Biochemistry

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A DNA-based nanogel for targeted delivery of therapeutics

Current chemotherapy regimens slow cancer progression and save lives, but these powerful drugs affect both healthy and cancerous cells.

18 Nov 2020

Study reveals the metabolic signaling mechanisms that regulate function of eTreg cells

Effector regulatory T cells (eTreg cells) are a specialized subset of white blood cells that keep the immune system in check.

17 Nov 2020

Scientists uncover new method to produce compounds with anti-cancer properties

In the past decades, cancer has surpassed many other diseases to become the current second leading cause of death globally, with one in six people dying from it.

17 Nov 2020

Novel protein imaging method could lead to the development of new biomaterials

Scientists have established a new method to image proteins that could lead to new discoveries in disease through biological tissue and cell analysis and the development of new biomaterials that can be used for the next generation of drug delivery systems and medical devices.

17 Nov 2020

UV light induces new types of DNA damage that may cause malignant melanoma

Studies conducted in yeast show that exposure to ultraviolet light (UV) induces new types of DNA damage that may cause the deadliest form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma.

17 Nov 2020

Several hepatitis C drugs can inhibit crucial protein in SARS-CoV-2

Experiments led by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have determined that several hepatitis C drugs can inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 main protease, a crucial protein enzyme that enables the novel coronavirus to reproduce.

17 Nov 2020

Affinity-Bead Assisted Mass Spectrometry for Proteomics

In this interview, Ghaith Hamza from AstraZeneca talks to News-Medical Life Sciences about the basic principles of Affinity-Bead Assisted Mass Spectrometry (Affi-BAMS) and how Affi-BAMS can help target specific proteins for proteomic applications.

From Bruker Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry 16 Nov 2020

Research provides insight into how Alzheimer’s plaques form

We are beginning to better understand how 'amyloid-β' protein plaques form, which are implicated in degenerative brain diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

16 Nov 2020

MIT researchers unravel the molecular structure of key coronavirus protein

MIT chemists have determined the molecular structure of a protein found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This protein, called the envelope protein E, forms a cation-selective channel and plays a key role in the virus's ability to replicate itself and stimulate the host cell's inflammation response.

12 Nov 2020

Study reveals a previously undetected repertoire of cancer driver genes

A new study, led by researchers from the University of California, Irvine, has deepened the understanding of epigenetic mechanisms in tumorigenesis and revealed a previously undetected repertoire of cancer driver genes.

12 Nov 2020

Brain's taste map operates differently than previously believed

What happens in our brain that makes us experience the sweet taste of a donut or the bitter taste of tonic water? What are the patterns of neural activity responsible for the perception of taste? A new study from Stony Brook University found that the map of neural responses mediating taste perception does not involve, as previously believed, specialized groups of neurons in the brain, but rather overlapping and spatially distributed populations.

12 Nov 2020

Return of mice to home cage evokes significant rise in dopamine release, shows study

By monitoring a well-replicated biomarker associated with reward, a study by neuroscientists from Florida Atlantic University provides evidence that the old adage, "There's no place like home," has its roots deep in the brain.

12 Nov 2020

Ultrafast laser study may lead to new, less-expensive industrial catalysts

Arizona State University's Scott Sayres and his team have recently published an ultrafast laser study on uncharged iron oxide clusters, which could ultimately lead to the development of new and less-expensive industrial catalysts.

11 Nov 2020

Compounds block stress-enhanced reacquisition of nicotine in rats

Stress is a major cause of relapse after people quit smoking. Worrying situations, such as money or relationship problems, can affect neurotransmitter levels in the brain, leading former smokers to reach for a cigarette.

11 Nov 2020

Two paralogous androgen receptor genes control social dominance

Rank in social hierarchy is a condition not solely claimed by humans. In the animal kingdom, male peacocks exhibit brightly colored plumes to illustrate dominance, and underwater, male fish show pops of bright colors to do the same.

11 Nov 2020

Scientists use bacteria to produce 3D objects made of nanocellulose

A team at Aalto University has used bacteria to produce intricately designed three-dimensional objects made of nanocellulose.

10 Nov 2020

New insights into the relationship between sweet taste of sugar and satiety regulation

To date, very little is known about how sweetness perception contributes to satiety. This study, conducted by an Austrian-German team led by chemists Veronika Somoza and Barbara Lieder, provides new insights into the relationship between the sweet taste of sugar, energy intake and the regulatory process of hunger and satiety.

10 Nov 2020

ERC Synergy project explores causes of drug tolerance in intractable fungal infections

Over the next six years, research groups at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Tel Aviv University will study how invasive fungal pathogens are able to evade treatments and develop tolerance to antifungal drugs.

10 Nov 2020

Research sheds light on how encapsulated viruses hijack protein production systems

Researchers from the Universities of Melbourne, York, Warwick and Oxford have shed light on how encapsulated viruses like hepatitis B, dengue and SARS-CoV-2 hijack the protein manufacturing and distribution pathways in the cell - they have also identified a potential broad spectrum anti-viral drug target to stop them in their tracks.

6 Nov 2020

Natural component of ayahuasca tea promotes neurogenesis

One of the main natural components of ayahuasca tea is dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which promotes neurogenesis --the formation of new neurons-- according to research led by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM).

6 Nov 2020