Biochemistry News and Research

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Discovery of key pathway, potential drug targets in autoinflammatory disease

Molecular biologists at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have detailed the cascade of cellular events behind some potentially dangerous autoinflammatory diseases.

13 Nov 2007

Enzyme sphingosine kinase 2 show to be potential new target to fight cancer

Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have identified the enzyme sphingosine kinase 2 as a possible new therapeutic target to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy for colon and breast cancer.

2 Nov 2007

Case Western Reserve researchers breed a "Lance Armstrong" mouse

Case Western Reserve University researchers have bred a line of "mighty mice" (PEPCK-Cmus mice) that have the capability of running five to six kilometers at a speed of 20 meters per minute on a treadmill for up to six hours before stopping.

2 Nov 2007

No benefit from biomedical knowledge for millions

Millions of Dutch people will not benefit from the biomedical knowledge which is being acquired.

31 Oct 2007

Discovery of a key cell-signaling pathway

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers have discovered a key cell-signaling pathway that regulates cell progression and switches on front-to-back body patterning in tadpoles.

28 Oct 2007

Cellular power plant fault explains abnormal metabolism of tumours

The increased consumption of glucose that tumour cells exhibit, was thought to be a cause of the extra demand of building blocks required to keep up with an uncontrolled cell growth, but now it is more accepted that it could be the effect of a programmed metabolic change that favours this malignant growth.

23 Oct 2007

Discovery of binocular vision gene

A team of researchers at the Bosch Institute have identified an important gene responsible for binocular vision.

19 Oct 2007

Defects in Jhdm2a gene could be the cause for some cases of male infertility

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a gene crucial to the final step of the formation of a functional sperm cell.

18 Oct 2007

Proteins that underlie cancer

A University of Arkansas scientist who studies constructs of a protein that are associated with the cell transformation that causes cancer has received a five-year, $661,018 grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand his research.

17 Oct 2007

Structure of influenza B virus protein gives clues to next pandemic

Determining the structure of a protein called hemagglutinin on the surface of influenza B is giving researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University in Houston clues as to what kinds of mutations could spark the next flu pandemic.

17 Oct 2007

Scientists map flu's chemical key

Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Rice University have developed a three-dimensional, molecular map that could yield clues about the genetic mutations that will allow bird flu to spread among humans.

17 Oct 2007

Homocysteine appears to be play a part in retinal damage and vision loss

Homocysteine, an amino acid believed to contribute to heart attack, stroke and dementia, likely also is a player in retinal damage and vision loss, researchers say.

16 Oct 2007

Important insights into blood vessel formation

Researchers have identified a molecular pathway that plays a critical role in the growth of blood vessels.

15 Oct 2007

Transthyretin protein may accelerate atherosclerosis

Scientists report in the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research that a protein called transthyretin (TTR) that is present in the blood may accelerate the development of atherosclerosis - a potentially fatal heart disease in which the arteries are progressively narrowed and hardened over time, reducing blood flow to the heart.

12 Oct 2007

Peripheral ehanolamine plasmalogen deficiency - likely factor in Alzheimer's and dementia

Dayan B. Goodenowe and colleagues report in the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research that people with Alzheimer's disease and related conditions exhibit decreased blood levels of an important brain chemical called ethanolamine plasmalogen, even at the very early stages of the disease.

12 Oct 2007

Potential health benefits of fish oil in baby formula

Scientists report in the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research that adding long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids - typically found in fish oil - to baby formula may help infants better regulate their blood sugar and make more proteins in their muscle cells.

12 Oct 2007

Compound called apolipoprotein B in blood better at predicting coronary heart disease in Chinese people

Scientists report in the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Lipid Research that the concentration of a compound called apolipoprotein B in the blood is better at predicting whether Chinese have coronary heart disease – in which fatty deposits clog arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart – than other substances such as blood cholesterol levels.

12 Oct 2007

Anticlotting drug found to be safe in sickle cell patients

An intravenous "blood thinner" widely used in patients with acute coronary syndromes and during coronary artery stent placement appears to be safe in patients with sickle cell disease and may have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects, a small study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has found.

12 Oct 2007

Mario Capecchi shares Nobel Prize in medicine for knockout mice technology

Mario R. Capecchi, Ph.D., distinguished professor of human genetics and biology at the University of Utah's Eccles Institute of Human Genetics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, has won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

9 Oct 2007

Sir Martin Evans wins Nobel prize for stem cell research

Medical Research Council funded scientist Sir Martin Evans, has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2007 alongside Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies for their discoveries of "principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells".

9 Oct 2007