Yeast Holds Clues To Parkinson's Disease
Yeast could be a powerful ally in the discovery of new therapeutic drugs to treat Parkinson's disease says a scientist presenting his work at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham today...
Smoking Damages Men's Sperm And Also The Numbers Of Germ And Somatic Cells In Developing Embryos
Two new studies have shed more light on how smoking may damage fertility, and give further weight to advice that mothers and fathers-to-be should stop smoking before attempting to conceive. The research is published online in the reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction (Wednesday 8 September)...
Researchers Uncover Activation Signal For Aurora-A Oncogene
Aurora-A kinase (AurA) is an enzyme that is hyperactive in many cancers and drives tumor cell proliferation. Several AurA inhibitors are currently being tested in clinical trials to see if they slow tumor growth. Now, researchers in the Developmental Therapeutics Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified an activation signal for AurA...
Sequencing The Turkey Genome
An international consortium of researchers has completed the majority of the genome sequence of the domesticated turkey, publishing it in the online open-access journal PLoS Biology next week. In 2008, the research consortium set out to map the genetic blueprint for the domesticated turkey, the fourth-most popular source of meat in the United States...
What Can A New Zealand Reptile Tell Us About False Teeth?
Using a moving 3D computer model based on the skull and teeth of a New Zealand reptile called tuatara, a BBSRC-funded team from the University of Hull, University College London and the Hull York Medical School has revealed how damage to dental implants and jaw joints may be prevented by sophisticated interplay between our jaws, muscles and brain...
The Capacity Of 4-HPR To Induce Death Of Tumour Cells, Applying It To Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Retinoic acid (RA), a natural derivative of vitamin A, is the basis of a number of treatments against cancer. Nevertheless, it has certain disadvantages, such as the possibility of the appearance of retinoic acid syndrome, present in 25% of cases and which can lead to death...
Indresh Srivastava, Ph.D., To Give A Featured Presentation At The 5th Biological Therapeutics Conference Oct 20-22, San Francisco, CA
Indresh Srivastava, Ph.D., Head of Protein Biology, Novartis, will give a featured presentation at the 5th Biological Therapeutics Research and Development Conference to be held in San Francisco, CA on Oct. 20-22, 2010 by GTCbio as part of the 6th Annual Modern Drug Discovery and Development Summit...
The Role Of CEP290 In Maintaining Ciliary Function Defined By Researchers
A new study in the September 6 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology helps define the role of an important ciliary protein, CEP290. The results could be applied toward targeted gene therapy in cilia-related diseases. Mutations in human CEP290 cause cilia-related disorders that range in severity from isolated blindness to perinatal death...
Blocking HMGB1 May Benefit Cancer Patients
Like some people, cells eat when they are under pressure - but they consume parts of themselves. A multi-function protein helps control this form of cannibalism, according to a study in the September 6 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. Cells often respond to hunger or stress by digesting some of their contents...
Interrupting Death Messages To Treat Bone Disease
A surface molecule on bacteria that instructs bone cells to die could be the target for new treatments for bone disease, says a scientist speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting...
Insect Brains Are Rich Stores Of New Antibiotics
Cockroaches could be more of a health benefit than a health hazard according to scientists from the University of Nottingham, who have discovered powerful antibiotic properties in the brains of cockroaches and locusts...
Stress Resilience Returns With Feeling For Rhythm
If your body releases cortisol with fixed regularity then you can cope with stress better, says NWO-funded researcher Angela Sarabdjitsingh. She investigated the rhythm of corticosterone production in rats. This rat hormone is comparable to the human stress hormone cortisol. Rats deal considerably less well with stress if the pattern of corticosterone release changes...
2011 Award Recipients Named By Biophysical Society
The Biophysical Society is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2011 Society awards. The eight recipients will receive their awards at the Society's 55th Annual Meeting on Monday, March 7, 2011 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland...
2011 Society Fellows Annnounced By Biophysical Society
The Biophysical Society is delighted to announce its 2011 Society Fellows. Fellows are chosen based on their demonstrated excellence in science, contributions to the expansion of the field of biophysics, and support of the Biophysical Society...
Backstabbing Bacteria, A New Treatment For Infection?
Selfish bacterial cells that act in their own interests and do not cooperate with their infection-causing colleagues can actually reduce the severity of infection. The selfish behaviour of these uncooperative bacteria could be exploited to treat antibiotic-resistant infections, according to research being presented at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting today...
Talented Bacteria Make Food Poisoning Unpredictable
While we are often exposed to bacteria in our food which could cause food poisoning, we don't always become ill why should this be so? Professor Colin Hill who is presenting his work at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham today describes how bacteria use different tricks to aid their survival inside the body, helping to explain why food poison...
Key To Origin Of Life Could Be Transition Metal Catalysts
One of the big, unsolved problems in explaining how life arose on Earth is a chicken-and-egg paradox: How could the basic biochemicals - such as amino acids and nucleotides - have arisen before the biological catalysts (proteins or ribozymes) existed to carry out their formation? In a paper appearing in the current issue of The Biological Bulletin, scientists propose that a ...
Owl Monkeys Need Moonlight As Much As A Biological Clock For Nocturnal Activity
An international collaboration led by a University of Pennsylvania anthropologist has shown that environmental factors, like temperature and light, play as much of a role in the activity of traditionally nocturnal monkeys as the circadian rhythm that regulates periods of sleep and wakefulness...
Imaging Reveals New Details Of Cannibalistic Bacteria
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have revealed new details about how cannibalistic bacteria identify peers suitable for consumption. The work, which employed imaging mass spectrometry, is a first step toward a broader effort to map all signaling molecules between organisms. "These are the molecules that control biology," said Pieter C...
The Art Of Dividing
A basic requirement for growth and life of a multicellular organism is the ability of its cells to divide. Chromosomes in the cells duplicate and are then distributed among the daughter cells. This distribution is organized by a protein complex made up of several hundred different proteins, called the centrosome...
All Genes In One Go
The majority of rare diseases are hereditary. But despite significant progress in genome research, in most cases their exact cause remains unclear. The discovery of the underlying genetic defect is, however, a prerequisite for their definitive diagnosis and the development of innovative approaches to their treatment...
ForteBio Announces Launch Of Protein G Biosensor For Use On Company's Octet® Instruments
ForteBio®, Inc., a leading supplier of label-free technology that accelerates the development of biotherapeutic and pharmaceutical products, announced the launch of its Dip and Read™ Protein G biosensor for rapid detection and quantification of numerous types of mammalian immunoglobulin (IgG), an antibody molecule, from solution...
Scientists Uncover Counterpart Of Cerebral Cortex In Marine Worms
Our cerebral cortex, or pallium, is a big part of what makes us human: art, literature and science would not exist had this most fascinating part of our brain not emerged in some less intelligent ancestor in prehistoric times...
NIH Awards $1.2 Million To Study Protein Misfolding Diseases
Three University of Massachusetts Amherst scientists have received a four-year, $1.2 million EUREKA grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study folding and misfolding of secretory proteins in the cell's protein factory, the endoplasmic reticulum, where misfolding can lead to diseases such as cystic fibrosis and liver cirrhosis...
Near Infrared Light May Open New Frontier In Fighting Cancer, Tay-Sachs
A "game-changing" technique using near infrared light enables scientists to look deeper into the guts of cells, potentially opening up a new frontier in the fights against cancer and many other diseases. University of Central Florida chemists, led by Professor Kevin Belfield, used near infrared light and fluorescent dye to take pictures of cells and tumors deep within tissue...
