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.

Biguanide mechanism discovered

Researchers have discovered a novel mechanism by which biguanides exert their glucose-lowering effect, potentially leading to new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of diabetes and insulin resistance.

14 Jan 2013

Reviewing the latest methods for characterizing biomaterials

Biomaterials and medical devices must be rigorously tested in the laboratory before they may be implanted into test subjects. By ensuring that these test methods are both quick and efficient, an increased number of materials can be tested and working implants can be produced more rapidly. The development of such tests is therefore essential to biomedical advancement, and Characterization of biomaterials reviews the latest methods for defining properties and characterizing materials. Characterization of biomaterials discusses a wide array of techniques and various unique approaches to the problems faced in characterizing biomaterials, whilst also providing information on standards and methods for assessing the safety and biocompatibility of biomaterials.

14 Jan 2013

Repression of PTB protein in fibroblasts can convert pluripotent stem cells into functional neurons

Repression of a single protein in ordinary fibroblasts is sufficient to directly convert the cells - abundantly found in connective tissues - into functional neurons. The findings, which could have far-reaching implications for the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, will be published online in advance of the January 17 issue of the journal Cell.

11 Jan 2013

Blocking interaction of JNK enzyme may counteract neuron destruction

Oxidative stress is a primary villain in a host of diseases that range from cancer and heart failure to Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.

11 Jan 2013

Cancer researchers solve mystery of how Chd5 protein exerts its beneficial effects

A team of cancer researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has solved the mystery of how one of the most powerful of the body's natural tumor-suppressing proteins, called Chd5, exerts its beneficial effects.

11 Jan 2013

Placing peanut protein under a patient's tongue helps dampen allergic reactions

Of all foods, peanuts are the most frequent cause of life-threatening and fatal allergic reactions. New research at National Jewish Health provides additional support for a strategy to reduce the severity of reactions to peanut- repeatedly consuming small amounts of the very food that causes those reactions in the first place, a practice called immunotherapy.

11 Jan 2013

Melanomas that develop resistance to vemurafenib also become addicted to the drug

Researchers in California and Switzerland have discovered that melanomas that develop resistance to the anti-cancer drug vemurafenib (marketed as Zelboraf), also develop addiction to the drug, an observation that may have important implications for the lives of patients with late-stage disease.

11 Jan 2013

Results from Morphotek’s farletuzumab Phase III combination study on ovarian cancer

Morphotek Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eisai Inc., announced today top-line results from a Phase III study of its investigational agent farletuzumab (MORAb-003) in combination with carboplatin and a taxane in patients with platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian cancer in first relapse.

11 Jan 2013

Saliva gland test shows promise for Parkinson's

New research suggests that testing a portion of a person's saliva gland may be a way to diagnose Parkinson's disease.

11 Jan 2013

Scientists develop playbook to end devastating impact of fibrotic diseases

A team of scientists has developed a playbook for ending the devastating impact of fibrotic diseases of the liver, lung, kidney, and other organs, which are responsible for as many as 45 percent of all deaths in the industrialized world.

11 Jan 2013

LM11A-31 effective at improving limb movement after spinal cord injury in mice

An experimental oral drug given to mice after a spinal cord injury was effective at improving limb movement after the injury, a new study shows.

10 Jan 2013

TSRI chemists develop new cell-marking method

Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found an easier way to perform one of the most fundamental tasks in molecular biology. Their new method allows scientists to add a marker to certain cells, so that these cells may be easily located and/or selected out from a larger cell population.

10 Jan 2013

Simple and inexpensive method to cut DNA could transform genetic medicine

A simple, precise and inexpensive method for cutting DNA to insert genes into human cells could transform genetic medicine, making routine what now are expensive, complicated and rare procedures for replacing defective genes in order to fix genetic disease or even cure AIDS.

10 Jan 2013

Mussels may provide highly adhesive wound closure and more effective healing from surgery

Mussels can be a mouthwatering meal, but the chemistry that lets mussels stick to underwater surfaces may also provide a highly adhesive wound closure and more effective healing from surgery.

10 Jan 2013

Minor mutations can lead to big improvements in antibiotic resistance

Rice University scientists have found that mutations of small effect can turn out to be game changers in the bacterial fight against antibiotic drugs.

10 Jan 2013

High-fiber diets may control progression of prostate cancer

A high-fiber diet may have the clinical potential to control the progression of prostate cancer in patients diagnosed in early stages of the disease.

10 Jan 2013

Pannexin1 channel protein critical for memory and orientation

The channel protein Pannexin1 keeps nerve cells flexible and thus the brain receptive for new knowledge. Together with colleagues from Canada and the U.S., researchers at the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum led by the junior professor Dr. Nora Prochnow from the Department of Molecular Brain Research describe these results in PLoS ONE.

10 Jan 2013

Leptin hormone also regulates airway diameter

A new study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers has found that leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in energy metabolism, fertility, and bone mass, also regulates airway diameter.

9 Jan 2013

Metabolic stress can increase onset of atrial fibrillation

Researchers have found new evidence that metabolic stress can increase the onset of atrial arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.

9 Jan 2013

EC approves Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 to prevent pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the European Commission has approved expanding the use of the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevenar 13(pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]), to older children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease, pneumonia and acute otitis media caused by vaccine-type Streptococcus pneumoniae.

9 Jan 2013