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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Salk Institute scientists identify promising target for HIV/AIDS treatment

Like a slumbering dragon, HIV can lay dormant in a person's cells for years, evading medical treatments only to wake up and strike at a later time, quickly replicating itself and destroying the immune system.

27 Oct 2014

Scientists devise novel way to use stem cells in fight against brain cancer

Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital have devised a new way to use stem cells in the fight against brain cancer. A team led by neuroscientist Khalid Shah, MS, PhD, who recently demonstrated the value of stem cells loaded with cancer-killing herpes viruses, now has a way to genetically engineer stem cells so that they can produce and secrete tumor-killing toxins.

27 Oct 2014

Tiny nano-sized particles may play major role in detecting, tracking breast cancer

Exosomes, tiny, virus-sized particles released by cancer cells, can bioengineer micro-RNA (miRNA) molecules resulting in tumor growth. They do so with the help of proteins, such as one named Dicer. New research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center suggests Dicer may also serve as a biomarker for breast cancer and possibly open up new avenues for diagnosis and treatment.

27 Oct 2014

New material advances tissue engineering, drug delivery

Researchers at the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering have broken new ground in the development of proteins that form specialized fibers used in medicine and nanotechnology. For as long as scientists have been able to create new proteins that are capable of self-assembling into fibers, their work has taken place on the nanoscale. For the first time, this achievement has been realized on the microscale—a leap of magnitude in size that presents significant new opportunities for using engineered protein fibers.

27 Oct 2014

Preeclampsia study provides pathways for new therapeutic treatments

A team of researchers led by a Wayne State University School of Medicine associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology has published findings that provide novel insight into the cause of preeclampsia, the leading cause of maternal and infant death worldwide, a discovery that could lead to the development of new therapeutic treatments.

27 Oct 2014

Cornell University chemists uncover new insight into the underlying causes of ALS

Using a technique that illuminates subtle changes in individual proteins, chemistry researchers at Cornell University have uncovered new insight into the underlying causes of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

27 Oct 2014

Virginia Tech professor developing vaccine that could help smokers overcome nicotine addiction

A Virginia Tech professor is working on a vaccine that could help smokers conquer their nicotine addiction, making many smoking-related diseases and deaths relics of the 21st century.

27 Oct 2014

Researchers reveal how particular melanoma cells help tumors resist drugs

UNC School of Medicine researchers have pinpointed a set of intriguing characteristics in a previously unknown subpopulation of melanoma cancer cells in blood vessels of tumors. These cells, which mimic non-cancerous endothelial cells that normally populate blood vessels in tumors, could provide researchers with another target for cancer therapies.

25 Oct 2014

Nano-sized discovery helps explain bipolar disorder

A nano-sized discovery by Northwestern Medicine® scientists helps explain how bipolar disorder affects the brain and could one day lead to new drug therapies to treat the mental illness.

24 Oct 2014

Research shows FGF21 hormone acts directly on brain to regulate obesity

A hormone seen as a popular target to develop weight-loss drugs works by directly targeting the brain and triggering previously unknown activity in the nervous system, UT Southwestern Medical Center obesity researchers have found.

24 Oct 2014

Human trial of second investigational Ebola vaccine candidate under way

Human testing of a second investigational Ebola vaccine candidate is under way at the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

23 Oct 2014

Scientists use innovative exome sequencing strategy to identify new gene associated with ALS

Using an innovative exome sequencing strategy, a team of international scientists led by John Landers, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has shown that TUBA4A, the gene encoding the Tubulin Alpha 4A protein, is associated with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurological disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

23 Oct 2014

ADI develops ELISA test kits for detection of Ebola viral protein antibodies

San Antonio, Texas-based Biotech Company Alpha Diagnostic Int'l has developed and released several convenient, rapid, and sensitive ELISA test kits for the detection of major Ebola viral protein antibodies (Glycoprotein, GP; Nucleoprotein, NP, and Viral Protein 40 or VP40).

23 Oct 2014

Study identifies new signaling pathway that leads to inflammatory bone erosion in RA patients

A new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery identifies a new signaling pathway that contributes to the development and progression of inflammatory bone erosion, which occurs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease that affects millions of adults worldwide.

22 Oct 2014

Novel 'designer' nanodevice could improve cancer diagnostics, treatment

Cancer diagnostics and treatment options could be drastically improved with the creation of a 'designer' nanodevice being developed by researchers from the UK, Italy, the US and Argentina.

22 Oct 2014

Walnuts may help prevent Alzheimer's disease, study finds

A new animal study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease indicates that a diet including walnuts may have a beneficial effect in reducing the risk, delaying the onset, slowing the progression of, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

22 Oct 2014

Innovative treatment option for children with plastic bronchitis

A case study published recently in the journal Pediatrics describes an innovative, minimally invasive procedure that treated plastic bronchitis, a potentially life-threatening disease, in a six-year-old boy with a heart condition. Using new lymphatic imaging tools and catheterization techniques, physician-researchers eliminated bronchial casts, which are an accumulation of lymphatic material that clogged the child's airway.

22 Oct 2014

Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: an interview with Dr. Alexandria Phan

GEP-NETs stands for gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). This is a type of rare cancer that is increasing in incidence and prevalence – more on this later.

22 Oct 2014

Research: MHCI protein moonlights in nervous system to regulate synapses

When it comes to the brain, "more is better" seems like an obvious assumption. But in the case of synapses, which are the connections between brain cells, too many or too few can both disrupt brain function.

21 Oct 2014

YEDA and XL-protein sign deal to commercialize PASylated IFN superagonis

YEDA Research and Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and XL-protein GmbH, Germany, a privately owned biopharmaceutical company, have signed a business collaboration agreement to commercialize a PASylated interferon superagonist -- PAS-YNSα8 -- which has been jointly developed by scientists at the Weizmann Institute and XL-protein.

21 Oct 2014