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Cancer Research UK and AstraZeneca open new Functional Genomics Centre

Cancer Research UK and AstraZeneca have announced today (Monday) that they are opening a new center in the UK, dedicated to realizing the full potential of functional genomics in the discovery and development of new drugs for patients with cancer.

10 Dec 2018

Researchers report novel findings on plant hormone

Jasmonic acid is not just the aromatic odor of the plant Jasminum grandiflorum used in cosmetics and perfume industries. Plants wounded by e.g. chewing herbivores produce jasmonic acid as a defense signal, as a phytohormone to mount their defense responses - this includes for example the formation of toxic substances.

10 Dec 2018

Researchers use new technique to probe hydrogen bonds

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have used nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy to probe the hydrogen bonds that modulate the chemical reactivity of enzymes, catalysts and biomimetic complexes.

10 Dec 2018

Researchers discover a 'blind spot' in atomic force microscopy

Researchers have discovered a 'blind spot' in atomic force microscopy - a powerful tool capable of measuring the force between two atoms, imaging the structure of individual cells and the motion of biomolecules.

10 Dec 2018

Insights into protein-protein interactions and methods for designing small molecule inhibitors

Proteins are polymers of amino acids that are linked by peptide bonds and they are one of the major classes of bio-molecules existing in a living organism. Proteins are involved in various cellular functions and events like cell signaling, cell adhesion, metabolic reactions, in the generation of immune response and many more.

10 Dec 2018

Study evaluates placental mesenchymal stem cell sheets for myocardial repair and regeneration

The placenta offers an abundant source of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (pMSCs), which a new study has shown can readily form cell sheets that could be implanted in children with congenital heart defects and offer benefits for heart repair and regeneration compared to commonly used synthetic material-based scaffolds. Congenital heart disease is the leading cause of birth-defect-related illness and death.

9 Dec 2018

Lund University researchers succeed in obtaining dendritic cells by direct reprogramming

For the first time, a research team at Lund University in Sweden has successfully reprogrammed mouse and human skin cells into immune cells called dendritic cells.

9 Dec 2018

Study reveals possible link between hysterectomy and brain function

A new preclinical study has shown that in the short term, some types of memory are affected following a hysterectomy.

7 Dec 2018

CZI announces funding for open-source software efforts to improve image analysis in biomedicine

Today, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announced funding for open-source software efforts to improve image analysis and visualization in biomedicine. Microscopy -- critical to modern cell biology -- generates large volumes of complex data that pose significant challenges for analysis and visualization.

7 Dec 2018

Study sheds new light on microtubule binding proteins and microtubule dynamics

When bacteria or viruses enter the body, proteins on their surfaces are recognized and processed to activate T cells, white blood cells with critical roles in fighting infections.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers develop new molecular tool to decode sugar-protein attachments

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have developed a new molecular tool they call EXoO, which decodes where on proteins specific sugars are attached--a possible modification due to disease.

6 Dec 2018

INTEGRA's VIAFLO 96 helps improve reproducibility of high content screening

The VIAFLO 96 electronic multi-channel pipetting system is helping HCS Pharma to improve the reproducibility of high content screening.

From INTEGRA Biosciences 6 Dec 2018

New way to trace the transmission histories of rare genetic diseases

There are only 25 people in the whole of Quebec at the moment who have a rare recessive genetic disease called chronic atrial and intestinal dysrhythmia. Now, scientists have begun tracing the origins of these diseases.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers identify new type of T cell that could play role in cancer, other diseases

Researchers from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the La Jolla Institute for Immunology have identified a new type of T cell called a phospholipid-reactive T cell that is able to recognize phospholipids, the molecules that help form cells' outer membranes.

6 Dec 2018

Elevated hormone flags liver disease in mice with serious genomic disorder

Researchers have discovered that a hormone, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), is extremely elevated in mice with liver disease that mimics the same condition in patients with methylmalonic acidemia (MMA), a serious genomic disorder.

6 Dec 2018

Subset of immune B cells delays onset of type 1 diabetes in animal model

Researchers have conducted a study showing that a specific subset of immune B cells delays the onset of type 1 diabetes in mice.

6 Dec 2018

Jawless fish study provides a new story for inner ear evolution

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics (BDR) and collaborators have described for the first time the development of the hagfish inner ear. Published in the journal Nature, the study provides a new story for inner ear evolution that began with the last common ancestor of modern vertebrates.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers achieve breakthrough in blood vessel engineering

When someone has a deadly disease or sustains a life-threatening injury, a transplant or graft of new tissue may be the best -- or only -- treatment option.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers create new light-activated tools for controlling neurons

By enabling super-fast remote control of specific cells, light-activated proteins allow researchers to study the function of individual neurons within a large network - even an entire brain. Now one of the pioneers of 'optogenetics' and colleagues have created two new tools - protein pores which when illuminated allow Ca2+ into cells or K+ out - for switching neurons on or off using light.

6 Dec 2018

Scientists identify new drug target for potential blood pressure treatment

Scientists have identified a key player in blood pressure regulation and have shown that switching it off reduces blood pressure in mice, according to new research in eLife.

6 Dec 2018