Catalyst News and Research

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New method to create natural drug products

Until now, only the intricate machinery inside cells could take a mix of enzyme ingredients, blend them together and deliver a natural product with an elaborate chemical structure such as penicillin.

5 Sep 2007

Mercury and formaldehyde found in Houston air

As a frequent addition to the list of America's most polluted cities, Houston is no stranger to having more than just oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air.

22 Aug 2007

Scientists describe a new way of creating novel enzymes

The intricate interplay of proteins and other chemicals that underlies most biological activities requires the participation of enzymes, specialized molecules that accelerate chemical reactions between molecules.

17 Aug 2007

Skin-tightening for cellulite

If sagging skin is getting you down, recent advances in skin-tightening technologies can lift your spirits – and your skin – in a matter of a few office visits to your dermatologist.

2 Aug 2007

Trans fats offer a double whammy

Along with the knowledge that 'trans fats' are particularly bad because they clog up arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks comes new information which makes them even more undesirable.

31 Jul 2007

Chinese authorities ban AIDS conference

An AIDS conference planned to take place in China in August has been banned by government authorities.

30 Jul 2007

Steam out those superbugs!

According to scientists in Britain the battle against super bugs such as MRSA could be won with steam cleaning.

30 Jul 2007

Protein synthesis without amino acids

Usually, the synthesis of short protein chains (polypeptides) begins with the production of their components, the amino acids.

20 Jul 2007

Research on proteases and pathological processes

A research group of the UAB Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine and the UAB Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, directed by Francesc Xavier Aviles, is the coordinator of a European project aimed at studying proteases with fluorescent molecules that allow their monitoring in healthy and pathological situations.

18 Jul 2007

New approach to predict protein function

In a paper published online this month in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, researchers report that they have developed a way to determine the function of some of the hundreds of thousands of proteins for which amino acid sequence data are available, but whose structure and function remain unknown.

12 Jul 2007

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners starts U.S. phase II trial of CPP-109 in patients with cocaine dependence

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. a specialty pharmaceutical company that acquires or in-licenses, develops and commercializes prescription drugs for the treatment of drug addiction, today announced that it has initiated its randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled U.S. Phase II clinical trial of CPP-109 in patients with cocaine dependence.

11 Jul 2007

Scientists discover protein instrumental to brain development and repair

Scientists at Children's National Medical Center have demonstrated conclusively that a specific protein and its signaling activity are instrumental in myelination and remyelination, processes essential to the creation and repair of the brain's white matter.

9 Jul 2007

Scientists create sheets of protein-gold arrays

In groundbreaking research, scientists have demonstrated the ability to strategically attach gold nanoparticles -- particles on the order of billionths of a meter -- to proteins so as to form sheets of protein-gold arrays.

28 Jun 2007

New uderstanding of how enzymes work

In a publication selected as a "2007 Hot Article" by the journal Biochemistry , University at Buffalo chemists report the discovery of a central mechanism responsible for the action of the powerful biological catalysts known as enzymes.

20 Jun 2007

Breakdown of myelin may be the cause of Huntington's disease

Last month, Dr. George Bartzokis, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic, suggested in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia that the breakdown of a type of myelin that develops late in life promotes the buildup of toxic amyloid plaques long associated with Alzheimer's disease.

16 Jun 2007

New model shows how simple chemical and physical processes may have laid the foundation for life

Before life emerged on earth, either a primitive kind of metabolism or an RNA-like duplicating machinery must have set the stage, so experts believe.

15 Jun 2007

Self-healing materials that mimic human skin

The next generation of self-healing materials, invented by researchers at the University of Illinois, mimics human skin by healing itself time after time.

14 Jun 2007

Myelin and Huntington's disease

14 Jun 2007

Link between khat use and mental illness

Researchers investigating the evidence for a potential causal link between khat use and mental illness - in the first ever systematic review of the topic - have called for improved research on the stimulant plant, and its possible association with psychiatric disorders.

5 Jun 2007

Stanford, India collaboration for biomedical technology innovators

The Stanford University Program in Biodesign is partnering with the government of India to establish a new training program, called Stanford-India Biodesign, to help create the next generation of biomedical technology innovators in India.

3 Jun 2007