Biochemistry News and Research

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Study indicates how drug efficacy can be increased by manipulating the signalling mechanism

Researchers believe they have found a way to change the action of 60 percent of currently available medications, in some cases making them many times more effective, according to an article published in the April 21 edition of the journal Science. The discovery has the potential to improve treatments for diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and arthritis. The study describes a new way to manipulate perhaps the most important signaling mechanism in human cells: G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).

28 Apr 2006

Alternative anti-inflammatory drugs promise less cardiovascular problems

New type of anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce COX-2 cardiovascular problems, says Queen's researcher

25 Apr 2006

Swedish ACI method of cartilage repair gives excellent durability

As the population ages, arthritis will become more prevalent. It would be helpful to know more about the causes and treatments of cartilage wear.

25 Apr 2006

WRN exonuclease structure and molecular mechanism imply an editing role in DNA end processing

A team of scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Scripps Research Institute has determined the crystal structure and molecular mechanisms of a key part of WRN, a protein that protects humans from premature aging and cancer.

23 Apr 2006

Possible alternatives found for Vioxx and Celebrex

According to Canadian and American researchers they have identified one reason why drugs like Celebrex and Vioxx - once popular for the treatment of pain and inflammation - cause heart problems.

18 Apr 2006

Sticky proteins for neuro-chip chat

EU-funded researchers have taken the firsts steps towards future technologies combining silicon circuits and the nervous systems of mammals. Applications could include advanced drug screening and, perhaps one day, implants to help combat neurological disorders.

18 Apr 2006

Researchers determine factors that turn on protein production in bacteria

In the study, published in the journal Molecular Cell, researchers Sean Studer and Simpson Joseph in UCSD's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry report how the messenger RNA instructions to make a protein are unfolded in a bacterial cell, so that they can be read by the cell's protein-making machinery.

11 Apr 2006

DNA "dark state" findings help explain evolution of life

Chemists at Oregon State University have pioneered a controversial theory about how supposedly-stable DNA bases can be pushed into a "dark state" in which they are highly vulnerable to damage from ultraviolet radiation - an idea that has challenged some of the most basic concepts of modern biochemistry.

11 Apr 2006

New discovery could help improve some forms of chemotherapy

The research looked at XPB helicase from an archaea, a single cell organism similar to bacteria. Helicases are enzymes that unwind or separate the strands of the nucleic acid double helix, an action that is critical to transcription and nucleotide excision repair (NER), as well as other cell processes.

11 Apr 2006

Surprising discovery about the inner workings of vesicular stomatitis virus

Biochemists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have made a surprising discovery about the inner workings of a powerful virus - a discovery that they hope could one day lead to better vaccines or anti-virus medications.

11 Apr 2006

Important advance in understanding the complex interactions between proteins

Interactions between proteins are the engines that drive the lives of cells, and a better understanding of these relationships -- and the structures that enable them -- are the next great frontier in the biological sciences.

10 Apr 2006

Caenorhabditis elegans helps unravel mechanisms of hunger

In research that may have implications for studying eating disorders in humans, a worm the size of a pinhead is helping researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center unravel the mechanisms of hunger.

6 Apr 2006

International team tackle protein folding

A team of researchers from EPFL, (Ecole Polytechnique Fidirale de Lausanne), the University of Lausanne, Northwestern University and Tel Aviv Universitybring biology and statistical physics together to answer the question of how molecular chaperones fold, unfold and pull proteins around in the cell.

4 Apr 2006

Fish oil significantly reduces production of various prostaglandins that accentuate inflammation and thrombosis

Omega 3 fatty acids in dietary fish oil are reported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombogenic and anti-arrhythmic effects in humans, but the biochemical basis for these beneficial health effects is not well understood.

4 Apr 2006

Scientists discover structure of malaria defense process

Scientists from two universities in Italy and Virginia Tech in the United States have determined the structure of a protein that is responsible for the production xanthurenic acid (XA) in Anopheles gambiae, the malaria carrying mosquitoes.

4 Apr 2006

Enzymes that harm brain immediately after stroke may be beneficial days later

Insights from the study could change the way stroke is treated, extending the window for effective treatment from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks. The results may suggest new ideas for drug development.

4 Apr 2006

Raspberries - a better source of antioxidants

Antioxidants are believed to have substantial health benefits and raspberries in particular are a good source. In fact, raspberries may have 10 times more antioxidants than tomatoes or broccoli. Further, raspberries contain some specific antioxidants that are found almost nowhere else.

31 Mar 2006

New device could cut chemotherapy deaths

A new method of delivering chemotherapy to cancer patients without incurring side effects such as hair loss and vomiting is being developed.

31 Mar 2006

Minimal genome should be twice the size

The simplest bacteria need almost twice as many genes to survive than scientists first believed, according to new research published in Nature (30 March 2006).

30 Mar 2006

Researchers find environmentally friendly ways to produce more Taxol

As the effective cancer-treatment drug Taxol enters its next generation, Michigan State University announces discoveries which point to both environmentally friendly ways to produce more Taxol, and ultimately innovations to produce a more potent second-generation drug.

28 Mar 2006