Protein News and Research

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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.

Adding lubricin to fluid in our joints may prevent osteoarthritis, researchers find

Think new discoveries are the bee's knees? This one is even better -- this research out of Rhode Island Hospital is the mice's knees. Researchers have found that adding lubricin, a protein that our bodies naturally produce, to the fluid in our joints may reduce the risk of or even prevent osteoarthritis.

25 Mar 2013

DNA damage is part of regular brain activity, say scientists

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have discovered that a certain type of DNA damage long thought to be particularly detrimental to brain cells can actually be part of a regular, non-harmful process.

25 Mar 2013

Study shows why certain drugs that interact with serotonin receptors have harmful effects

A team including scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has determined and analyzed the high-resolution atomic structures of two kinds of human serotonin receptor.

25 Mar 2013

Konzo's harm goes beyond devastating physical effects

The harm done by konzo - a disease overshadowed by the war and drought it tends to accompany - goes beyond its devastating physical effects to impair children's memory, problem solving and other cognitive functions.

25 Mar 2013

Scientists identify potential treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Investigators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have unlocked another piece of the puzzle surrounding idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an often fatal lung disease with no cure and no effective treatments.

25 Mar 2013

Researchers study gene variants that bear signature for inflammatory disease susceptibility

In new research published in the April 4, 2013 issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital demonstrate that some variants in our genes that could put a person at risk for inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease or rheumatoid arthritis, have been the target of natural selection over the course of human history.

25 Mar 2013

Researchers expand hematopoietic stem cells for bone marrow transplantation

More than 50,000 stem cell transplants are performed each year worldwide. A research team led by Weill Cornell Medical College investigators may have solved a major issue of expanding adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) outside the human body for clinical use in bone marrow transplantation -- a critical step towards producing a large supply of blood stem cells needed to restore a healthy blood system.

25 Mar 2013

Protein with key job in muscle function moonlights in nucleus to help regulate genes

A key building block of life, actin is one of the most abundant and highly conserved proteins in eukaryotic cells.

25 Mar 2013

Study reveals role of SNX27 protein in brain function

What is it about the extra chromosome inherited in Down syndrome-chromosome 21-that alters brain and body development? Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have new evidence that points to a protein called sorting nexin 27, or SNX27.

25 Mar 2013

LMU researchers identify microRNA that offers promising target for new therapies

Atherosclerosis, an inflammatory reaction, is at the root of the most common forms of cardiovascular disease. Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich have now identified a microRNA that plays a prominent role in the process, and offers a promising target for new therapies.

25 Mar 2013

Researchers study how nerve cells repair themselves after injury

One molecule makes nerve cells grow longer. Another one makes them grow branches. These new experimental manipulations have taken researchers a step closer to understanding how nerve cells are repaired at their farthest reaches after injury.

25 Mar 2013

International support rising for adopting universal water security

Amid changing weather and water patterns worldwide and forecasts of more severe transformations to come, calls have been growing for the UN Security Council to include water issues on its agenda.

25 Mar 2013

Experts say age, ethnicity and genetics play a critical role in the development of prostate cancer

Genetics, age and ethnicity are risk factors for prostate cancer, while the evidence for obesity, smoking and diabetes as associated risks remains uncertain, according to prostate cancer experts.

24 Mar 2013

Fralin Life Science Institute researchers use TALENS to alter mosquito genome

Virginia Tech researchers successfully used a gene disruption technique to change the eye color of a mosquito - a critical step toward new genetic strategies aimed at disrupting the transmission of diseases such as dengue fever.

22 Mar 2013

Researchers develop new approach for HIV vaccine development

Decades of research and three large-scale clinical trials have so far failed to yield an effective HIV vaccine, in large part because the virus evolves so rapidly that it can evade any vaccine-induced immune response.

22 Mar 2013

MU researchers redefine key regulatory process in defective protein responsible for cystic fibrosis

A little more than a year after the FDA approved Kalydeco (Vx-770), the first drug of its kind to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis, University of Missouri researchers believe they have found exactly how this drug works and how to improve its effectiveness in the future.

22 Mar 2013

Findings provide structural basis for development of drugs to fight enterovirus 71 infection

New research findings may help scientists design drugs to treat a virus infection that causes potentially fatal brain swelling and paralysis in children.

22 Mar 2013

Soybeans can prevent cancer

Soybean meal is a bi-product following oil extraction from soybean seeds. It is rich in protein, which usually makes up around 40% of the nutritional components of the seeds and dependent on the line, and can also contain high oleic acid (a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid).

21 Mar 2013

Disinfectant mouthwashes may be effective against cancers of the mouth and throat

Patients who suffer from gingivitis are often advised to use disinfectant mouthwashes. In the future, the active ingredients in these products could be used in a completely different area: As scientists have reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, Chlorhexidin and Alexidin increase programmed cell death and may be effective against cancers of the mouth and throat.

21 Mar 2013

WUSTL's Wang receives NSF grant to study oxygen consumption rates of individual cells

When scientists study cells, they need to know how much oxygen each cell consumes to determine its metabolism. However, existing technology limits this study to groups of cells, not individual cells. Lihong Wang, PhD, plans to change that.

21 Mar 2013

Protein News and Research

Further Reading

Adding lubricin to fluid in our joints may prevent osteoarthritis, researchers find

DNA damage is part of regular brain activity, say scientists

Study shows why certain drugs that interact with serotonin receptors have harmful effects

Konzo's harm goes beyond devastating physical effects

Scientists identify potential treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Researchers study gene variants that bear signature for inflammatory disease susceptibility

Researchers expand hematopoietic stem cells for bone marrow transplantation

Protein with key job in muscle function moonlights in nucleus to help regulate genes

Study reveals role of SNX27 protein in brain function

LMU researchers identify microRNA that offers promising target for new therapies

Researchers study how nerve cells repair themselves after injury

International support rising for adopting universal water security

Experts say age, ethnicity and genetics play a critical role in the development of prostate cancer

Fralin Life Science Institute researchers use TALENS to alter mosquito genome

Researchers develop new approach for HIV vaccine development

MU researchers redefine key regulatory process in defective protein responsible for cystic fibrosis

Findings provide structural basis for development of drugs to fight enterovirus 71 infection

Soybeans can prevent cancer

Disinfectant mouthwashes may be effective against cancers of the mouth and throat

WUSTL's Wang receives NSF grant to study oxygen consumption rates of individual cells

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 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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