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Baby boomers more likely to develop HCV

Experts at Montefiore Medical Center urge the general public to be tested for the Hepatitis C virus, especially baby boomers, adults born between 1946-1964, who could be most at risk for this disease. Baby boomers are more likely to have been exposed to dangerous risk factors decades ago, such as sharing a drug needle, being tattooed or pierced with unsterilized tools or receiving a tainted blood transfusion.

2 Dec 2011

NIH-led study advances HIV vaccine research

HIV is coated in sugars that usually hide the virus from the immune system. Newly published research reveals how one broadly neutralizing HIV antibody actually uses part of the sugary cloak to help bind to the virus. The antibody binding site, called the V1/V2 region, represents a suitable HIV vaccine target, according to the scientists who conducted the study. In addition, their research reveals the detailed structure of the V1/V2 region, the last part of the virus surface to be visualized at the atomic level.

24 Nov 2011

Knocking out one copy of IGF1 receptor fails to increase life span of male mice

Scientists studying longevity thought it might be good to lack a copy of a gene, called IGF1 receptor, that is important in insulin signaling. Previous studies showed invertebrates that lacked the copy lived longer, even if their bodies were less responsive to insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar.

24 Nov 2011

New procedure could be adapted for use with X-ray techniques in studying human health

For more than a century, the use of X-rays has been a prime diagnostic tool when it comes to human health. As it turns out, X-rays also are a crucial component for studying and understanding molecules, and a new approach -- just published by researchers at the University of Georgia -- may dramatically improve what researchers can learn using the technique.

23 Nov 2011

Decanoic acid can modulate glucose control

A Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) study published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry reveals that a natural fatty acid can serve as a regulator of blood sugar levels, which may have important applications in designing better and safer drugs for diabetes treatment.

22 Nov 2011

Cancer cells tap into natural recycling system to obtain energy

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that cancer cells tap into a natural recycling system to obtain the energy they need to keep dividing. In a study with potential implications for cancer treatments, Einstein researchers used genetic manipulation to turn off this recycling system within the walls of cells and stop both tumor growth and metastasis.

17 Nov 2011

Berkeley Lab, Bruker partner to develop and distribute new structural biology methods

Bruker Corporation and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) today announced a collaboration to develop and distribute new structural biology methods and tools to integrate Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.

11 Nov 2011

Researchers match protein to the job it performs in human body

Scientists at Rochester Institute of Technology and Dowling College are engaged in a similar game with higher stakes. Instead of cards, they are matching the protein to the job it performs in the human body. Their research could lead to drugs that target proteins and switch on or off specific functions associated with various diseases.

8 Nov 2011

Researchers identify surprising mechanism that facilitates protein interactions

Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified an unexpected mechanism facilitating some protein interactions that are the workhorses of cells and, in the process, identified a potential new cancer drug development target.

5 Nov 2011

Einstein scientists receive two NCI grants to study cancer metastasis

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University two grants totaling $8 million to study the microenvironments that drive the spread of cancer from the primary tumor to other parts of the body in the process known as metastasis.

4 Nov 2011

UCB, Emerald BioStructures extend structure-based drug discovery collaboration

Emerald BioStructures today announced a three-year extension of its ongoing collaboration with UCB. The strategic aspects of this renewed relationship will provide Emerald with research funding over the three-year period and the opportunity to receive milestones and royalties on future drug product revenues.

27 Oct 2011

DFG announces establishment of twelve research units

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has established nine new Research Units and three Clinical Research Units. The decision was made by the Joint Committee of Germany's central research funding organisation at its October meeting in Bonn.

22 Oct 2011

Insight into how powerful anti-HIV antibody grabs hold of the virus

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered the surprising details of how a powerful anti-HIV antibody grabs hold of the virus. The findings, published in Science Express on October 13, 2011, highlight a major vulnerability of HIV and suggest a new target for vaccine development.

14 Oct 2011

UCSF protein researcher wins NIH's Early Independence Award

James Fraser, PhD, a protein researcher who studies structural biology at the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is one of 10 recipients of a prestigious award for young scientists given for the first time by the National Institutes of Health.

1 Oct 2011

Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson celebrates two decades of caring and collaboration to beat cancer

From October forward, the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson (KCC), a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, is celebrating 20 years of service to the community and the groundbreaking cancer research from the scientists and physicians who've provided an invaluable contribution to medical science and healthcare.

30 Sep 2011

Researchers identify 'programmed cell death' pathway in parasitic worms

Researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have for the first time identified a 'programmed cell death' pathway in parasitic worms that could one day lead to new treatments for one of the world's most serious and prevalent diseases.

29 Sep 2011

Researchers validate two parasite enzymes as potential anti-malarial drug targets

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Monash University, and Virginia Tech have used a set of novel inhibitors to analyze how the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, uses enzymes to chew up human hemoglobin from host red blood cells as a food source.

28 Sep 2011

Water plays a decisive role in biologically active enzyme substrate compounds

In biologically active enzyme substrate compounds, as can be found in medicines, water plays a more decisive role than has been imagined up to now. The surrounding water acts like an "adhesive", in order to keep the substrate at the right place on an enzyme.

20 Sep 2011

Superbug structure deciphered

NDM-1, the enzyme responsible for antibiotic-resistant "superbugs," has had its structure deciphered by British scientists. NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1) emerged in India three years ago. It has the ability to break up, or hydrolyze, even carbapenems, the strongest class of antibiotics, making them ineffective, and has been found in a wide variety of pathogens. Antibiotic resistance is on the rise. More than 25,000 people in the European Union die every year from bacterial infections.

6 Sep 2011

Researchers discover how yeast cells identify, attach to human tissue and cause infection

Researchers are a step closer towards creating a new class of medicines and vaccines to combat drug-resistant and deadly strains of fungal infections, following a new study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

6 Sep 2011