Molecular Biology News and Research

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Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis as well as learning how these interactions are regulated.

Foreign-born scientists to receive Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science

The Vilcek Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of its annual Vilcek Prizes in Biomedical Science, honoring the contributions of foreign-born scientists.

16 Feb 2012

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announces recipients of 2012 Sloan Research Fellowships

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is pleased to announce the selection of 126 outstanding U.S. and Canadian researchers as recipients of Sloan Research Fellowships for 2012. Awarded annually since 1955, the fellowships are given to early-career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as rising stars, the next generation of scientific leaders.

16 Feb 2012

Thrombocytosis linked to severity of ovarian cancer

Highly elevated platelet levels fuel tumor growth and reduce the survival of ovarian cancer patients, an international team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer center reports in the New England Journal of Medicine.

16 Feb 2012

U.S. FDA accepts Pfizer's tafamidis NDA for treatment of TTR-FAP

Pfizer Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the New Drug Application (NDA) for tafamidis meglumine, the company's investigational, novel, oral therapy for the treatment of Transthyretin Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy.

16 Feb 2012

mRNA sequencing reveals transcriptomic landscape of breast cancer

GW Cancer Research Team in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, published a study that is the first of its kind to use mRNA sequencing to look at the expression of genome, at a unprecedented resolution at the current time, in three types of breast cancer.

15 Feb 2012

Study shows how malaria parasite changes into banana form before sexual reproduction

New research from the University of Melbourne shows how the malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) changes into a banana shape before sexual reproduction, a finding that could provide targets for vaccine or drug development and may explain how the parasite evades the human immune system.

14 Feb 2012

Researchers pinpoint source of Loeys-Dietz syndrome

A USC research team has pinpointed the source of a genetic disorder that causes life-threatening birth defects, which may allow doctors to quickly diagnose and better treat the disease.

14 Feb 2012

Pacific Biosciences releases major upgrade to PacBio RS system

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc., provider of Single Molecule Real Time sequencing products, today announced it has released a major upgrade to its PacBio RS system, referred to as "C2", including new chemistry, enhanced SMRT Cells and upgraded software, which together provide customers with significant performance increases for DNA sequencing.

13 Feb 2012

EU-funded 4DCellFate project to kick off today

Today European scientists are meeting to kick off the 4DCellFate project, funded by the European Commission under the FP7 program.

13 Feb 2012

Study reveals how SAMHD1 works to protect dendritic cells from HIV virus

A novel discovery by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and colleagues reveals a mechanism by which the immune system tries to halt the spread of HIV. Harnessing this mechanism may open up new paths for therapeutic research aimed at slowing the virus' progression to AIDS. The study appears online ahead of print today in Nature Immunology.

12 Feb 2012

More collaborative, flexible approach needed to combat NTDs

"To tackle neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), we need a far more collaborative and flexible approach," Mark Booth, acting deputy director of Durham University's Wolfson Research Institute and head of the N8 Parasitology Group, writes in this New Statesman opinion piece.

9 Feb 2012

Mary Ann Liebert to launch BioResearch Open Access in March

BioResearch Open Access, a new bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal, will launch in March 2012 by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

9 Feb 2012

Researchers discover molecules that differentiate early-stage breast tumors from invasive cancer

Researchers have discovered a restricted pattern of molecules that differentiate early-stage breast tumors from invasive, life-threatening cancer. They also found a similar molecular signature that correlated with the aggressiveness of invasive tumors, and with the time to metastasis and overall survival.

8 Feb 2012

Soft drink consumption associated with increased chance of asthma, COPD

A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that a high level of soft drink consumption is associated with asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

8 Feb 2012

FGF21 hormone causes significant and rapid bone loss in mice

An endocrine hormone used in clinical trials as an anti-obesity and anti-diabetes drug causes significant and rapid bone loss in mice, raising concerns about its safe use, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have shown.

7 Feb 2012

High soft drink consumption associated with asthma and COPD

A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that a high level of soft drink consumption is associated with asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

7 Feb 2012

Whole-genome sequencing helps trace the path of European E. coli outbreak

Using whole-genome sequencing, a team led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Broad Institute has traced the path of the E. coli outbreak that sickened thousands and killed over 50 people in Germany in summer 2011 and also caused a smaller outbreak in France.

7 Feb 2012

Epilepsy surgery improves QOL and long-term seizure control

While epilepsy surgery is a safe and effective intervention for seizure control, medical therapy remains the more prominent treatment option for those with epilepsy. However, a new 26-year study reveals that following epilepsy surgery, nearly half of participants were free of disabling seizures and 80% reported better quality of life than before surgery.

7 Feb 2012

Certain strains of P. aeruginosa cause WBCs to produce high levels of histamine

Could some cases of asthma actually be caused by an allergic reaction to a common environmental bacteria? New research findings published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that this idea may not be as far-fetched as it seems. In a research report appearing in the February 2012 print issue, researchers show a link between common environmental bacteria and airway inflammation.

1 Feb 2012

ISCB honors CMU professor with Overton Prize

The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) has awarded its Overton Prize for outstanding accomplishment to Ziv Bar-Joseph, associate professor in Carnegie Mellon University's Lane Center for Computational Biology and Machine Learning Department.

31 Jan 2012