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.

TB's mechanism to evade body's immune system identified

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have identified a mechanism used by the tuberculosis bacterium to evade the body's immune system and have identified a compound that blocks the bacterium's ability to survive in the host, which could lead to new drugs to treat tuberculosis.

16 Feb 2010

Structure of 'DNA repair engine' that reverses beneficial effects of chemotherapy deciphered

Cancer Research UK scientists have deciphered the first structure of 'a DNA repair engine' that reverses the beneficial effects of chemotherapy, according to research published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology* today.

15 Feb 2010

Fast method for producing bone and cartilage tissue using body's own cells

Injuries to joints and cartilage can have serious consequences, including osteoarthritis. Cartilage degeneration in joints is a widespread disease in Germany and worldwide. Prof. Dr. Prasad Shastri is an expert in tissue engineering (TE), tissue construction and tissue cultivation using the body's own cells. He is Professor of Biofunctional Macromolecular Chemistry at the Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS), a Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg, where he has been researching for the last year.

15 Feb 2010

EMBL-EBI hosts ChEMBLdb online database

ChEMBLdb, an online database of information on the properties of more than half a million drug and drug-like small molecules and their targets, has been launched.

12 Feb 2010

New project to unravel secret lives of cancer cells may help produce new cancer therapies

A team of scientists from Princeton University and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has embarked on a major new project to unravel the secret lives of cancer cells that go dormant and self-cannibalize to survive periods of stress. The work may help produce new cancer therapies to stem changes that render cancer cells dangerous and resistant to treatment.

12 Feb 2010

Ingrid Grummt to receive 2010 FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) announced Ingrid Grummt from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, as the winner of the 2010 FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award. Ingrid Grummt has made important contributions to the field of transcriptional regulation in cells throughout her career.

11 Feb 2010

Mapping of all fragile sites of yeast S.cerevisiae may lead to better understanding of cancer development

The research group of Dr. Fran-ois Robert, a researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montr-al (IRCM), in collaboration with the team of Dr. Daniel Durocher (Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute and University of Toronto) accomplished a technical breakthrough: they mapped all the fragile sites of a living organism, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The method used by the researchers can be applied to humans. This study has been published online today in the scientific journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.

10 Feb 2010

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute sign license agreement with Genentech, Roche

10 Feb 2010

Thymosin β4 exhibits potential as new therapeutic agent for liver failure due to chronic HBV infection

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that researchers have correlated Tβ4 levels with the clinical course of patients with hepatitis B virus-related liver failure. It was reported that serum thymosin β4 levels were significantly lower in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection and that the magnitude of the reduction of thymosin β4 was closely related to the severity of the hepatic injury and to patient death. Since patients with higher Tβ4 levels survived the disease, changes in Tβ4 values could reflect outcome in some liver failure patients.

9 Feb 2010

Study validates Transgenomic's COLD-PCR technology for colorectal tumor-associated KRAS mutation detection

Transgenomic, Inc. announced today that it has completed a preliminary study with a leading pharmaceutical company that validates the use of its licensed COLD-PCR technology to detect colorectal tumor-associated KRAS mutations that determine efficacy of recently developed therapies. These were detected in plasma samples in which the mutation levels were too low for detection by standard DNA analysis methodologies such as Sanger sequencing.

9 Feb 2010

FDA accepts Psyadon Pharmaceuticals' ecopipam IND for treatment of LND

Psyadon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its Investigational New Drug Application (IND) to study ecopipam in patients with Lesch-Nyhan Disease (LND). The first center at which the drug will be evaluated is Emory University under the direction of Dr. Hyder A. Jinnah, MD, PhD. The study is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of different doses of ecopipam in adults (group 1), adolescents (group 2) and children (group 3) with LND.

9 Feb 2010

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute sign license agreement with Genentech

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have signed a license agreement with Genentech, a wholly owned member of the Roche group, and Roche, that grants the companies exclusive rights to manufacture, develop and market human monoclonal antibodies to treat and protect against group 1 influenza viruses. These viruses include the strains for the current seasonal and H1N1 influenzas. Genentech and Roche also have a non-exclusive right to manufacture, develop and market diagnostic tests for group 1 influenza.

9 Feb 2010

Stanford researchers use DNA minicircles to induce pluripotency in stem cells from human fat

Tiny circles of DNA are the key to a new and easier way to transform stem cells from human fat into induced pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Unlike other commonly used techniques, the method, which is based on standard molecular biology practices, does not use viruses to introduce genes into the cells or permanently alter a cell's genome.

8 Feb 2010

Tβ4 may help treat skeletal muscle disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that a research team in Washington, D.C. has found that dystrophin-deficient Mdx mice, treated twice a week for six months with Tβ4, showed a significant increase in skeletal muscle regenerating fibers compared to untreated mice. No effects related to muscle function or fibrosis and no adverse reactions were observed in the mice.

6 Feb 2010

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

Within a virus's tiny exterior is a store of energy waiting to be unleashed. When the virus encounters a host cell, this pent-up energy is released, propelling the viral DNA into the cell and turning it into a virus factory.

6 Feb 2010

Research could help in developing protein-based vaccine against maternal malaria

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have become the first in the world to synthesize the entire protein that is responsible for life-threatening malaria in pregnant women and their unborn children.

5 Feb 2010

New virology textbook treats viruses in the context of virus families

A new virology textbook published by ASM Press educates the reader by focusing on the families. Based on the author's experiences teaching virology for more than 35 years, Virology: Molecular Biology and Pathogenesis enables readers to develop a deep understanding of fundamental virology by emphasizing principles and discussing viruses in the context of virus families.

5 Feb 2010

Early stage trial finds malaria vaccine effectively protected young children, study says

An experimental vaccine was found to effectively protect young children from malaria in Mali, Reuters reports. According to the news service, "The vaccine, which uses an immune system booster called an adjuvant from British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, targets the malaria parasite as it is actively infecting red blood cells and causing fever and illness" (Steenhuysen, 2/3).

5 Feb 2010

SNM's Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Summit examines the use of nanoparticles

SNM's Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Summit wrapped up today in Albuquerque, N.M., with in-depth discussion-and a high sense of energy looking ahead.

3 Feb 2010

Researchers identify a key piece in the ageing process

Understanding how aged and damaged mother cells manage to form new and undamaged daughter cells is one of the toughest riddles of ageing, but scientists now know how yeast cells do it. In a groundbreaking study researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, show how the daughter cell uses a mechanical "conveyor belt" to dump damaged proteins in the mother cell.

2 Feb 2010

Molecular Biology News and Research

Further Reading

TB's mechanism to evade body's immune system identified

Structure of 'DNA repair engine' that reverses beneficial effects of chemotherapy deciphered

Fast method for producing bone and cartilage tissue using body's own cells

EMBL-EBI hosts ChEMBLdb online database

New project to unravel secret lives of cancer cells may help produce new cancer therapies

Ingrid Grummt to receive 2010 FEBS/EMBO Women in Science Award

Mapping of all fragile sites of yeast S.cerevisiae may lead to better understanding of cancer development

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute sign license agreement with Genentech, Roche

Thymosin β4 exhibits potential as new therapeutic agent for liver failure due to chronic HBV infection

Study validates Transgenomic's COLD-PCR technology for colorectal tumor-associated KRAS mutation detection

FDA accepts Psyadon Pharmaceuticals' ecopipam IND for treatment of LND

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute sign license agreement with Genentech

Stanford researchers use DNA minicircles to induce pluripotency in stem cells from human fat

Tβ4 may help treat skeletal muscle disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

Research could help in developing protein-based vaccine against maternal malaria

New virology textbook treats viruses in the context of virus families

Early stage trial finds malaria vaccine effectively protected young children, study says

SNM's Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Summit examines the use of nanoparticles

Researchers identify a key piece in the ageing process

Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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