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Salk researchers solve genetic 'whodunnit' for cancer gene

Long thought to suppress cancer by slowing cellular metabolism, the protein complex AMPK also seemed to help some tumors grow, confounding researchers. Now, Salk Institute researchers have solved the long-standing mystery around why AMPK can both hinder and help cancer.

8 Nov 2018

Scientists move closer to gonorrhea vaccine after large-scale proteomic study

In a study of proteins historic in its scope, researchers at Oregon State University have pushed closer both to a vaccine for gonorrhea and toward understanding why the bacteria that cause the disease are so good at fending off antimicrobial drugs.

8 Nov 2018

Study explains how dermal fibroblasts age

With age, our tissues lose their function and capacity to regenerate after being damaged. A study published today in Cell by scientists at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine and the Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico of the Center for Genomic Regulation explains how dermal fibroblasts age.

8 Nov 2018

Changing Perspectives of the Triggers of Cell Division

Cell division is integral to understanding development, growth and disease states such as cancer. It has long been known that for replication, a complete new set of DNA and the formation of a septum, dividing the two cells, are necessary. New research changes perspectives of how these two processes influence the timing of cell division.

8 Nov 2018

Scientists grow 3D, beating human heart tissue

Researchers at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf have found a way to grow human heart tissue that can serve as a model for the atria of the heart.

8 Nov 2018

Small molecules designed to inhibit activity of enzymes in infectious diseases

A multidisciplinary study by the Computer Biochemistry Research Group of the Universitat Jaume I from Castellón, Spain, in collaboration with groups from universities from Canada and the United Kingdom, have designed small molecules that are able to bond with and inhibit the activity of enzymes in infectious diseases.

8 Nov 2018

One type of Chlamydia protein manipulates human cells in two different ways

When Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacterium that causes one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide, infects a human cell, it hijacks parts of the host to build protective layers around itself.

8 Nov 2018

Researchers develop technique to disrupt communication between microorganisms

The World Health Organization considers Pseudomonas aeruginosa a germ requiring urgent action to prevent and control its spread. The bacteria can cause a variety of diseases from chronic lung infections to sepsis.

8 Nov 2018

CWRH/UH researcher receives grant to study role of KLF2 factor in vascular-related disorders

Transcription factors are proteins that determine whether specific genes are transcribed or not by binding to DNA. In other words, they help turn genes "on" or "off."

8 Nov 2018

New research to understand fundamental role of ubiquitin in cell death or survival

An effective regulation of programmed cell death is crucial for the correct development of embryos, a working innate immune system, and the prevention of cancer. How cells control the switch between cell survival and death, and which signaling pathways are involved, remain unclear.

8 Nov 2018

New nano-immunotherapy promotes long-term acceptance of transplanted organs

Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine have developed a new nanotechnology-based immunotherapy that promotes long-term transplant acceptance in an animal model.

7 Nov 2018

Mutant p53 protein 'tackles' DNA guardian to drive tumor development

Melbourne scientists have discovered how tumor development is driven by mutations in the most important gene in preventing cancer, p53.

7 Nov 2018

Tracking down microRNA candidates linked to disease

What started as Ninad Oak's side project turned out into something much larger, his doctorate thesis. "The project started as my qualifying exam that I proposed at the end of my first year of graduate school," said Oak, a graduate student in molecular and human genetics in Dr. Sharon E. Plon's lab. "This was an off topic qualifying exam at the time, meaning the lab had not worked on this topic before."

7 Nov 2018