Organelle News and Research

RSS

Rice scientists solve long-standing mystery about hemophilia protein

Rice University scientists have solved a long-standing mystery about where the body stores and deploys blood-clotting factor VIII, a protein that about 80 percent of hemophiliacs cannot produce due to genetic defects.

3 Nov 2015

Study reveals mechanism behind protein-related diseases

Dartmouth researchers have found that some proteins turn into liquid droplets on the way to becoming toxic solids implicated in neurodegenerative diseases and other genetic disorders.

30 Oct 2015

New fluorescent dye could serve as powerful tool to visualize biological events in living cells

A new photostable fluorescent dye for super resolution microscopy could serve as a powerful tool to visualize biological events and structural details in living cells at real-time for prolonged recording periods.

27 Oct 2015

CNIO researchers identify molecular mechanisms that determine cancer predisposition in DBA patients

Researchers from the Tumour Suppression Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, headed by Manuel Serrano, have discovered the molecular mechanisms that determine cancer predisposition in patients with Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA).

18 Oct 2015

Research highlights potential new treatment strategy for degenerative diseases

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered evidence of a mechanism at the heart of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related degenerative diseases. The research appears in today's edition of the journal Cell and highlights a possible new treatment strategy for the devastating disorders.

25 Sep 2015

UCI scientists find potential biomarker for diagnosing certain forms of autism

By identifying a key signaling defect within a specific membrane structure in all cells, University of California, Irvine researchers believe, they have found both a possible reliable biomarker for diagnosing certain forms of autism and a potential therapeutic target.

22 Sep 2015

Worldwide Protein Data Bank symposium focuses on multi-scale structural biology

The symposium titled with "Integrative Structural Biology with Hybrid Methods" is held focusing on the multi-scale structural biology, which aims to analyze structures of protein molecules and their assemblies, cellular machines, organelle, and even living cells and organisms by the hybrid methods, integrating many different technologies, such as chemical cross-links, MS spectrometry, FRET, Super-resolution microscopy, X-ray diffraction, NMR, and Computer modeling, in addition to Cryo-electron microscopy that has been attracting much attention these days.

10 Sep 2015

Studies using yeast genetics provide new insights into cell-division cycle

Studies using yeast genetics have provided new, fundamental insights into the cell-division cycle, researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute report.

2 Sep 2015

UVA researchers reveal how sperm use 'harpoon' to facilitate fertilization

Could the sperm harpoon the egg to facilitate fertilization? That's the intriguing possibility raised by the University of Virginia School of Medicine's discovery that a protein within the head of the sperm forms spiky filaments, suggesting that these tiny filaments may lash together the sperm and its target.

28 Aug 2015

caprotec bioanalytics issued U.S. patent for CCMS proteome analysis technology

caprotec bioanalytics GmbH announced today that the United States Patent Office has issued patent No. US9,034,789 covering its revolutionary Capture Compound Mass Spectrometry (CCMS) technology.

20 Aug 2015

Determining the dynein-dynactin complex structure: an interview with Dr Gabriel C. Lander

This is a macromolecular assembly is made up of two components, dynein and dynactin, that works to move molecular cargo (organelles, RNA, vesicles, proteins, viruses) along microtubule highways within our cells.

16 Aug 2015

FAU researchers identify endogenous process that controls reproduction of cardiac muscle cells

Heart failure is the most common cause of death worldwide. The main reason for this is that damage to the human heart causes cardiac muscle cells to die, which in turn leads to reduced heart function and death. However, this is not the case for zebrafish or amphibians. If their hearts become damaged and cardiac muscle cells die, their remaining cardiac muscle cells can reproduce, allowing the heart to regenerate.

7 Aug 2015

Scientists develop biosensor to measure abnormal activity of cell 'fuel' carrier

To be able to function, cell mitochondria import "fuel" using a carrier, the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier (MPC). In order to determine whether the MPC is still functional in malignant cells, the team of Professor Jean-Claude Martinou, at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, has just developed a biosensor to measure its live activity.

7 Aug 2015

UIC, Northwestern University researchers create first artificial ribosome

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University have engineered a tethered ribosome that works nearly as well as the authentic cellular component, or organelle, that produces all the proteins and enzymes within the cell. The engineered ribosome may enable the production of new drugs and next-generation biomaterials and lead to a better understanding of how ribosomes function.

30 Jul 2015

New approach holds great promise for developing effective treatments for human mitochondrial diseases

Using existing drugs, such as lithium, to restore basic biological processes in human cells and animal models, researchers may have broken a long-standing logjam in devising effective treatments for human mitochondrial diseases.

21 Jul 2015

UM researchers discover new gene behind neurodegenerative conditions

Researchers at the University of Miami have discovered and characterized a previously unknown disease gene linked to the degeneration of optic and peripheral nerve fibers. The study titled "Mutations in SLC25A46, encoding a UGO1-like protein, cause an optic atrophy spectrum disorder" is published in the journal Nature Genetics.

14 Jul 2015

Defects in mitochondria play key role in transition of normal cells to cancerous cells

Cancer cells defy the rules by which normal cells abide. They can divide without cease, invade distant tissues and consume glucose at abnormal rates.

9 Jul 2015

Tests reveal that FY26 cancer drug is 49 times more potent than Cisplatin drug

Tests have shown that a new cancer drug, FY26, is 49 times more potent than the clinically used treatment Cisplatin.

7 Jul 2015

Retina contains microtubule "roadway" that provides energy required for visual processing

Researchers have discovered a thick band of microtubules in certain neurons in the retina that they believe acts as a transport road for mitochondria that help provide energy required for visual processing.

30 Jun 2015

Scientists develop small molecule drug that prevents autophagy from starting in cancer cells

As a tumor grows, its cancerous cells ramp up an energy-harvesting process to support its hasty development. This process, called autophagy, is normally used by a cell to recycle damaged organelles and proteins, but is also co-opted by cancer cells to meet their increased energy and metabolic demands.

26 Jun 2015