Mitochondria News and Research

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TheScientist honors Seahorse Bioscience's XF96 Extracellular Flux Analyzer as a 2009 Top Ten Innovation

Seahorse Bioscience, Inc., leader in the design and development of instruments for measuring cellular bioenergetics, announced that TheScientist magazine cited their XF96 Extracellular Flux Analyzer as a 2009 Top Ten Innovation.

30 Dec 2009

Small molecules reverse protein trafficking and mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's disease models

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremors, muscle rigidity, and slowed movements. There is currently no cure for the disease, and current Parkinson's therapies only address disease symptoms, not the disease's cellular cause.

29 Dec 2009

Research lays hope for developing drugs that can control apoptosis

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have identified a key step in the biological process of programmed cell death, also called apoptosis.

19 Dec 2009

New technology sheds light on intracellular transport

Using new technology developed in his University of Oregon lab, chemist Andrew H. Marcus and his doctoral student Eric N. Senning have captured what they describe as well-orchestrated, actin-driven, mitochondrial movement within a single cell.

18 Dec 2009

Scientists discover new model to asses homeostatic relationships between body substances

The Center for Modeling Optimal Outcomes, LLC, a New Jersey based think tank focused on the application of neuroscience in business, inadvertently discovered a scientifically verifiable model for assessing homeostasis (balance) between substances in the body.

18 Dec 2009

Cyntellect and Boston University sign research collaboration agreement

Cyntellect, Inc., a privately-held life sciences company commercializing products to advance life science and stem cell research, biopharmaceutical production, and drug discovery, today announced it has entered into a research collaboration agreement with the Boston University School of Medicine.

8 Dec 2009

Bonn scientists discover a promising new approach to combat obesity

Brown adipose tissue is different from white fat pads. It contains loads of mitochondria, miniature power stations which among other things can 'burn' fat. In doing this, they normally generate a voltage similar to that of a battery, which then provides energy for cellular processes.

1 Dec 2009

Scientists provide the first comprehensive picture of minimal cell

What are the bare essentials of life, the indispensable ingredients required to produce a cell that can survive on its own? Can we describe the molecular anatomy of a cell, and understand how an entire organism functions as a system? These are just some of the questions that scientists in a partnership between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Centre de Regulacio Genòmica (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain, set out to address.

28 Nov 2009

New data on Synta Pharmaceuticals' elesclomol presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC Conference

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to treat severe medical conditions, today presented new data on the mechanism of action of elesclomol, a first-in-class oxidative stress inducer, at the AACR-NCI-EORTC Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Boston, Mass.

18 Nov 2009

Lipid that accumulates in brain cells drives cell death, says research

The lipid that accumulates in brain cells of individuals with an inherited enzyme disorder also drives the cell death that is a hallmark of the disease, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators.

13 Nov 2009

Researchers identify cause that leads to age-related hearing loss

Age-related hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder among the elderly. But scientists are still trying to figure out what cellular processes govern or contribute to the loss.

11 Nov 2009

Individuals with weaker muscles face higher risk for Alzheimer's disease

Individuals with weaker muscles appear to have a higher risk for Alzheimer's disease and declines in cognitive function over time, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Nov 2009

Experts gather to outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding

The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.

7 Nov 2009

Hydrogen peroxide may act as a signal for the active and resting phases of living things: Study

If a circadian rhythm is like an orchestra - the united expression of the rhythms of millions of cells - a common chemical may serve as the conductor, or at least as the baton.

4 Nov 2009

$New drug may help bone fractures heal more quickly after radiation exposure$

New drug may help bone fractures heal more quickly after radiation exposure

A drug currently under development by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine may help bone fractures heal more quickly after radiation exposure, according to a study by Pitt researchers. The study's results will be presented at 1 p.m. today during the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting in Chicago.

3 Nov 2009

BH3 profiling can help in determining cancer's chemosensitivity

Two different anti-apoptotic proteins support cancer cell survival via an identical mechanism, yet differ in their sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs, report Brunelle et al. The study will be published online October 26, 2009 and in the November 2, 2009 print issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB).

27 Oct 2009

Overdose of vitamin A can impact cell growth

If a little vitamin A is good, more must be better, right? Wrong! New research published online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) shows that vitamin A plays a crucial role in energy production within cells, explaining why too much or too little has a complex negative effect on our bodies.

9 Oct 2009

Low levels of ROS might protect us from diabetes, says study

We've all heard about the damage that reactive oxygen species (ROS) - aka free radicals - can do to our bodies and the sales pitches for antioxidant vitamins, skin creams or "superfoods" that can stop them. In fact, there is considerable scientific evidence that chronic ROS production within cells can contribute to human diseases, including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

7 Oct 2009

Researchers study about abnormal gene functioning in mitochondria

Researchers are delving into abnormal gene function in mitochondria, structures within cells that power our lives. Mitochondria are the place where energy is generated from the most basic molecules of food. Because this function is essential to life, defects in mitochondria may affect a wide range of organ systems in humans and animals.

25 Sep 2009

Study on mitochondria function

For such crucial biological actors, much remains unknown about exactly how mitochondria function. A new study, published Aug. 12 in the online journal PLoS One, sheds light on mitochondrial biology. Using genetic engineering, researchers interrupted the activity of individual genes directly involved in the production of energy within mitochondria. "If we knock down the function of specific system components, what happens?" said study leader Marni J. Falk, M.D., who directs the Mitochondrial-Genetics Disease Clinic at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Our ultimate goal is to translate the knowledge into targeted therapies, that is, effective ways to intervene. But first we need to understand the underlying disease mechanisms."

25 Sep 2009