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.

iBio and CMB enter development and marketing collaboration with GE Healthcare

iBio, Inc., its development collaborator, Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB), and GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, today announced their entry into an agreement to jointly develop and globally market manufacturing solutions for biopharmaceuticals and vaccines based upon their respective proprietary technologies.

2 Sep 2010

Innate immune processes sufficient for driving silicosis: Study

For the nearly 2 million U.S. workers exposed to silica dust each year, a new discovery may help prevent or treat the development of chronic lung diseases related to this exposure. In the September 2010 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology scientists from Montana and Texas use mice to show for the first time that the part of our immune system responsible for keeping airways clean and free of contaminants (innate immunity) can cause inflammation and symptoms of disease.

2 Sep 2010

High-fat diet during puberty increases risk of breast cancer

Girls eating a high-fat diet during puberty, even those who do not become overweight or obese, may be at a greater risk of developing breast cancer later in life, according to Michigan State University researchers.

2 Sep 2010

UTHealth professor to receive NIH Director's Pioneer Award

Valentin Dragoi, Ph.D., an associate professor of neurobiology and anatomy at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), is one of 17 researchers to win a 2010 National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award. The award supports scientists who propose revolutionary, high-impact approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research.

2 Sep 2010

Research on trypanosomes can open way for African sleeping sickness drug development

Trypanosomes are parasites responsible for many human and animal diseases, primarily in tropical climates. One disease these parasites cause, African sleeping sickness, results from the bite of infected tsetse flies, putting over 60 million Africans at risk in 36 sub-Saharan countries. The recent 1998-2001 sleeping sickness epidemics in South Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda killed tens of thousands of people and resulted in over a half million infected individuals.

31 Aug 2010

Latest achievements in brain research and treatment for mental disorders

Mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, addiction and schizophrenia are the core challenge of most health care systems around the world. In the EU alone, each year 27% of the total adult population - this corresponds to 83 Million citizens - suffer from mental disorders. Depression alone affects almost 20 million ranking in the EU as the most disabling disorder of all diseases.

30 Aug 2010

Researchers recommend action to reverse federal court decision on embryonic stem cell research ban

Against a backdrop of some of the world's most sophisticated biological research labs, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) this morning issued a challenge to his colleagues in Congress immediately upon their return from summer recess, he urged, they should pass legislation that would reverse a recent Federal court decision that has brought embryonic stem cell research in the U.S. to a screeching halt.

30 Aug 2010

23rd European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress to be held 28 Aug - 1 Sep 2010 in Amsterdam

26 Aug 2010

Specific type of neurons determine frightening stimulus reaction: Research

Fear can make you run, it can make you fight, and it can glue you to the spot. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy and GlaxoSmithKline in Verona, Italy, have identified not only the part of the brain but the specific type of neurons that determine how mice react to a frightening stimulus.

26 Aug 2010

Gene linked to Fuchs corneal dystrophy discovered

A 13-member research team led by University of Oregon scientist Dr. Albert O. Edwards has found a gene likely responsible for Fuchs corneal dystrophy, an inheritable genetic disorder and leading cause of corneal transplant operations.

26 Aug 2010

IMA receives five-year renewal grant from National Science Foundation

The University of Minnesota's Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) has been awarded a $20.5-million National Science Foundation (NSF) renewal grant over the next five years. The renewal grant continues the IMA's tradition as one of the nation's top math institutes in terms of funding.

26 Aug 2010

LabCorp launches IL-28B gene test for HCV infection

Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings announced today the nationwide availability of a genetic test to detect the presence of a single polymorphism within the IL-28B gene that has been reported to help predict a person's response to certain hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapies.

24 Aug 2010

Scientists develop nano-sized vehicle to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly into cancer cells

Chemotherapy, while an effective cancer treatment, also brings debilitating side effects such as nausea, liver toxicity and a battered immune system.Now, a new way to deliver this life-saving therapy to cancer patients getting straight to the source of the disease.

24 Aug 2010

Researchers find new drug to treat circadian rhythm disorders

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have successfully used a drug to reset and restart the natural 24 hour body clock of mice in the lab. The ability to do this in a mammal opens up the possibility of dealing with a range of human difficulties including some psychiatric disorders, jet lag and the health impacts of shift work.

24 Aug 2010

Castor bean genome may help prevent potential bioterrorism events

A research team co-led by scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), University of Maryland School of Medicine, today published the sequence and analysis of the castor bean (Ricinus communis) genome in Nature Biotechnology.

23 Aug 2010

Researchers find new way to study oncogene's role in DNA repair

A key step in understanding the origins of familial breast cancer has been made by two teams of scientists at the University of California, Davis. The researchers have purified, for the first time, the protein produced by the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2 and used it to study the oncogene's role in DNA repair.

23 Aug 2010

Cornell University experts comment on recall of 380 million eggs

Cornell University experts on farm animals and food safety comment on the recall of at least 380 million eggs in the past week due to concerns over salmonella contamination.

21 Aug 2010

Research on ocean-dwelling bacterium unveils food poisoning mechanism in human

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered a key weapon in the molecular arsenal the infectious bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. para) uses to kill cells and cause food poisoning in its human host.

20 Aug 2010

Study shows increase in IL-6 secretion can reduce Tarceva sensitivity to treat lung tumor cells

One of the most tantalizing developments in anti-cancer therapy over recent years has been the advent of targeted treatments, which have proven highly effective in holding aggressive cancers at bay in certain patients, although typically only for a limited period of time.

18 Aug 2010

Breast cancer accomplice discovered

Scientists have discovered an accomplice in breast cancer - a master control switch with the power to set off a cascade of reactions orchestrated by a cancer-causing gene (or oncogene) named Wnt1. This executive molecule and its modus operandi are reported in back-to-back papers featured on the cover of the August 15 issue of Cancer Research.

18 Aug 2010