Cytoplasm News and Research

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Researchers demonstrate safety of synthetic siRNAs

Researchers from MIT, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and other institutions have demonstrated the safety of a promising type of genetic therapy that could lead to treatments for a wide range of diseases such as cancer.

27 Sep 2007

Discovery of new pathway causing cell death related to frontotemporal dementia and ALS

Scientists have discovered a link between a mutated gene and a protein found in dead brain cells of people who suffer from a form of dementia and other neurological disorders.

27 Sep 2007

Genetic cause discovered for systemic lupus erythematosus

Mutations in a gene researchers call TREX1 is one cause for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a severe and incurable autoimmune disease.

24 Sep 2007

Two genes in mammalian cells act as gatekeepers for cellular longevity

In everything from yeast to primates, a significant decrease in calories can extend lifespan by as much as one-third. But getting under the hood of the molecular machinery that drives this longevity has remained elusive.

21 Sep 2007

Controlling for size may also prevent cancer

Scientists at Johns Hopkins recently discovered that a chemical chain reaction that controls organ size in animals ranging from insects to humans could mean the difference between normal growth and cancer.

21 Sep 2007

New cell death pathway involved in sperm development

Heavy and bulky sperm would not be good swimmers. To trim down, sperm rely on cell death proteins called caspases, which facilitate the removal of unwanted cellular material and radically remodel these cells into their sleek, light shape.

18 Sep 2007

Customized virus kills brain tumor stem cells that drive lethal cancer

A tailored virus destroys brain tumor stem cells that resist other therapies and cause lethal re-growth of cancer after surgery, a research team led by scientists at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Sept. 18 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

12 Sep 2007

Clearer picture of how a dividing cell rebuilds the nuclear envelope

Just how a dividing cell rebuilds the nuclear envelope, the protective, functional wrapping that encases both the original and newly copied genetic material, has been a source of controversy for the last 20 years.

10 Sep 2007

Proteins involved in fragile X syndrome identified

The interplay of two proteins that bind to messenger RNA, a molecule that mediates translation of the information encoded in genes into proteins, triggers the appearance of fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FTAX), a late-life disorder associated with the gene that causes fragile X syndrome in children, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Emory University School of Medicine in a report that appears today in the journal Neuron.

17 Aug 2007

First 3D images of a living cell

A new imaging technique developed at MIT has allowed scientists to create the first 3D images of a living cell, using a method similar to the X-ray CT scans doctors use to see inside the body.

13 Aug 2007

New model for signal transduction in cells

Among the key communication systems within a cell is the Wnt signaling pathway, which regulates embryonic development and whose deregulation can also contribute to cancer development.

28 Jun 2007

Study to investigate how dietary iron is used by cells

A four-year study on iron metabolism within cells, an essential process that impacts both iron deficiency and iron toxicity, conditions responsible for a multitude of human diseases, is underway at the University at Buffalo funded by a $1.16 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

23 Jun 2007

New target for the Fragile X mental retardation protein

Researchers in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine have identified a new regulatory target for the Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), laying the groundwork for possible new treatments for Fragile X syndrome(FXS), the leading inherited form of mental retardation.

8 Jun 2007

Scientists have captured on video the intracellular version of a postal delivery service

Reporting in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (BBRC), bioengineering researchers at UC San Diego published videos of a key message-carrying protein called paxillin moving abruptly from hubs of communication and transportation activity on the cell surface toward the nucleus.

3 Jun 2007

Researchers identify novel molecular target for Yersinia

Effector proteins are the bad guys that help bacterial pathogens do their job of infecting the host by crippling the body's immune system.

28 May 2007

New way to target and potentially treat tumors

Research teams at Yale University and the University of Rhode Island have demonstrated a new way to target and potentially treat tumors using a short piece of protein that acts like a nanosyringe to deliver tags or therapy to cells, according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

2 May 2007

Cell structures exhibit novel behaviors, mimic red blood cells and liquid crystals

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University have manipulated the internal, structural components of cells, creating a set of simulated cellular structures with novel mechanical properties, including one that acts like a red blood cell and another that mimics the soft, elastic behavior commonly found in novel synthetic materials called liquid crystal elastomers.

11 Apr 2007

Bacterial endosymbionts are essential for the reproduction of a fungus

Endosymbiotic relationships, in which one organism lives within another, are striking examples of mutualism, and can often significantly shape the biology of the participant species.

7 Apr 2007

Self-assembling nanoparticle releases drug into cell cytoplasm

A growing body of research leaves no doubt that nanoparticles can transport drugs into cancer cells, but what is less clear is that the drug payload can exit the tiny endosomes that pull nanoparticles into cells.

30 Oct 2006

Scientists explain how transport proteins can move in cells without bumping into or sticking to anything

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden, along with a colleague from the University of Florida in the United States, have been carrying out research into how transport proteins can move in cells without bumping into or sticking to anything.

24 Oct 2006