A University of California, Irvine pharmacology researcher has helped create a class of inhibitory compounds that can strongly enhance the effect of anti-tumor drugs for melanoma.
With the support of a $2.8 million NIH grant, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute will explore mutations in the nuclear lamina—the outer edge of the cell nucleus— which have been linked to many diseases, from muscular dystrophies and heart disorders to type 2 diabetes and premature aging.
Novel methods for gene expression network analysis and gene cluster comparison now available to biomedical community
Linda Chelico and her team are learning more about how an ancient “error correction” system in the human genome helps protect the body against HIV.
Menkes disease arises from dysfunction in ATP7A, a protein that transports copper to cells, leading to brain development complications. Introducing working versions of ATP7A in the brain is considered the most direct therapeutic approach. However, a new study suggests that functioning ATP7A located elsewhere in the body, not necessarily the entire brain, can help treat the disorder.
An international team of scientists, headed by researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, report that decreases in a specific group of proteins trigger changes in the cancer microenvironment that accelerate growth and development of therapy-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs). The findings are published in the November 30 online issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a method to efficiently turn human stem cells into retinal ganglion cells, the type of nerve cells located within the retina that transmit visual signals from the eye to the brain.
Many human gene variants have evolved specifically to protect older adults against neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, thus preserving their contributions to society, report University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers in the November 30 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found evidence that a mutant protein responsible for most cases of cystic fibrosis is so busy “talking” to the wrong cellular neighbors that it cannot function normally and is prematurely degraded.
Scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) show for the first time a direct link between neural activity across an animal‘s entire brain and behavior.
A particular location in DNA, called the Dlk1-Gtl2 locus, plays a critical role in protecting hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells—a discovery revealing a critical role of metabolic control in adult stem cells, and providing insight for potentially diagnosing and treating cancer, according to researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
Before the fluid of the middle ear drains and sound waves penetrate for the first time, the inner ear cells of newborn rodents practice for their big debut. Researchers have figured out the molecular chain of events that enables the cells to make “sounds” on their own, essentially “practicing” their ability to process sounds in the world around them.
Fruit fly windpipes are much more like human blood vessels than the entryway to human lungs. To create that intricate network, fly embryonic cells must sprout “fingers” and crawl into place. Now researchers have discovered that a protein called Mipp1 is key to cells’ ability to grow these fingers.
The Weizmann Institute of Science’s Prof. Michael Eisenbach previously revealed that sperm use multiple navigation systems, such as heat-seeking and chemical. Now he has found that opsins – proteins involved in the visual system – contribute to the heat-seeking movement, helping sperm sense warmth.
Researchers have identified 10 genes whose inhibition appears to protect kidney cells. The findings point the way to strategies for preventing acute kidney injury and may also help to evade drug resistance in cancer therapy.
Biologists at Tufts University have succeeded in inducing one species of flatworm to grow heads and brains characteristic of another species of flatworm without altering genomic sequence. The work reveals physiological circuits as a new kind of epigenetics – information existing outside of genomic sequence – that determines large-scale anatomy.
Maintaining the shape of the cell, creating proper internal structure, guiding organelles and pulling chromosomes apart during mitosis are some of the important functions of the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton is composed of three main structural components: actin filaments, microtubules and intermediate filaments. In a series of thematic minireviews, the Journal of Biological Chemistry highlights what we know so far about the cytoskeleton.
Champion of regeneration, Hydra is capable of reforming a complete individual from any fragment of its body. It is even able to remain alive when all its neurons have disappeared. Researcher of the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have discovered how: cells of the epithelial type modify their genetic program by overexpressing a series of genes, among which some are involved in diverse nervous functions. The results are published in Philosophical Transactions.
• After researchers transplanted kidney tissue generated from human induced pluripotent stem cells into a mouse kidney, the animal’s blood vessels readily connected to the human tissue.
Most cases of small cell lung cancer are only diagnosed after the tumour has already formed metastases. Until now it has not been possible to investigate the reasons for this rapid metastasis, because of a lack of sufficient tumour material from patients. Now, the group of researchers led by Gerhard Hamilton, University Department of Surgery at Medical University of Vienna has succeeded in creating infinitely reproducing tissue cultures. The findings have been published in the leading journal "OncoImmunology".
University of Washington scientists have sequenced the complete genetic makeup of a species of ecologically important algae, which may aid in biofuel production.
Whitehead Institute researchers have determined the organization of a protein complex that is critical during chromosome segregation. Without the foundation it supplies, the link between chromosome and kinetochore would fail, as would chromosome segregation and cell division.
In a recently published paper, Indiana University biologists have calculated the lifetime energy requirements of multiple types of cells, as well as the energy required to replicate and express the genes within these cells.
A Duquesne University biology major received an Undergraduate Research Fellowship award from the American Society for Microbiology, the oldest and largest single life science membership organization in the world.
Indiana University researchers have discovered a hormonal mechanism in hamsters that connects short winter days with increased aggression in females, and it differs from the mechanism that controls the same response in males.
Researchers at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center have shown that the microRNA, miR-124, reduced tumor growth and increased cell death in castration-resistant prostate cancer. This small RNA fragment hit multiple targets, reducing androgen receptor signaling and reviving the potency of enzalutamide, a treatment for advanced prostate cancer. In addition, miR-124 impeded EZH2 and Src, proteins that contribute to treatment resistance. The research was published online Monday in Cancer Research.
Codiak BioSciences, Inc. announced today the closing of the first portion of a planned $80-plus million Series A and B financing. The company also executed license and sponsored research agreements with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Researchers have identified a mechanism that allows cancer cells to respond and grow rapidly when levels of sugar in the blood rise. This may help to explain why people who develop conditions in which they have chronically high sugar levels in their blood, such as obesity, also have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer.
Using large-scale computer modeling, researchers have shown the effects of confinement on macromolecules inside cells – and taken the first steps toward simulating a living cell, a capability that could allow them to ask “what-if” questions impossible to ask in real organisms.
Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Ludwig Cancer Research and Isis Pharmaceuticals demonstrate a commercially feasible way to use RNA to turn the CRISPR-Cas9 system on and off as desired — permanently editing a gene, but only temporarily activating CRISPR-Cas9. The study is published November 16 by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Taking genetic engineering to the next level, Colorado State University researchers are creating modular, programmable genetic circuits that control specific plant functions.
Scientists have identified two chemical scents in the urine of female mice that arouse sexual behavior in males, a discovery that shines a spotlight on how mouse pheromones control behavior. The research, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is available online in the journal Cell.
University of Oregon scientists have found that strength in numbers doesn't hold true for microbes in the intestines. A minority population of the right type might hold the key to regulating good health.
New research from Argonne, Scripps Research Institute and Rice University now allows researchers to manipulate nature’s biosynthetic machinery to produce more effective antibiotics and cancer-fighting drugs.
Since the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the enzyme telomerase in 1984, identifying other biological molecules that lengthen or shorten the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes has been slow going. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins report uncovering the role of an enzyme crucial to telomere length and say the new method they used to find it should speed discovery of other proteins and processes that determine telomere length.
Johns Hopkins researchers report that a new study of mouse cells has revealed reasons why attempts to grow stem cells to maturity in the laboratory often fail, and provided a possible way to overcome such “developmental arrest.”
Deep within your DNA, a tiny parasite lurks, waiting to pounce from its perch and land in the middle of an unsuspecting healthy gene. If it succeeds, it can make you sick. Like a jungle cat, this parasite sports a long tail. But until now little was known about the role that tail plays in this dangerous jumping.
Researchers exploring the complex structure in which our DNA is stored inside our body’s cells have demonstrated that this structure depends crucially on a protein called ‘Hira’.
New research from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry is shedding important light on the DNA repair process and a protein newly discovered to have an essential role in preventing errors and mutations from occurring.
Two University of Notre Dame anthropologists looked beyond the nuclear family for effects on testosterone levels in men and found that not only spouses, but also other relatives, good friends, colleagues, neighbors and fellow church members can play a role.
On Nov. 10 in the journal Science Signaling, University at Buffalo researchers will report that the mutant worms they were studying had altered dopamine signaling because the animals were missing the gene for an enzyme that facilitates an important cellular process.
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) have successfully used dead bacteria to kill colorectal cancer cells.
Georgia Institute of Technology researchers combed through more than two dozen studies and did surface measurements for 27 mammals and insects to better understand how animals are able to clean themselves. The findings could have implications for keeping manmade structures – such as sensors, robots and unmanned aerial vehicles – free from pollutants, pollen and dirt.
Using a high-tech imaging method, a team of biomedical engineers at the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis was able to see early-developing cancer cells deeper in tissue than ever before with the help of a novel protein from a bacterium.
Scientists at the University of North Carolina and UC-San Francisco created a general tool to probe the activity of orphan receptors, illuminating their roles in behavior and making them accessible for drug discovery for the first time.
The team found that the main calcium influx pathway involved in the mineralization of enamel [called the CRAC (Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+) channel -- the main type of SOCE (Store-operated Ca2+ entry) channel -- is critical for controlling calcium uptake, which is necessary for the development of tooth enamel.
Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and other institutions today announced the launch of the Human Dark Proteome Initiative (HDPI). The initiative aims to accelerate research into biology’s “invisible mass” to provide novel insights into cell function and a new frontier in drug discovery.
Scientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have discovered that movement of protein within hair cells of the inner ear shows signs of renewal mechanism. The investigator’s findings will be the cover paper in the Nov. 17 edition of Cell Reports and are now available online
When peripheral nerves are damaged and their vital synaptic paths are disrupted, they have the ability to regenerate and reestablish lost connections. Using zebrafish, which are transparent at larval stages, the researchers identified key components that allows the nervous system to heal itself and literally obtain a whole new window into how axons regenerate.
Berkeley Lab scientists have uncovered new clues to how a molecular machine inside the cell acts as a gatekeeper, allowing some molecules to enter and exit the nucleus while keeping other molecules out.
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