Biochemistry

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Researchers uncover possibility of acoustic side-channel attack on DNA synthesis process

During the DNA synthesis process in a laboratory, recordings can be made of the subtle, telltale noises made by synthesis machines. And those captured sounds can be used to reverse-engineer valuable, custom-designed genetic materials used in pharmaceuticals, agriculture and other bioengineering fields.

25 Feb 2019

Researchers engineer 'antibody-like' T cell receptors to combat deadly virus

Researchers have engineered "antibody-like" T cell receptors that can specifically stick to cells infected with cytomegalovirus, or CMV, a virus that causes lifelong infection in more than half of all adults by age 40.

23 Feb 2019

Study finds out similarity in function between healthy retina cell and tumor cell

How is a healthy retina cell like a tumor cell? It hijacks an energy-producing chemical reaction to churn out molecular building blocks. When tumor cells do it, they use the building blocks to make cancer grow and spread. But when retina cells do it, they renew photoreceptor membranes that keep our vision sharp.

22 Feb 2019

Newly designed molecule could benefit people with Friedrich's Ataxia

Skin cells taken from patients with a rare genetic disorder are up to ten times more sensitive to damage from ultraviolet A radiation in laboratory tests, than those from a healthy population, according to new research from the University of Bath.

21 Feb 2019

Study doesn’t find enough evidence related to effects of noncaloric sweeteners on gut microbiota

The study, carried out by the UGR professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ángel Gil and his research team, has been published in the scientific journal 'Advances in Nutrition'

21 Feb 2019

Dietary fiber helps to aggregate gut particles, study shows

Food, microbes, and medicine all clump together as they move through our gut. Sticky molecules secreted into our intestines bind the gut particles in the same way that flour holds a ball of dough together.

21 Feb 2019

Novel ratiometric fluorescent probe for studying cellular activity of anticancer drug

NUS chemists have developed a novel ratiometric fluorescent probe for studying cellular activity of the clinically important anticancer drug cisplatin for next generation drug development.

21 Feb 2019

Discovery of potent compound in native California shrub may lead to treatment for Alzheimer's

The medicinal powers of aspirin, digitalis, and the anti-malarial artemisinin all come from plants. A Salk Institute discovery of a potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory chemical in a native California shrub may lead to a treatment for Alzheimer's disease based on a compound found in nature.

21 Feb 2019

Material used to filter beer and wine could transfer heavy metals to it

A frosty mug of beer or ruby-red glass of wine just wouldn't be the same if the liquid was murky or gritty. That's why producers of alcoholic beverages usually filter them.

20 Feb 2019

Promising drug developed to rejuvenate muscle cells

Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed a promising drug that has proven to significantly increase muscle size, strength and metabolic state in aged mice, according to a study just published in Biochemical Pharmacology.

15 Feb 2019

MUSC researchers discover new mechanism for a class of anti-cancer drugs

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina reveal a novel binding site for a class of anti-cancer drugs known as E1 inhibitors. This finding could lead to the design of more efficient E1 inhibitors.

15 Feb 2019

HDL proteome behaves like a tiny Velcro ball that is rolling on surfaces

Cholesterol carried in high-density lipoprotein particles, or HDL cholesterol, has been dubbed the good cholesterol, because people whose HDL levels are high have a lower risk of developing heart disease. That link was first established in 1977 and has been confirmed over and over in epidemiological studies.

15 Feb 2019

Platinum nanoparticles show selective toxicity against liver cancer cells

In recent years, the number of targeted cancer drugs has continued to rise. However, conventional chemotherapeutic agents still play an important role in cancer treatment.

15 Feb 2019

Cell membrane complexes may be new target for drugs to kill cancer cells

Old molecules and new complexes: researchers at Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina have discovered cell membrane complexes called ceramidosomes that may be a new target for drugs to kill cancer cells.

13 Feb 2019

Marine snail venom reveals clues to developing faster-acting insulin for diabetic patients

Although moderately mobile, marine cone snails have perfected several strategies to capture prey. Some fish-hunting species release venom into the surrounding water.

12 Feb 2019

Lactate activates multiple genes that modulate neuronal activity

A genome-wide study led by Dean Pierre Magistretti sheds light on the mechanisms through which lactate regulates long-term memory formation and neuroprotection.

12 Feb 2019

Frequency of heteroresistance has been greatly underestimated, study finds

When antibiotics are used to treat bacteria susceptible to them, the treatment usually works. Nevertheless, the antibiotic chosen is sometimes ineffective. One of the reasons for this is heteroresistance, a phenomenon explored in depth by Uppsala and Emory University researchers in a new study.

12 Feb 2019

Research sheds light on how motor enzyme can promote genome integrity

Approximately one per cent of each organism's genome encodes helicases. Helicases are mostly known as motor enzymes that can unwrap double-stranded DNA by use of energy.

11 Feb 2019

When genomic sequencing fails to diagnose a rare disease

Routine sequencing has given unprecedented insight into the genetics of rare diseases, but genomics fails to diagnose up to half of patients who are tested. That's the problem German scientists tackled in a recent study in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.

11 Feb 2019

Bariatric surgery changes the way our body senses food

How bariatric surgery helps people with obesity and diabetes is related to changes in the way the gut senses food and nutrients after the operation, researchers report February 5 in the journal Cell Reports.

8 Feb 2019