Molecular Biology News and Research

RSS

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.

Study finds long-term exposure to progesterone may lead to growth of tumors

Scientists at Michigan State University have found exposure to the hormone progesterone activates genes that trigger inflammation in the mammary gland.

20 Aug 2009

DNA evidence found at crime scenes can easily be falsified

Nucleix, Ltd., an emerging life science company specializing in forensic DNA analysis, announced that company researchers have proven DNA evidence found at crime scenes can easily be falsified using basic equipment, know-how and access to DNA or a DNA database.

18 Aug 2009

Discovery of the first protein-based toxin in an amphibian

Researchers in China have discovered the first protein-based toxin in an amphibian - a 60 amino acid neurotoxin found in the skin of a Chinese tree frog. This finding may help shed more light into both the evolution of amphibians and the evolution of poison.

17 Aug 2009

Protein plays unexpected role protecting chromosome tips

A protein specialist that opens the genomic door for DNA repair and gene expression also turns out to be a multi-tasking workhorse that protects the tips of chromosomes and dabbles in a protein-destruction complex, a team lead by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Aug. 13 edition of Molecular Cell.

13 Aug 2009

An "off switch" for cancer

New insight into how human cells reproduce, published by cancer researchers at Michigan State University and the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, could help scientists move closer to finding an "off switch" for cancer.

12 Aug 2009

Dimera granted peripheral artery disease patent

The U.S. Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) plans to announce patent award approval on August 11 to Dimera Incorporated for treatment of symptoms of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), which is alternatively known as Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD).

12 Aug 2009

New findings on anti-cancer activity of thiazole antibiotics

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine researchers have discovered how some recently approved drugs act against cancer cells. The finding may lead to a more effectively targeted anti-cancer strategy.

11 Aug 2009

Discovery of a potential target for metastatic cancer

The deadliest part of the cancer process, metastasis, appears to rely on help from macrophages, potent immune system cells that usually defend vigorously against disease, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University report.

11 Aug 2009

New kind of “molecular condom” to protect women from AIDS

University of Utah scientists developed a new kind of “molecular condom” to protect women from AIDS in Africa and other impoverished areas. Before sex, women would insert a vaginal gel that turns semisolid in the presence of semen, trapping AIDS virus particles in a microscopic mesh so they can’t infect vaginal cells.

10 Aug 2009

Aptamers offer unique therapeutic advantages

A novel class of drugs composed of single strands of DNA or RNA, called aptamers, can bind protein targets with a high strength and specificity and are currently in clinical development as treatments for a broad range of common diseases, as described in a comprehensive review article published online ahead of print in Oligonucleotides.

5 Aug 2009

Iowa funds swine vaccine research

A grant from a state economic development fund will help Iowa State University researchers develop and evaluate a vaccine designed to protect swine from novel H1N1 and other strains of influenza.

5 Aug 2009

Protein DNA repair complex key to avoiding DNA repair mistakes

As the body creates antibodies to fight invaders, a three-protein DNA repair complex called MRN is crucial for a normal gene-shuffling process to proceed properly, University of Michigan research shows.

5 Aug 2009

Viral RNA linked to human immune response

In its fight against an intruding virus, an enzyme in our immune system may sense certain types of viral RNA pairs, according to scientists.

4 Aug 2009

New function for missing protein in Duchenne muscular dystrophy found

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and National Institutes of Health have identified a new function for the protein missing in people with the most common and ultimately lethal form of childhood muscular dystrophy.

3 Aug 2009

Tiny device to 'sniff out' disease, heart attacks, poison and environmental pollution

Like the sensitive seismographs that can pick up tremors of impending earthquakes long before they strike, a similar invention from Tel Aviv University researchers may change the face of molecular biology.

3 Aug 2009

Opportunities and risks posed by synthetic biology

The new research field of synthetic biology will, in the medium term, open up a great deal of potential for combining novel genetic methods with engineering principles. This will facilitate the development, not only of new vaccines and medicines, but also of fuels and new materials.

3 Aug 2009

Research may bring powerful new test for inflammatory lung diseases

Chronic inflammatory lung diseases like chronic bronchitis and emphysema are a major global health problem, and the fourth leading cause of death and disability in developed countries, with smoking accounting for 90% of the risk for developing them.

3 Aug 2009

Miglustat shows promise for cystic fibrosis

Miglustat is a drug currently under phase 2 clinical trials on patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (1). Its potential for treating the disease was discovered in 2006 thanks to the work of Frédéric Becq's team at the Institute of Cell Physiology and Biology (CNRS/Université de Poitiers), funded by the associations Vaincre la Mucoviscidose, MucoVie66, La Pierre Le Bigaut and ABCF2.

21 Jul 2009

Researchers discover how flu damages lung tissue

A protein in influenza virus that helps it multiply also damages lung epithelial cells, causing fluid buildup in the lungs, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Southern Research Institute . Publishing online this week in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers say the findings give new insight into how flu attacks the lungs and provides targets for new treatments.

19 Jul 2009

Discovery of key protein for tumor suppression in ER+ breast cancer

Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified a protein relationship that may be an ideal treatment target for ER+ breast cancer. The study was reported in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research.

15 Jul 2009