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Stem cell therapy restores muscle function in mice with muscular dystrophy

Scientists in Texas have been able to restore muscle function in mice with muscular dystrophy by using embryonic stem cells.

21 Jan 2008

Matrix metalloproteinase-assisted triggered release of liposomal contents

Cancer cells display a variety of proteins on their outer membranes that are not present on the surface of normal cells.

16 Jan 2008

Researchers find cell protein that blocks HIV virus generation

UCLA researchers have found that a key protein in the body's dendritic cells can stop the virus that causes AIDS from "budding" part of the virus' life cycle that is crucial to its ability to replicate and infect other cells.

16 Jan 2008

Reprogrammed human adult stem cells rescue diseased muscle in mice

Scientists report that adult stem cells isolated from humans with muscular dystrophy can be genetically corrected and used to induce functional improvement when transplanted into a mouse model of the disease.

13 Dec 2007

Scientists learn three-dimensional structure of enzyme in unusual virus

Biologists have determined the three-dimensional structure of an unusual viral enzyme that is required in the assembly of new viruses.

18 Sep 2007

Tendons found to contain a small subset of previously unknown adult stem cells

Tendon, the cord-like tissue that connects muscle to bone, contains a small subset of previously unknown adult stem cells, scientists at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) part of the National Institutes of Health, and their colleagues have discovered.

11 Sep 2007

The skeleton is an endocrine organ

Bones are typically thought of as calcified, inert structures, but researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have now identified a surprising and critically important novel function of the skeleton.

11 Aug 2007

Scientists prepare for future pandemic strains of H5N1

Preparing vaccines and therapeutics that target a future mutant strain of H5N1 influenza virus sounds like science fiction, but it may be possible, according to a team of scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and a collaborator at Emory University School of Medicine.

11 Aug 2007

New risk marker for overweight children

A study of 40 overweight children in Edmonton has revealed they all share something in common aside from being heavy: each one of them has high levels of apoB48, a structural protein found in intestinal cholesterol.

23 Jun 2007

Researchers clarify alphaB-crystallin's role in multiple sclerosis

A protein found primarily in the lens of the eye could be the critical "tipping point" in the spiral of inflammation and damage that occurs in multiple sclerosis, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine report.

18 Jun 2007

Scientists have captured on video the intracellular version of a postal delivery service

Reporting in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (BBRC), bioengineering researchers at UC San Diego published videos of a key message-carrying protein called paxillin moving abruptly from hubs of communication and transportation activity on the cell surface toward the nucleus.

3 Jun 2007

Molecular motors may speed nutrient processing

Matthew Tyska, Ph.D., recalls being intrigued, from the first day of his postdoctoral fellowship in 1999, with a nearly 30-year-old photograph.

1 Jun 2007

Dipeptidyl peptidase I critical for early growth of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Surgery is the only treatment for an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a weak spot in the body's main artery that dilates dangerously over time.

13 Feb 2007

Selective marker found to indicate aggressive form of breast cancer

Researchers have linked a structural protein called nestin to a particularly deadly form of breast cancer, identifying a new biomarker that could lead to earlier detection and better treatment.

16 Jan 2007

Researchers discover protein interaction that may explain how Huntington's disease affects the brain

The findings, published in and featured on the cover of the current issue of Human Molecular Genetics, show how the mutated Huntington's protein interacts with another protein to cause dramatic accumulation of cholesterol in the brain.

2 Dec 2006

$1M Myers Fellowship brings US research techniques to Melbourne

The Howard Florey Institute's inaugural Allan and Maria Myers Travel Fellowship has been awarded to world renowned neuroscientist, Prof Gerard Shaw, from the McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida College of Medicine.

20 Aug 2006

Losartan can prevent progression of Marfan syndrome

A commonly prescribed blood pressure medication may provide the first ray of hope in preventing potentially deadly complications of Marfan syndrome, a genetic disease that weakens the structural meshwork of blood vessels.

11 Apr 2006

Elastin fragments drive emphysema

Pulmonary emphysema is caused primarily by cigarette smoking, and the underlying cellular mechanisms are thought to involve smoke-induced activation of tissue degrading enzymes known as proteases.

16 Feb 2006

Scientists discover how to make human collagen in the lab

It is the most important structural protein in the body, reinforcing connective tissue, bones and teeth, and forming long, fibrous cables to strengthen tendons. Collagen forms sheets of tissue that support the skin and every internal organ.

16 Feb 2006

Alagebrium may prevent arterial aging in patients with systolic hypertension

A compound called alagebrium, which is very similar to another used in anti-wrinkle creams, may be useful in reducing the deleterious effects of arterial aging in the majority of elderly Americans with systolic hypertension, a new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins shows.

5 Dec 2005