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Antibiotic resistance may help find drugs to combat amyloid formation

Amyloid diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and type-2 diabetes pose a particular problem for drug designers because they do not present a clear target structure to aim at.

15 Dec 2015

Rutgers scientists uncover biological pathways that provide insight into tiny cell bubbles

Rutgers scientists have uncovered biological pathways in the roundworm that provide insight into how tiny bubbles released by cells can have beneficial health effects, like promoting tissue repair, or may play a diabolical role and carry disease signals for cancer or neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

12 Dec 2015

New artificial muscle imitates macroscopic movement of human muscles

The macroscopic movement of our muscles is caused by the collective movement of “biomolecular motors”. Scientists and engineers have long been trying to imitate this process.

10 Dec 2015

Scientists decipher details of cloaking proteins that protect the toxin that causes botulism

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at Stony Brook University and the Institute of Advanced Sciences in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, have discovered new details about how "cloaking" proteins protect the toxin that causes botulism, a fatal disease caused most commonly by consuming improperly canned foods.

7 Dec 2015

New model of arterial thrombus formation is similar to popular video game

A group of biophysicists, including representatives from MIPT, has developed a mathematical model of arterial thrombus formation, which is the main cause of heart attacks and strokes.

1 Dec 2015

Researchers use magic-angle-spinning NMR to unveil structure of CAP-Gly protein

A latticework of tiny tubes called microtubules gives your cells their shape and also acts like a railroad track that essential proteins travel on. But if there is a glitch in the connection between train and track, diseases can occur.

26 Nov 2015

Certain platelet-derived growth factors can encourage regeneration of liver tissue following surgery

A team of researchers at the MedUni Vienna has discovered that certain platelet-derived growth factors are of major significance for the liver's regeneration processes. It has been shown that platelets can encourage the regrowth of liver tissue in patients who have had parts of their liver removed surgically.

23 Nov 2015

UCSF scientists identify eye drop chemical that may reverse cataracts

A chemical that could potentially be used in eye drops to reverse cataracts, the leading cause of blindness, has been identified by a team of scientists from UC San Francisco (UCSF), the University of Michigan (U-M), and Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL).

6 Nov 2015

Linkam stages in use in the Wolfson Bioimaging Facility at the University of Bristol as part of the endocytic sorting research of Dr Paul Verkade

Market leaders in temperature controlled microscopy, Linkam Scientific Instruments report on the use of their temperature controlled stages applied to CLEM and fluorescence microscopy to assist in endocytic sorting in the School of Biochemistry at the University of Bristol.

From Linkam Scientific Instruments 4 Nov 2015

New peptide-based hydrogel could one day facilitate microsurgery

Skillful surgeons can do amazing things in extremely small places, but finding better ways to suture tiny blood vessels has been an ongoing challenge for even the best.

3 Nov 2015

University of Kansas professor recognized with MERIT Award

Emily Scott, professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kansas, has been recognized with a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences. It's a rare and important recognition -- researchers can receive them only once in a career.

30 Oct 2015

FAU, Max Planck ink new agreement to recruit and retain promising scientists

Florida Atlantic University, the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and the Max Planck Society based in Germany, have signed an innovative agreement to facilitate a research and education program that will recruit promising scientists to MPFI and FAU.

30 Oct 2015

New fluorescent dye could serve as powerful tool to visualize biological events in living cells

A new photostable fluorescent dye for super resolution microscopy could serve as a powerful tool to visualize biological events and structural details in living cells at real-time for prolonged recording periods.

27 Oct 2015

TSRI researchers find way to change leukemia cells into leukemia-killing immune cells

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found a way to change leukemia cells into leukemia-killing immune cells. The surprise finding could lead to a powerful new therapy for leukemia and possibly other cancers.

20 Oct 2015

Researchers create high resolution images of telomerase that plays major role in cancer, aging

An enzyme called telomerase plays a significant role in aging and most cancers, but until recently many aspects of the enzyme's structure could not be clearly seen.

16 Oct 2015

Researchers uncover how small heat shock protein interacts with other proteins

In Alzheimer's disease proteins clump together to long fibrils causing the death of nerve cells. Small heat shock proteins can counteract this effect. Scientists, therefore, hope to deploy them as agents in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Using the example of a small heat shock protein, researchers at the Technical University of Munich and the Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen have now uncovered how the protein interacts with other proteins.

15 Oct 2015

UTHealth biochemists expose structures of IP3R calcium channels

Calcium is a crucial element in the body that controls thought, movement and other bodily functions. These events are directed by specialized proteins called ion channels that allow the flow of calcium ions in and out of cells and among cell compartments. For years, scientists have been unsure how calcium ion channels function.

15 Oct 2015

Small heat shock protein as model for Alzheimer’s medication

In Alzheimer’s disease proteins clump together to long fibrils causing the death of nerve cells. Small heat shock proteins can counteract this effect. Scientists, therefore, hope to deploy them as agents in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Using the example of a small heat shock protein, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München have now uncovered how the protein interacts with other proteins.

13 Oct 2015

Researchers reveal that supercoiled DNA's shape more dynamic than well-known double helix

Researchers have imaged in unprecedented detail the three-dimensional structure of supercoiled DNA, revealing that its shape is much more dynamic than the well-known double helix.

12 Oct 2015

Researchers reveal 3-D structure of biologically active DNA

Using a multidisciplinary approach, researchers, led by those at Baylor College of Medicine, revealed in unprecedented detail the three-dimensional structure of biologically active DNA. A report on their work appears online in the journal Nature Communications.