Fluorescent Protein News and Research

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SRS microscopy helps track molecules and drugs in live cells

A new type of highly sensitive microscopy developed by researchers at Harvard University could greatly expand the limits of modern biomedical imaging, allowing scientists to track the location of minuscule metabolites and drugs in living cells and tissues without the use of any kind of fluorescent labeling.

18 Dec 2008

Real-time gene monitoring

Imagine having GeneVision: the uncanny ability to view the activity of any chosen gene in real time through a specially modified camera.

16 Dec 2008

New technique to view labeled tumor cells in 'real' time

A breakthrough technique that allows scientists to view individually-labeled tumor cells as they move about in real time in a live mouse may enable scientists to develop microenvironment-specific drugs against cancer, researchers report at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco.

15 Dec 2008

New imaging technique allows simultaneous tracking of gene expression and movement

Flies expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in their retina cells or other tissues can be tracked by specially modified video cameras, creating a real time computer record of movement and gene expression.

15 Dec 2008

Breakthrough in Alzheimer's disease screening

Australian scientists at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), have developed a new system to screen for compounds that can inhibit one of the processes that takes place during the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

15 Dec 2008

Mouse model shows blood stem cells in action

Over a period of five years, scientists at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have managed to create a genetically modified mouse in which the activity of the blood stem cells can be tracked.

15 Dec 2008

Researchers capture never before seen undulations of "dancing chromosomes"

The rhythm of life may beat far deeper than anyone previously thought. And it may gyrate and pulse in a way that rivals the sensuous choreography of "Dirty Dancing."

12 Dec 2008

Scans show immune cells intercepting parasites

Researchers may have identified one of the body's earliest responses to a group of parasites that causes illness in developing nations.

10 Dec 2008

Glowing imaging compound allows detection of viable cancer cells in mice

Researchers have developed a new type of imaging compound that allows them to visualize viable breast cancer cells that have spread to the lungs in mice.

8 Dec 2008

Condensin II proteins found to keep chromosomes apart when necessary

If chromosomes snuggle up too closely at the wrong times, the results can be genetic disaster.

28 Nov 2008

Biomedical research could benefit from deep sea

A study published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE highlights how the exploration of the ocean depths can benefit humankind.

19 Nov 2008

Breakthrough in cellular analysis

Like skilled assassins, many diseases seem to know exactly what types of cells to attack.

16 Nov 2008

Breakthrough in cell-type analysis offers new ways to study development and disease

Like skilled assassins, many diseases seem to know exactly what types of cells to attack. While decimating one cadre of cells, diseases will inexplicably spare a seemingly identical group of neighbors. What makes cells vulnerable or not depends largely on the kinds and amounts of proteins they produce - their 'translational profile,' in the lingo of molecular biology. For this reason, scientists have struggled to parse the subtle molecular differences among the hundreds of specialized cell types that are tangled together in tissues like the brain.

13 Nov 2008

Researchers uncover beneficial mechanism of the helpful "Dr. Jekyll" side of the Cdk5 protein

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered new insights into the "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" nature of a protein that stimulates stem-cell maturation in the brain but, paradoxically, can also lead to nerve-cell damage.

12 Nov 2008

Protein can nurture or devastate brain cells, depending on its 'friends,' UT Southwestern researchers find

11 Nov 2008

Brain development takes an unexpected bend

Organs, such as the brain or the heart, are not simply collections of the correct types of cells that are required for their function. If these cells are not organized and shaped properly, the organ simply does not function. One crucial part of this organization is to bend sheets of connected cells ("epithelia") so that they form a structure that is an integral part of the functional organ.

4 Nov 2008

How the Nodal gene family keeps the heart in the right (asymmetric) place

Asymmetry is crucial for the heart proper functioning, and now, scientists from the Institute Gulbenkian of Science in Portugal and Harvard University, have discovered that a family of genes, called Nodal, is crucial determining this asymmetry by controlling the speed and direction of the heart muscle cells during embryonic development.

2 Nov 2008

By imaging live cells, researchers show how hepatitis C replicates

The hepatitis C virus is a prolific replicator, able to produce up to a trillion particles per day in an infected person by hijacking liver cells in which to build up its viral replication machinery.

30 Oct 2008

Scientists discover how a well-known protein repairs broken DNA ends

During the life cycle of our cells, a minefield of environmental and biological assaults can lead to double-stranded DNA breaks, the most lethal and dangerous form of DNA damage. Now, in research published online this week in Nature, Rockefeller University scientists reveal that when these breaks occur, a protein called 53BP1 helps repair them by mobilizing their dangly DNA ends - findings that uncover a previously unknown aspect of how double-stranded breaks can get fixed.

26 Oct 2008

Genetically manipulated virus could prevent mosquitoes from transmitting malaria, study says

A genetically manipulated version of densovirus could prevent Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes from transmitting malaria, according to a study published last week in PLoS Pathogens, the New York Times reports.

26 Aug 2008