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Study finds a new way in which calcium signaling may be controlled

In a study published in Current Biology, scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center, Marquette University and Oberlin College discovered a new way in which calcium signaling may be controlled. Study authors say their findings define a mechanism for regulating calcium signaling that has never been recognized before and should be of great help to the thousands of scientists who study the extremely important role of calcium signaling in health and disease.

7 Jan 2013

Diabetes drug metformin works in different way than previously understood: Researchers

A team, led by senior author Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Medicine, with the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, found that the diabetes drug metformin works in a different way than previously understood.

7 Jan 2013

Researchers show that protein p62 balances metabolism in fat tissue

In many cases, obesity is caused by more than just overeating and a lack of exercise. Something in the body goes haywire, causing it to store more fat and burn less energy. But what is it? Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have a new theory-a protein called p62.

7 Jan 2013

Link between Parkinson's and benomyl

For several years, neurologists at UCLA have been building a case that a link exists between pesticides and Parkinson's disease. To date, paraquat, maneb and ziram - common chemicals sprayed in California's Central Valley and elsewhere - have been tied to increases in the disease, not only among farmworkers but in individuals who simply lived or worked near fields and likely inhaled drifting particles.

6 Jan 2013

ThromboGenics to launch JETREA in the U.S. on Jan. 14

ThromboGenics NV, an integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative ophthalmic medicines, confirms its JETREA US launch date of Monday January 14th, 2013.

4 Jan 2013

Researchers uncover new way that some bacteria survive when under siege by antibiotics

Researchers have uncovered a new way that some bacteria survive when under siege by antibiotics.

4 Jan 2013

PKM-zeta-less adult mice still able to form long-term memories

A study by Johns Hopkins researchers has shown that a widely accepted model of long-term memory formation - that it hinges on a single enzyme in the brain - is flawed. The new study, published in the Jan. 2 issue of Nature, found that mice lacking the enzyme that purportedly builds memory were in fact still able to form long-term memories as well as normal mice could.

4 Jan 2013

Optofluidics allow for new understanding of resistance to antibiotics

It's often difficult to completely eliminate a bacterial infection with antibiotics; part of the population usually manages to survive. We've known about this phenomenon for quite some time, dating back nearly to the discovery of penicillin. For more than 50 years, scientists have believed that the resistant bacteria were individuals that had stopped growing and dividing.

4 Jan 2013

New technique can precisely add or delete genes in living cells

Researchers at MIT, the Broad Institute and Rockefeller University have developed a new technique for precisely altering the genomes of living cells by adding or deleting genes.

4 Jan 2013

Celtaxsys commences CTX-4430 Phase 1 study to treat pulmonary inflammation

Celtaxsys, Inc., a private biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of drugs to treat chronic inflammatory disorders, today announced the initiation of a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical study of CTX-4430, which blocks the pro-inflammatory enzyme Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase (LTA4H).

3 Jan 2013

TFP5 molecule restores memory in mice with Alzheimer's

A new ray of hope has broken through the clouded outcomes associated with Alzheimer's disease. A new research report published in January 2013 print issue of the FASEB Journal by scientists from the National Institutes of Health shows that when a molecule called TFP5 is injected into mice with disease that is the equivalent of human Alzheimer's, symptoms are reversed and memory is restored-without obvious toxic side effects.

3 Jan 2013

Prompt smoking cessation important for patients to receive CABG

Smoking cessation even a year prior to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery does not fully normalize the changes smoking has made to the saphenous (leg) veins used for the surgery and may lead to later graft failure, according to a study published in the January 2013 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

2 Jan 2013

DNA adducts linked to oral cancer in smokers

Having a high susceptibility to certain types of DNA damage caused by tobacco smoking could significantly increase the risk for oral cancer, show results of a Taiwanese study.

28 Dec 2012

Researchers study response of living cells to artificial protein

One approach to understanding components in living organisms is to attempt to create them artificially, using principles of chemistry, engineering and genetics. A suite of powerful techniques-collectively referred to as synthetic biology-have been used to produce self-replicating molecules, artificial pathways in living systems and organisms bearing synthetic genomes.

28 Dec 2012

Researchers develop unique approach to calpain inhibition

Calpain, a calcium-regulated enzyme, is essential to a host of cellular processes, but can cause severe problems in its overactivated state. It has been implicated as a factor in muscular dystrophy, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. As such, finding and exploiting calpain inhibitors is an important area of research.

28 Dec 2012

Genetic differences in enzyme CYP2D6 play a key role in effectiveness of tamoxifen for breast cancer

For nearly a decade, breast cancer researchers studying the hormone therapy tamoxifen have been divided as to whether genetic differences in a liver enzyme affect the drug's effectiveness and the likelihood breast cancer will recur.

27 Dec 2012

Juxtapid receives FDA approval for treatment of rare cholesterol disorder

On Dec. 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Juxtapid (lomitapide) to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH). Juxtapid is intended for use in combination with a low fat diet and other lipid-lowering treatments.

27 Dec 2012

Cancer-associated inflammation boosts ADAR1 enzyme activity

An international team, headed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a key enzyme in the reprogramming process that promotes malignant stem cell cloning and the growth of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a cancer of the blood and marrow that experts say is increasing in prevalence.

25 Dec 2012

Halozyme grants Pfizer worldwide license to develop products combining Enhanze with biologics

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a worldwide Collaboration and License Agreement with Pfizer Inc. for the purpose of developing and commercializing products combining proprietary Pfizer biologics with Halozyme's Enhanze technology.

21 Dec 2012

Researchers track adipose tissue-derived stromal cells after transplantation

Using mesenchymal stromal cells derived from adipose (fat) tissues, genetically modified to express a bioluminescent marker, researchers in Italy have tracked cells after transplantation. The cells were followed from their injection into the spleen of mice modeling liver disease, to their characterization as "hepatic precursors," and to their subsequent migration through the spleen before engrafting at regenerating sites in the liver by bioluminescent imaging.

21 Dec 2012