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.

IRSF awards $1.5M in research grants for Rett syndrome treatment

The International Rett Syndrome Foundation (IRSF) announced today that it will award an additional $1.5M in research grants, bringing the 2010 total to $2.15 million for innovative basic and translational research that moves treatments for Rett syndrome a step closer to the clinic.

4 Oct 2010

NIH awards Scripps Research grants to study the mechanisms of protein complex

For Immediate Release -Scripps Research Institute scientists have been awarded approximately $65 million in four five-year grants as part of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) latest round of structural biology funding. The projects will focus on determining the shapes and functions of proteins and protein complexes that are important in biology and medicine.

4 Oct 2010

Cell aging is associated with reduced histone level

Like cats, human cells have a finite number of lives-once they divide a certain number of times they change shape, slow their pace, and eventually stop dividing, a phenomenon called cellular senescence.

4 Oct 2010

Study on immune system activation may help develop new drugs for infections

A new research report in the October 2010 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology sheds important light on how our immune systems detect invading organisms to be destroyed and removed from our bodies. The information from this research should ultimately help lead to the development of new drugs and treatments that allow health care providers to prevent runaway immune reactions that can have devastating consequences for people.

4 Oct 2010

Antiretroviral therapy does not reduce risk of HIV transmission

For married couples in which one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative, antiretroviral therapy (ART) does not reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to the uninfected partner, according to a study from China in the October issue of JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

1 Oct 2010

CSHL professor receives NIH grant to study mechanism behind autism and schizophrenia

Anthony Zador, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Program Chair in Neuroscience at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has been awarded a $2.17 million, 5-year grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s Transformative Research Projects Program (T-R01).

1 Oct 2010

Study demonstrates rufinamide therapy is effective in reducing partial seizure frequency

Researchers from the Arkansas Epilepsy Program found treatment with rufinamide results in a significant reduction in seizure frequency compared with placebo, for patients with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures (POS).

1 Oct 2010

New $1.76M study seeks to identify novel methods of diagnosing osteoporosis

A $1.76 million study at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute seeks to identify new methods of diagnosing osteoporosis and inform the development of next-generation drugs to treat the bone disease.

30 Sep 2010

Neurons that control sexual behavior mapped

How the bundles of neurons in the brain controls behaviour remains an ongoing mystery. Researchers from the Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), in Vienna, Austria, and the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB/MRC), Cambridge, United Kingdom, have mapped neurons of the fruit fly, Drosophila, that controls sexual behavior. "We literally untangled the mess of wires in the fly brain and laid the ground plans for investigating a complex behavior in a simple organism," says Jai Yu, whose doctoral work is published in Current Biology.

29 Sep 2010

Scientists identify genetic contribution to sense of smell

Scientists at the Monell Center have used a well-known example of individual differences to identify a genetic contribution to the sense of smell. Most people detect a distinct sulfurous odor in their urine shortly after eating asparagus. However, there are some who seemingly do not notice the unpleasant odor.

29 Sep 2010

NIH grants Akonni $3M for development of multi-drug resistant/extensively drug-resistant genotyping test

Akonni Biosystems, a molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and plans to market sophisticated genetic testing devices for complex infectious and human diseases, today announced receipt of a nearly $3 million Challenge Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a new program made possible under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

29 Sep 2010

SGC releases 1000th high resolution protein structure

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), an international public private partnership that aims to determine three dimensional structures of medically important proteins, announced today the release into the public domain of its 1000th high resolution protein structure.

29 Sep 2010

UGA researcher receives NIH award for high-risk, high-reward carbohydrate research

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a prestigious EUREKA award to Robert Woods, a professor at the University of Georgia Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, to develop a new method for understanding how antibodies interact with large molecules known as glycans that are a major component of all cell surfaces.

27 Sep 2010

Researchers identify mechanism that makes bacteria to resist antibiotics

A research team led by Edward Yu of Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory has discovered the crystal structures of pumps that remove heavy metal toxins from bacteria, making them resistant to antibiotics.

24 Sep 2010

AJMS journal provides research update on new infectious pathogens

Newly recognized disease-causing viruses, bacteria, and other infections are continually emerging around the world, posing difficult challenges for patient diagnosis and treatment and for public health responses. A special symposium section of the September issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, provides a research update on important new infectious pathogens.

24 Sep 2010

Golden Helix refactors HSPH's software for studying disease heritability in families

Today, Golden Helix, Inc., a global leader in genetic analysis solutions, announced a collaboration with Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) under which Golden Helix is refactoring PBAT, HSPH's software for studying disease heritability in families.

23 Sep 2010

New analytical technique to improve personalized medicine

In the future, even before the start of the treatment, physicians will be able to establish how patient's blood binds a given medicine and what doze should be applied in order to obtain the concentration in the body that would be optimal for the treatment. A new simple method of analysis of chemical reactions proceeding in solutions has been developed in the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

23 Sep 2010

NIGMS director wins 2011 ASBMB Public Service Award

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has named Jeremy M. Berg, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the winner of the nonprofit's 2011 ASBMB Howard K. Schachman Public Service Award. Berg will receive the award this evening at an ASBMB Public Affairs Advisory Committee meeting in Arlington, Va.

21 Sep 2010

Enzo Biochem streamlines operations, expects gross margin improvements

Enzo Biochem, Inc., announced today that it has streamlined its operations, which is anticipated to result in a reduction in annualized operating expenses of more than $4 million beginning in the fiscal 2011 first quarter. These initiatives are also expected to result in increased gross margins. The Company believes that the operating cost reductions, which affect all of its operating businesses as well as corporate overhead, will result in Enzo generating positive cash flow from operations in 2011.

21 Sep 2010

Discovery could lead to new treatment methods for toxoplasmosis

The parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis requires a stress response system that helps it survive the move to infect new cells, Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have reported, a discovery that could lead to new treatments to control the disease.

21 Sep 2010