Cell Nucleus News and Research

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Effective gene suppression using small interfering RNA in hard-to-transfect human T cells

A technical advance in laboratory techniques may provide biology researchers broader access to RNA interference, a process of blocking the activity of targeted genes. RNA interference has recently emerged as an important tool in studying how genes function in normal biological processes and in disease.

9 May 2006

Gene silencing protein discovered

A team of researchers, including biologists at Washington University in St. Louis, has discovered the key role one protein plays in a major turn-off -in this case, the turning off of thousands of nearly identical genes in a hybrid plant.

8 May 2006

Novel protein JHDM2A offers new look at male hormone regulation

For the second time in less than a year, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have purified a novel protein and have shown it can alter gene activity by reversing a molecular modification previously thought permanent.

8 May 2006

Important insights into how cells regulate certain growth-proteins

Researchers here have discovered a new mechanism used by cells - and manipulated by retroviruses - to control the making of certain essential proteins, including some involved in cancer.

8 May 2006

An engineered virus that tracks down and compels cancer cells to eat themselves

An engineered virus tracks down and infects the most common and deadly form of brain cancer and then kills tumor cells by forcing them to devour themselves, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report.

3 May 2006

DNA taxi

Despite few successes to date, gene therapy is a highly promising approach for medical therapy in the future.

1 May 2006

Researchers figure out how nuclear pores duplicate before cells divide

Researchers have long wondered how nuclear pores - the all-important channels that control the flow of information in and out of a cell's nucleus - double in number to prepare for the split to come when a cell divides. Now, for the first time, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies watched as new funnel-like pore structures formed from scratch, and inserted themselves into the nuclear membrane.

28 Apr 2006

Researchers develop system for observing nuclear motion

The cell is understood to be highly organized, with specialized areas for different functions and molecular motors shuttling components around.

18 Apr 2006

Stress-induced, high levels of corticotropin-releasing factor might be responsible for binge behaviour and addiction

Stressed individuals might be particularly prone to binge eating or drug addiction because of the high levels of the stress hormone corticotropin-releasing factor in their brain.

13 Apr 2006

Caudal raphe or the hypoglossal nucleus or both together play roles in sleep apnea

The neural pathways between two areas of the brain that control the tongue -- and their interactions with each other -- may hold the key as to why men suffer sleep apnea much more than women.

4 Apr 2006

Omega-3 fatty acids inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells

Two new studies by a University of Pittsburgh research team suggest that omega-3 fatty acids - substances that are found in high concentrations in fish oils and certain seeds and nuts - significantly inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells.

3 Apr 2006

Tobacco plants being used to produce human albumin

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the intravenous protein most commonly used in the world for therapeutic ends. It is employed to stabilise blood volume and to avoid risk of a heart attack, its administration in operating theatres being almost a daily occurrence.

27 Mar 2006

Researchers find potential new mechanism for how the brain's reward system works

Amid reports that a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease has caused some patients to become addicted to gambling and sex, University of Pittsburgh researchers have published a study that sheds light on what may have gone wrong.

23 Mar 2006

Genetic differences between males and females might be evened out at the rim of the nucleus

Recent research at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) reveals new insights into how cells achieve equality between the sexes.

21 Mar 2006

Researchers use computer simulations to mimic DNA mess inside the nucleus

Almost three metres of tightly-coiled DNA strands fit into a cell's nucleus. As DNA replicates, the strands unwind and unfold and then re-package into chromosomes, the genetic blueprints of life - but what happens if this process becomes entangled?

15 Mar 2006

Capsaicin drives prostate cancer cells to kill themselves

Capsaicin, the stuff that turns up the heat in jalapeqos, not only causes the tongue to burn, it also drives prostate cancer cells to kill themselves, according to studies published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research.

15 Mar 2006

Cells have a natural defense against HIV

Scientists here have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that cells use to fight off the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS.

14 Mar 2006

Study reveals mechanisms behind Thiazolidinediones used to treat type 2 diabetes

Thiazolidinediones (TZD's) are drugs commonly prescribed to patients with type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes. Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved agents are known as Actos (pioglitazone) and Avandia (rosiglitazone).

13 Mar 2006

Smk-1 is the first known gene that regulates longevity without disrupting life-sustaining function

Within a hormone-triggered cascade of molecular signals that plays a crucial for a wide range of physiological functions, researchers for the very first time have identified a protein that functions specifically to extend lifespan and youthfulness - without disrupting fertility

13 Mar 2006

Nematode hormone discovery may aid fight against parasitic disease

New research at UT Southwestern Medical Center shows that on a biochemical level, hormone-like molecules in tiny worms called nematodes work similarly to the way in which certain hormones work in humans - findings that one day may help eradicate worm infections that afflict a third of the world's population.

9 Mar 2006