Helix News and Research

RSS

CNIO researchers find panoramic view of proteins that intervene in a cellular process

Three years ago, the research team directed by Óscar Fernández-Capetillo, head of the Genomic Instability Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, obtained, for the first time, a panoramic view of the proteins that intervene in one of the most important and delicate cellular processes: the copying of genetic material during cellular division. They observed that the parts of the genome where the DNA was copied were also very rich in the modification by some very particular proteins, SUMOylations, and poor in others, ubiquitinations, but they were unable to understand why.

8 Mar 2016

Study on DNA scrunching may aid in developing new antimicrobial medicines

A research collaboration that combines novel "big-data" informatics tools with expertise in basic biology has uncovered details of an essential process in life: how a crucial enzyme locates the site on DNA where it begins to direct the synthesis of RNA. This finding may aid in the discovery of new antimicrobial medicines, and the powerful technological approaches developed for this research may shed light on other essential cellular processes.

4 Mar 2016

Scientists solve first 3-D structure of DNAzyme

DNA does not always adopt the form of the double helix which is associated with the genetic code; it can also form intricate folds and act as an enzyme: a deoxyribozyme. A researcher from Spain and other scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Germany) have solved the first three-dimensional structure of this biomolecule that has proved much more flexible than previously thought.

3 Mar 2016

Wake Forest Baptist researchers develop new nanotechnology to detect disease biomarkers

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have developed a new technology to detect disease biomarkers in the form of nucleic acids, the building blocks of all living organisms.

15 Feb 2016

Helpful protein can change genetic sequence of normal cells and make mutations that cause cancers

Washington State University researchers have determined how a protein that helps cells fight viruses can also cause genetic mutations that lead to cancer.

10 Feb 2016

Using Single-Molecule Studies to Understand Cellular Processes: An Interview with Professor W. E. Moerner

Single fluorescent molecules provide a local nanometer-sized probe of complex systems. We can measure the motion of the single molecule, use them to achieve imaging on a scale down to 20 nanometers, or we can infer aspects of the behaviour of the object under study by the details of the light that is emitted.

From Pittcon 26 Jan 2016

Genetic factors in puberty timing: an interview with Dr John Perry

The study focused on the genetic regions that influence age at voice breaking - a distinct developmental milestone that happens to young men as their larynx (voice box) lengthens when exposed to male hormones.

11 Jan 2016

E-cigarettes damage cells in ways that could lead to cancer

Adding to growing evidence on the possible health risks of electronic cigarettes, a lab team at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System tested two products and found they damaged cells in ways that could lead to cancer. The damage occurred even with nicotine-free versions of the products.

29 Dec 2015

TUM scientists develop small molecule that may allow future patient-specific treatment of cancer tumours

Integrins help cells communicate with and adapt to their environment. Also cancer cells depend on their properties to survive and spread throughout the body. Now scientists at the Technical University of Munich have successfully developed a small, highly active molecule that binds to a specific integrin which operates in many types of cancer.

21 Dec 2015

New analysis provides insight into the way water and DNA interact

In a biological system, the ratio of water-to-non-water molecules, known as the hydration level, influences both the arrangement of biomolecules and the strength of the electric interactions that occur between biomolecules, free ions, and functional groups, which are groups of atoms within molecules that strongly influence the molecules' chemical properties.

15 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

Low levels of BRCA1 protein in the brain linked to dementia

Mutant forms of breast cancer factor 1 (BRCA1) are associated with breast and ovarian cancers but according to new findings, in the brain the normal BRCA1 gene product may also be linked to Alzheimer's disease. The results, published in Nature Communications, suggest that low levels of BRCA1 protein in the brain may contribute to dementia.

1 Dec 2015

New nanocarriers may effectively deliver therapeutic drug to GBM tumors

Glioblastoma multiforme, a cancer of the brain also known as "octopus tumors" because of the manner in which the cancer cells extend their tendrils into surrounding tissue, is virtually inoperable, resistant to therapies, and always fatal, usually within 15 months of onset.

20 Nov 2015

Novel genetic therapy treats ‘incurable’ leukaemia

A new treatment that involves editing DNA has been used for the first time at Great Ormond Street Hospital to successfully treat drug-resistant leukaemia.

6 Nov 2015

Utah chemists devise new way to detect DNA damage

University of Utah chemists devised a new way to detect chemical damage to DNA that sometimes leads to genetic mutations responsible for many diseases, including various cancers and neurological disorders.

6 Nov 2015

Study reports discovery of new class of DNA repair enzyme

This year's Nobel Prize in chemistry was given to three scientists who each focused on one piece of the DNA repair puzzle. Now a new study, reported online Oct. 28 in the journal Nature, reports the discovery of a new class of DNA repair enzyme.

30 Oct 2015

Scalable production of gene therapy vectors: an interview with Frank Ubags

Gene therapy involves introducing genetic material into cells to replace missing or malfunctioning genes or to add a gene to express a beneficial protein in order to treat certain diseases, such as cancer or inherited disorders.

26 Oct 2015

Study could help mitigate effects of ageing on blood stem cells, promote new therapies for anaemia

A research conducted by Juan Méndez, Head of the DNA Replication Group of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), sheds light on the molecular mechanisms of ageing of the stem cells responsible for regenerating blood cells and opens up a new avenue for reducing their progressive functional decline with age.

16 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.

12 Oct 2015