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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.

Hsp104 protein switches mechanism to break up amyloid versus disordered clumps

Several fatal brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease, are connected by the misfolding of specific proteins into disordered clumps and stable, insoluble fibrils called amyloid. Amyloid fibrils are hard to break up due to their stable, ordered structure. For example, α-synuclein forms amyloid fibrils that accumulate in Lewy Bodies in Parkinson's disease. By contrast, protein clumps that accumulate in response to environmental stress, such as heat shock, possess a less stable, disordered architecture.

20 Nov 2012

IL-13 receptor system could play a major role in Parkinson's

Deciphering what causes the brain cell degeneration of Parkinson's disease has remained a perplexing challenge for scientists. But a team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has pinpointed a key factor controlling damage to brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

20 Nov 2012

Inspiration, Ipsen receive FDA Fast Track designation for OBI-1 to treat AHA

Ipsen and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that Inspiration has received Fast Track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for OBI-1 in acquired hemophilia A.

20 Nov 2012

Researchers discover new gene for susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease

A large-scale international study involving French researchers from the Inserm-Institut Pasteur Lille-Universit- Lille Nord de France "Public health and molecular epidemiology of ageing-related diseases" joint research unit led by Philippe Amouyel, has just discovered a gene for susceptibility to a rare disease that causes susceptibility to a common one, Alzheimer's disease, providing evidence of the heterogeneous aetiology of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Nov 2012

CFFT announces major expansion of research collaboration with Pfizer

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Inc. (CFFT), the nonprofit drug discovery and development affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, today announced a major expansion of its research collaboration with Pfizer Inc. designed to discover new drugs to treat people with the most common mutation of CF, Delta F508.

20 Nov 2012

Geriatric health, lungs adversely affected by air pollution

Elderly individuals living in highly polluted areas of the USA have higher levels of inflammatory markers in their blood compared with their counterparts who live in less-polluted regions, indicate the results of a study.

19 Nov 2012

Biomolecular imaging: an interview with Professor Roger Reddel

The reason Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) exists is to find ways to treat or prevent childhood disease. Our research programs are focussed on the areas of cancer cell growth, nerve cell signalling, embryology and gene therapy. These four programs have a shared aim of translating novel findings into new treatments for the benefit of families everywhere.

19 Nov 2012

Four New York students named National Finalists in Siemens Competition

Months of dedication and hard work in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) paid off tonight for four students named National Finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation's premier research competition.

19 Nov 2012

Positive results from Genentech Avastin plus temozolomide Phase III study on glioblastoma

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced results from the positive Phase III AVAglio study. The study showed Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with radiation and temozolomide chemotherapy reduced the risk of cancer worsening or death (progression-free survival; PFS) by 36 percent compared to radiation and temozolomide chemotherapy plus placebo>th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology in Washington, D.C.

19 Nov 2012

Two genetic factors strongly associated with non-syndromic sagittal craniosynostosis

An international team of geneticists, pediatricians, surgeons and epidemiologists from 23 institutions across three continents has identified two areas of the human genome associated with the most common form of non-syndromic craniosynostosis ― premature closure of the bony plates of the skull.

18 Nov 2012

For Alzheimer's, detection advances move faster than treatment options

The new brain scan technology, which went on the market in June, is spreading fast.

17 Nov 2012

Scientists discover new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes. Their experiments suggest that instead of recognizing and clipping proteins based on sequences of amino acids, these proteases' location within membranes gives them the unique ability to recognize and cut proteins with unstable structures.

17 Nov 2012

Study shows how Parkinson's spreads and leads to nerve cell death

Understanding how any disease progresses is one of the first and most important steps towards finding treatments to stop it. This has been the case for such brain-degenerating conditions as Alzheimer's disease. Now, after several years of incremental study, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania have been able to piece together important steps in how Parkinson's disease (PD) spreads from cell to cell and leads to nerve cell death.

17 Nov 2012

Two studies investigate role of oxygen in cell transplantation

Two studies published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation, now freely available on-line, investigate the role of oxygen in cell transplantation.

17 Nov 2012

Researchers discover health similarities between humans and pigs

An international scientific collaboration that includes two Kansas State University researchers is bringing home the bacon when it comes to potential animal and human health advancements, thanks to successfully mapping the genome of the domestic pig.

17 Nov 2012

Study illuminates how Aldo and galectin-3 protein contribute to vascular remodeling, CHF

Cardiovascular disease will kill nearly 2.5 million people in the United States this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Over time, inflammation, collagen deposition and scar tissue formation can cause blood vessels to stiffen, a process called vascular fibrosis. Though researchers have known that the hormone aldosterone (Aldo) plays a role in this process, the precise mechanisms have been poorly understood.

17 Nov 2012

Combination of Abraxane and gemcitabine improves survival of patients with pancreatic cancer

A new cancer drug combination demonstrated significant improvement in overall survival of late-stage pancreatic cancer patients compared to those receiving standard treatment, according to results of a Phase III clinical trial led by physicians from Scottsdale Healthcare's Virginia G. Cancer Center Clinical Trials, a partnership with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

17 Nov 2012