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Stockholm researchers discover new mechanism that stimulates glucose uptake in brown fat

Research findings that can likely be used to develop a new type of medicine for type 2 diabetes are published today in the Journal of Cell Biology. Researchers at Stockholm University have discovered a new mechanism that stimulates glucose uptake in brown fat - a tissue whose primary function is to generate heat by burning fat and sugar.

11 Nov 2014

Researchers identify new suppressor of cancer metastasis

Among patients with deadly cancers, more than 90 percent die because of metastatic spread of their disease. Looking to target a key pathway in order to interfere with the processes that lead to tumor spread, a research team led by Irwin H. Gelman, Ph.D., of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) has identified a new suppressor of cancer metastasis that may point the way toward development of more effective treatments for prostate cancers and other malignant solid tumors.

14 Jul 2014

Skin cells possess olfactory receptor for sandalwood scent

Skin cells possess an olfactory receptor for sandalwood scent, as researchers at the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum have discovered.

8 Jul 2014

Scientists find interplay between two specific proteins crucial for flawless repair of crosslink damage

Environmental influences such as ionizing radiation, intense heat or various chemical substances damage the DNA constantly.

27 May 2014

Researchers find two types of neurons that enable spinal cord to control skilled forelimb movement

Researchers have identified two types of neurons that enable the spinal cord to control skilled forelimb movement. The first is a group of excitatory interneurons that are needed to make accurate and precise movements; the second is a group of inhibitory interneurons necessary for achieving smooth movement of the limbs.

2 May 2014

New RUB project to unravel role of enzyme Parkin in promoting neuronal survival

Cell biologists at the Ruhr-Universit-t Bochum have launched a new project to unravel the role of the enzyme Parkin in promoting neuronal survival. The team of Prof Dr Konstanze F. Winklhofer from the Institute of Physiological Chemistry, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, is looking for new therapeutic options to treat Parkinson's disease. The Michael J. Fox Foundation finances this research project with 125,000 US Dollars.

18 Dec 2013

Research in mouse whiskers reveals signal pathway from touch neuron to brain

Human fingertips have several types of sensory neurons that are responsible for relaying touch signals to the central nervous system. Scientists have long believed these neurons followed a linear path to the brain with a "labeled-lines" structure.

17 Oct 2013

Researchers discover that fruit fly mutation holds clues for treating motor neuron diseases

A team of researchers, led by Marc Freeman, PhD, an early career scientist with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and associate professor of neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have discovered a gene in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster that, when mutant, blocks the self-destruction of damaged axons, which could hold clues to treating motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

9 Apr 2013

CPF and PFF to partner with ATS to fund pulmonary fibrosis research

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, and the American Thoracic Society-the world's leading professional organization for pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine-today announced that the CPF and the PFF will again partner with the ATS to fund pulmonary fibrosis research.

21 Mar 2013

Study on how Hedgehog signal defines cell-cell interaction receives $747,000 grant

While many researchers believe that the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, which transmits information to embryonic cells for proper development and is important for regeneration, may actually regulate cell-cell adhesion and segregation - there isn't any evidence.

16 Mar 2013

Researchers identify novel signaling pathway responsible for neuroprotective activity of parkin

Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich identify a novel signal transduction pathway, which activates the parkin gene and prevents stress-induced neuronal cell death.

2 Mar 2013

Blood vessels play an important role in preventing spread of tumour cells

A lack of the protein endoglin in the blood vessels of tumour-bearing mice enables the spread of daughter tumours, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University in Sweden in a study published in the scientific periodical The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Given that the tumour vasculature constitutes an important barrier to the spread of cancer cells, the team suggests that drugs should be developed to strengthen the blood vessels' protective function.

12 Feb 2013

Orexin-A hormone also affects emergence after anesthesia

A neuropeptide hormone called orexin-A—which plays an important role in regulating the normal sleep-wake cycle—also affects emergence (waking up) after anesthesia, reports an experimental study in the October issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

26 Sep 2012

Control of siRNA could aid regenerative medicine, cancer therapy

Some of the body's own genetic material, known as small interfering RNA (siRNA), can be packaged then unleashed as a precise and persistent technology to guide cell behavior, researchers at Case Western Reserve University report in the current issue of the journal, Acta Biomaterialia.

28 Aug 2012

Researchers uncover protein structure that regulates blood cell formation and activity

A Finnish research team together with researchers from New York, USA, has uncovered a protein structure that regulates cell signalling and the formation of blood cells. The team's results, published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, the most prestigious journal in the field, shed light on the mechanisms at play in haematological disorders and provide new opportunities for the design of disease-specific treatment.

23 Jul 2012

NCKU student receives Graduate/Postdoctoral Travel Award from ASBMB

Wan-Pei Su, a graduate student of Molecular Medicine at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), southern Taiwan, has received a Graduate/Postdoctoral Travel Award from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) to attend the annual conference on Experimental Biology (EB) in San Diego in April 2012.

10 May 2012

Similar mechanisms drive changes in puberty

It's one of life's special moments: a child finds a fat caterpillar, puts it in a jar with a twig and a few leaves, and awakens one day to find the caterpillar has disappeared and an elegant but apparently lifeless case now hangs from the twig.

1 Mar 2012

Researchers identify compound that inhibits viral replication

Broad-spectrum antibiotics, which are active against a whole range of bacterial pathogens, have been on the market for a long time. Comparably versatile drugs to treat viral diseases, on the other hand, have remained elusive. Using a new approach, research teams led by Dr. Albrecht von Brunn of LMU Munich and Professor Christian Drosten from the University of Bonn have identified a compound that inhibits the replication of several different viruses, including the highly aggressive SARS virus that is responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome.

29 Oct 2011

Insights into type I diabetes

A new signal pathway that renders the insulin-releasing beta cell more sensitive to high levels of blood glucose has been discovered by researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. A second new study reveals a possible way to delay the disease by inhibiting a lipoprotein.

23 Jun 2011

Study demonstrates anti-prostate cancer properties of Modified Citrus Pectin

Researchers at Columbia University recently analyzed the positive effects of Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) on human and mouse prostate cancer cell lines. The results, as reported by lead researcher Dr. Aaron Katz in the publication of Integrative Cancer Therapies, show that MCP inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent cancer cells in a time and dose-dependent manner.

21 Oct 2010