Cell Membrane News and Research

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Negative impact of high-fat diet on red blood cells may promote development of cardiovascular disease

University of Cincinnati researchers have discovered the negative impact a high fat diet has on red blood cells and how these cells, in turn, promote the development of cardiovascular disease.

17 Nov 2015

Loyola and Notre Dame researchers report promising new approaches to treating cancer

Promising new approaches to treating cancer were reported during a recent meeting of researchers from Loyola University Chicago and the University of Notre Dame.

12 Nov 2015

Protein sensor for proprioception found

Can you touch a finger to the tip of your nose with your eyes closed? Most of us can, thanks to a sense called proprioception, which tells us where our body parts are relative to each other and our environment. Not surprisingly, this sense is essential for normal movement and balance—walking, for instance.

10 Nov 2015

Oxford professor wins Heinrich Wieland Prize for pioneering method that helps control nerve cells with light

Gero Miesenböck was the first to insert a light-controlled on/off switch into brain cells. His pioneering method allows scientists to switch nerve cells on and off selectively and observe how the behaviour of, for example, fruit flies or mice changes as a result. In this way, researchers can learn in a step-by-step process what behaviour the studied brain circuits control and what goes awry in disease. For his method, hailed as a "breakthrough of the decade," Professor Gero Miesenböck of the University of Oxford will receive the 100,000-euro Heinrich Wieland Prize of the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation in Munich on November 6, 2015.

4 Nov 2015

Researchers develop cancer-killing 'grenades’

Researchers have developed cancer drug-packed 'grenades' armed with heat sensitive triggers, allowing for treatment to be targeted directly at tumours, according to two studies due to be presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool.

31 Oct 2015

Rotation model provides explanation of ligand activation mechanism of dimeric receptors

"This 'rotation model', which made the cover of BioEssays, represents a true paradigm shift in the membrane receptor field," stated Prof. Pierre De Meyts, a renowned researcher of insulin and receptor binding for almost half a century and one of the reviewers of the paper by Prof. Ichiro Maruyama, the head of the Information Processing Biology Unit at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University.

31 Oct 2015

New broad-spectrum antibiotic can kill bacteria by punching holes in their membranes

Bacteria have many methods of adapting to resist antibiotics, but a new class of spiral polypeptides developed at the University of Illinois targets one thing no bacterium can live without: an outer membrane.

29 Oct 2015

Novel method for examining small molecules may provide platform for new drug design

Most pharmaceutical drugs consist of tiny molecules, which target a class of proteins found on the surfaces of cell membranes. Studying these subtle interactions is essential for the design of effective drugs, but the task is extremely challenging.

26 Oct 2015

Restoring memory in aging mice

A new study, led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VA) and University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine shows that increasing a crucial cholesterol-binding membrane protein in nerve cells (neurons) within the brain can improve learning and memory in aged mice.

22 Oct 2015

New breakthrough advances our understanding of how brain detects, prevents dehydration

Scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and Duke University have made a breakthrough that advances our understanding of how the brain detects and prevents dehydration.

16 Oct 2015

New hope for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

New hope for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients. A mouse genetic study in PLoS Medicine reports that targeting the P2RX7 gene, a purinoreceptor, may halt the progression of DMD.

14 Oct 2015

Researchers come up with new design for a better liposome

Using computational modeling, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, the Colorado School of Mines and the University of California, Davis have come up with a design for a better liposome. Their findings, while theoretical, could provide the basis for efficiently constructing new vehicles for nanodrug delivery.

14 Oct 2015

ATA announces first-year research grants to support promising young researchers

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is pleased to announce the awarding of first-year grants to support two young researchers selected from among a pool of applicants who proposed projects that will contribute novel insights and information with the potential to lead to new drug targets and therapeutic strategies to improve the treatment of thyroid cancer and patient outcomes.

13 Oct 2015

Researchers find protein that plays crucial role in development of allergic airway inflammation

Allergies are becoming more commonplace, particularly in industrialised coun-tries. In addition to hay fever, allergic asthma is currently considered to be one of the most widespread allergies. UFZ researchers and their colleagues from the University of Leipzig have recently been successful in finding a protein that plays a critical role in the development of allergic airway inflammation.

12 Oct 2015

Finding could lead to potential new treatment for patients with autoimmune diseases

Antibodies protect the body against diseases - but can also harm their own organism if the reactions are misdirected. Researchers from the University of Zurich have now discovered that a particular sugar in the antibodies determines whether one of the body's own cells is destroyed or not. This result could lead to new treatment possibilities for patients with autoimmune diseases.

6 Oct 2015

Two studies identify promising new anti-retroviral strategy to combat HIV-1

A pair of studies by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, the University of Trento in Italy, and the University of Geneva in Switzerland, point to a promising new anti-retroviral strategy for combating HIV-1.

1 Oct 2015

AFM Images of microvilli on live cells taken for the first time

In a just released article in the Journal of Molecular Recognition, Dr. Hermann Schillers et al. report the first visualization of individual microvilli on living cells with atomic force microscopy.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 1 Oct 2015

Research shows why microgravity leads to muscle loss

People can easily feel the presence - or absence - of gravity. Our individual cells actually may be able to sense gravity, too, and that ability could play a role in the loss of muscle that occurs when humans spend time in space.

1 Oct 2015

Glowing protein may replace fiber optic cable as light source in optogenetics research

Optogenetics has taken neuroscience by storm in recent years because the technique allows scientists to study the brain conveniently in animals, activating or inhibiting selected groups of neurons at the flip of a switch. Most often, scientists use a fiber optic cable to deliver light into the brain.

30 Sep 2015

Researchers develop a technique that uses platelet membranes to coat anticancer drugs

Researchers have for the first time developed a technique that coats anticancer drugs in membranes made from a patient's own platelets, allowing the drugs to last longer in the body and attack both primary cancer tumors and the circulating tumor cells that can cause a cancer to metastasize. The work was tested successfully in an animal model.

30 Sep 2015

Cell Membrane News and Research

Negative impact of high-fat diet on red blood cells may promote development of cardiovascular disease

Loyola and Notre Dame researchers report promising new approaches to treating cancer

Protein sensor for proprioception found

Oxford professor wins Heinrich Wieland Prize for pioneering method that helps control nerve cells with light

Researchers develop cancer-killing 'grenades’

Rotation model provides explanation of ligand activation mechanism of dimeric receptors

New broad-spectrum antibiotic can kill bacteria by punching holes in their membranes

Novel method for examining small molecules may provide platform for new drug design

Restoring memory in aging mice

New breakthrough advances our understanding of how brain detects, prevents dehydration

New hope for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Researchers come up with new design for a better liposome

ATA announces first-year research grants to support promising young researchers

Researchers find protein that plays crucial role in development of allergic airway inflammation

Finding could lead to potential new treatment for patients with autoimmune diseases

Two studies identify promising new anti-retroviral strategy to combat HIV-1

AFM Images of microvilli on live cells taken for the first time

Research shows why microgravity leads to muscle loss

Glowing protein may replace fiber optic cable as light source in optogenetics research

Researchers develop a technique that uses platelet membranes to coat anticancer drugs

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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