Ontario have discovered a strategy for stimulating the formation of highly functional new blood vessels in tissues that are starved of oxygen. Dr. Geoffrey Pickering and Matthew Frontini at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry developed a strategy in which a biological factor, called fibroblast growth factor 9, is delivered at the same time that the body is making its own effort at forming new blood vessels in vulnerable or damaged tissue.

18 Apr 2011

NIH researchers survey landscape of melanoma genome

A team led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health is the first to systematically survey the landscape of the melanoma genome, the DNA code of the deadliest form of skin cancer. The researchers have made surprising new discoveries using whole-exome sequencing, an approach that decodes the 1-2 percent of the genome that contains protein-coding genes.

16 Apr 2011

Acute high-fat diets can protect against heart attack

Approximately one million Americans suffer a heart attack each year of which some 400,000 attacks are fatal. A key cause of heart attacks is atherosclerosis, a process in which cholesterol builds up in the arteries and impedes the ability of the blood to flow to our most vital organ.

15 Apr 2011

Walking slows progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in obese people

Walking on a treadmill for one hour a day may slow the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in obese people with prediabetes by jump-starting their metabolism and slowing the oxidative damage wrought by the condition, say researchers at the Cleveland Clinic.

15 Apr 2011

Elsevier introduces new online research tool

Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced the launch of Methods Navigator. This online research tool enables life scientists to search, access and apply the right method for their research, saving time and producing high-quality results.

15 Apr 2011

Changes in hormonal status have no impact on women's voice parameters

In recent years several studies have suggested that women's voices change at different times over the menstrual cycle, with the tone rising as ovulation approaches. Now a study conducted by researchers at the West Texas A&M University in which women's voices were subjected to computerized acoustical analysis contradicts those findings.

12 Apr 2011

Scientists develop new method for enzyme immobilization

Virtually all processes in the human body rely on a unique class of proteins known as enzymes. To study them, scientists want to attach these molecules to surfaces and hold them fast, but this can often be a tricky undertaking.

12 Apr 2011

African-American adults with CVD may benefit from 'sunshine vitamin'

In recent years supplementation with Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in people who are deficient in the vitamin.

12 Apr 2011

Scientists develop new method to detect virus presence in cells

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory Center for Bio-Molecular Science and Engineering have developed a method to detect the presence of viruses in cells and to study their growth.

12 Apr 2011

Obesity impacts gene clock of cardiovascular system

Obese individuals typically suffer more medical problems than their leaner counterparts. They are more likely to be diagnosed with insulin resistance, diabetes, increased stress hormones, hypothyroidism, and sleep apnea. Researchers at the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta have also found the potential for something else, using an animal model.

12 Apr 2011

Study on 'health halo effect'

Jenny Wan-chen Lee, a graduate student in Cornell University's Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, has been fascinated with a phenomenon known as "the halo effect" for some time.

11 Apr 2011

Tai chi, green tea may help reduce inflammatory diseases in postmenopausal women

C.S. Lewis, the famous author and Oxford academic, once proclaimed "You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." We sip it with toast in the morning, enjoy it with sweets and biscuits in the afternoon, and relax with it at the end of the day.

11 Apr 2011

Researchers discover new avenue for hypertension, cardiovascular disease treatment

More than one-third of the world's population suffers from hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research has reported that Americans spent $29 billion for non-prescription cardiovascular drugs alone in 2008.

11 Apr 2011