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.

Potential new therapy for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers have provided new information about how communication among neurons may be prevented from deteriorating in conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).

24 Aug 2007

First large-scale study of proteins inside human cells called Jurkat T cells

The study, which appears in the August issue of Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, could lead to a better understanding of how proteins inside a specific type of cell work together and may pave the way for future detailed studies of how proteins work in other types of cells.

24 Aug 2007

Proteomic analysis of human amniotic fluid

Researchers report in the August issue of Molecular & Cellular Proteomics the most complete list so far of proteins present in the human amniotic fluid, the liquid that surrounds a fetus during pregnancy.

24 Aug 2007

Scientists describe a new way of creating novel enzymes

The intricate interplay of proteins and other chemicals that underlies most biological activities requires the participation of enzymes, specialized molecules that accelerate chemical reactions between molecules.

17 Aug 2007

Effectiveness of mouse breeds that mimic Alzheimer's disease symptoms questioned

Scientists have shown that recently developed mouse breeds that mimic the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) may not be as effective as previously assumed.

17 Aug 2007

New findings on cholesterol metabolism

A team of researchers investigating cholesterol and lipid transport has performed experiments that cast serious doubt on the dominant hypothesis of how the body rids its cells of "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and increases "good" cholesterol (HDL).

17 Aug 2007

Why is heart disease so prevalent among diabetics?

Heart disease hits people with diabetes twice as often as people without diabetes.

13 Aug 2007

Impaired energy production in heart muscle may underlie heart failure in some hypertensive patients

Many people with long-standing high blood pressure develop heart failure. But some don't. Daniel P. Kelly, M.D., and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions are trying to figure out what could explain that difference.

13 Aug 2007

New insights into cell division process

Which genes are passed on from mother to child is decided very early on during the maturation of the egg cell in the ovary.

12 Aug 2007

Neuregulin 1 gene linked to schizophrenia

Scientists have provided new insight into how a gene is related to schizophrenia.

12 Aug 2007

Impaired energy production in heart muscle may underlie heart failure in some hypertensive patients

Many people with long-standing high blood pressure develop heart failure.

12 Aug 2007

Sex steroids, platelet aggregation and inflammation

In women, hormone therapy is a risk factor for venous thrombosis, a blood clot forming deep inside the vein. Despite the fact that the disorder is rare, it increases exponentially during menopause and can be deadly.

11 Aug 2007

New approach to assessing clot risk in menopausal women

In women, hormone therapy is a risk factor for venous thrombosis, a blood clot forming deep inside the vein.

9 Aug 2007

Scientists discover the dynamics of transcription in living mammalian cells

Transcription the transfer of DNA's genetic information through the synthesis of complementary molecules of messenger RNA forms the basis of all cellular activities.

7 Aug 2007

Glycine prevents arthrosis and osteoporosis

Glycine is a non-essential amino acid used by the organism to synthesise proteins and is present in foods such as fish, meat or dairy products.

6 Aug 2007

Immunity in social amoeba suggests ancient beginnings

Finding an immune system in the social amoeba (Dictyostelium discoideum) is not only surprising but it also may prove a clue as to what is necessary for an organism to become multicellular, said the Baylor College of Medicine researcher who led the research that appears in the journal Science.

3 Aug 2007

Discovery of molecular pathway that detects and eliminates defective messenger RNAs from red blood cells

Other such pathways - known as surveillance pathways - operate in a more general way, in many cell types. Knowing how this specific surveillance system works can help researchers better understand hereditary diseases, in this case, thalassemia, a form of anemia, which is the most common genetic disorder worldwide.

3 Aug 2007

Biological markers of narcolepsy

The first report to identify the biological markers of narcolepsy using gene expression in white blood cells finds that the MX2 gene, which is relevant to the immune system, is significantly less expressed in narcoleptics compared with normal subjects.

2 Aug 2007

HIV prevalence and predictors of infection in sex-trafficked Nepalese girls and women

A study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers of girls and women who were sex-trafficked from Nepal to India and then repatriated has found that 38 percent were HIV positive.

1 Aug 2007

Trans fats offer a double whammy

Along with the knowledge that 'trans fats' are particularly bad because they clog up arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks comes new information which makes them even more undesirable.

31 Jul 2007