Ribosome News and Research

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High-throughput RNA interference screen identifies potential drug target against henipaviruses

The closely related Hendra and Nipah viruses (referred to jointly as henipaviruses) are deadly cousins of the more common mumps, measles, and respiratory syncytial viruses, all members of the paramyxovirus family. Henipavirus outbreaks are on the rise, but little is known about them, partly because research has to be conducted under extreme level containment conditions.

28 Mar 2016

Study provides better picture of molecular basis for antibiotic resistance

Scientists from the University of Leeds have solved a 25-year-old question about how a family of proteins allow bacteria to resist the effects of certain antibiotics.

23 Mar 2016

Role of dietary restriction in lifespan extension

The role of dietary restriction in extending lifespan is the subject of research being conducted at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, by visiting scientist Markus Schosserer, Ph.D., of the biotechnology department at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, in Austria.

22 Mar 2016

TSRI researchers uncover new molecular mechanism underlying neurodegenerative diseases

A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute suggests that cells construct protein "clumps" to protect against neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a.k.a. ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

10 Mar 2016

Rockefeller research reveals vital new component of system responsible for regulating food intake

The molecular intricacies of hunger and satiety, pivotal for understanding metabolic disorders and the problem of obesity, are not yet fully understood by scientists. However, new research from The Rockefeller University reveals an important new component of the system responsible for regulating food intake: a hormone called amylin, which acts in the brain to help control consumption.

27 Feb 2016

Alternative splicing: a new approach to drug development? An interview with Lucy Donaldson

RNA is becoming an interesting drug target as it takes possible intervention back one step to the synthesis of a target protein, instead of trying to block or inhibit a process.

1 Feb 2016

New mechanism of differentiation may offer novel therapeutic approaches to blood malignancies, solid tumors

In humans the differentiation of stem cells into hundreds of specialized cell types is vital. Differentiation drives development from fertilized egg to a newborn, and it underlies the continuous replacement of the 5 billion cells that die every hour in an adult. On the downside, mutations in differentiation pathways of different cell types can be drivers of cancers.

13 Jan 2016

Certain gut bacteria linked to type 2 diabetes, reveal Russian scientists

A group of Russian scientists, including Dr Elena Kostryukova, the Head of the Laboratory of Postgenomic Research in Biology of the Scientific Research Institute of Physical-Chemical Medicine and a researcher at MIPT (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology), and Maria Vakhitova, an MIPT postgraduate student, has discovered that the presence of certain bacteria in the gut may be linked to the development of type 2 diabetes.

21 Dec 2015

Researchers find new way to prevent or reduce pathologies caused by malformed proteins

Improperly formed proteins can cause a host of serious illnesses, from muscular dystrophy to cystic fibrosis. A question of enormous import in research, beyond the challenge of determining how malformed proteins contribute to specific disease processes, is figuring out ways to prevent or reduce the pathologies they cause.

16 Dec 2015

Research reveals MECP2 Duplication Syndrome can be reversed

The methyl CpG binding protein 2 gene (MECP2) produces a protein of the same name, the level of which is critical for normal brain function. Mutations leading to protein under-expression cause Rett Syndrome while gene duplication causing over-expression lead to MECP2 Duplication Syndrome. Both disorders are severely debilitating childhood neurological diseases.

26 Nov 2015

Genetic reduction of AMPK enzyme can prevent or delay hearing loss

A mitochondrial defect is responsible for a type of human hereditary deafness that worsens over time and can lead to profound hearing loss.

6 Nov 2015

Key protein controls stem cell properties that could make them useful in regenerative medicine

A key protein controls stem cell properties that could make them more useful in regenerative medicine, according to a study led by Mount Sinai researchers and published online today in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

31 Oct 2015

Scientists identify new jelly-like properties of essential proteins that lead to serious diseases

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have identified a new property of essential proteins which, when it malfunctions, can cause the build up, or 'aggregation', of misshaped proteins and lead to serious diseases.

31 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

GSA, ASHG and Gruber Foundation announce recipients of 2016 Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award

The Genetics Society of America (GSA), the American Society for Human Genetics (ASHG) and The Gruber Foundation are pleased to announce Maria Barna, PhD, of Stanford University; and Carolyn McBride, PhD, of Princeton University, as the 2016 recipients of the Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award.

2 Sep 2015

ASTRO awards $675,000 to seven physician-researchers to advance radiation oncology research

The American Society for Radiation Oncology has selected seven leading physician-researchers to receive a total of $675,000 in awards and grants to advance radiation oncology research. Together, the seven funding grants, including ASTRO Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award, the ASTRO Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Award and the ASTRO/Radiation Oncology Institute Comparative Effectiveness Research Award, will support studies in radiation and cancer biology, radiation physics, translational research, outcomes/health services research and comparative effectiveness research within radiation oncology.

27 Aug 2015

Rice University scientists identify genetic mechanism that allows bacteria to resist antibiotics

Rice University scientists are developing strategies to keep germs from evolving resistance to antibiotics by heading them off at the pass.

5 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

Researchers unravel mechanisms that enable accumulation of tumour promoting protease in stressed cancer cells

A mechanism beyond the level of gene regulation, which is often the underlying reason for changes in protein levels, does enable the strong accumulation of a tumour promoting protease in stressed cancer cells. The group of BIOSS researcher Prof. Dr. Thomas Reinheckel teamed up with BIOSS investigator Prof. Dr. Sabine Rospert and their colleagues from the University Medical Center Freiburg, Prof. Dr. Elmar Stickeler and Dr. Peter Bronsert, in order to unravel mechanisms by which stress-resistant production of cancer promoting proteins occurs.

6 Jul 2015

Two grants to bolster research on why ovarian cancer is resistant to chemotherapy

Determining which strains of cancer will eventually become resistant to chemotherapy could be key in figuring out more effective and targeted forms of treatment. Finding the genes responsible for chemo-resistance is what Jeremy Chien, Ph.D., member of the Cancer Biology Program at The University of Kansas Cancer Center, is looking to do with an innovative system that draws inspiration from the early days of cancer gene research.

1 Jun 2015