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Gene required for nerve regeneration identified A gene that is associated with regeneration of injured nerve cells has been identified by scientists at Penn State University and Duke University. The team, led by Melissa Rolls, an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, has found that a mutation in a single gene can entirely shut down the process by which axons -- the parts of the nerve cell that are responsible
Neuroscience Source: Penn State
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Friday, Nov 02, 2012, 11:45am Rating: | Views: 2131 | Comments: 0
Structure discovered for promising tuberculosis drug target Researchers at Johns Hopkins have figured out the three-dimensional shape of the protein responsible for creating unique bonds within the cell wall of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. The bonds make the bacteria resistant to currently available drug therapies, contributing to the alarming rise of these super-bacteria throughout the world.
Biochemistry Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
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Friday, Oct 26, 2012, 1:15pm Rating: | Views: 1363 | Comments: 0
Cholera discovery could improve antibiotic delivery Three Simon Fraser University scientists are among six researchers who've made a discovery that could help improve antibiotic treatment of deadly bacteria.
Lisa Craig, Christopher Ford and Subramaniapillai Kolappan, SFU researchers in molecular biology and biochemistry, have explained how Vibrio cholerae became a deadly pathogen thousands of years ago.
Agriculture Source: Simon Fraser University
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Monday, Oct 22, 2012, 10:30am Rating: | Views: 1251 | Comments: 0
Biochemistry Source: Rutgers University
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Friday, Oct 19, 2012, 2:00pm Rating: | Views: 1542 | Comments: 0
Caltech modeling feat sheds light on protein channel's function Chemists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have managed, for the first time, to simulate the biological function of a channel called the Sec translocon, which allows specific proteins to pass through membranes. The feat required bridging timescales from the realm of nanoseconds all the way up to full minutes, exceeding the scope of earlier simulation efforts by m
Biochemistry Source: California Institute of Technology
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Friday, Oct 19, 2012, 12:15pm Rating: | Views: 1153 | Comments: 0
Rethinking toxic proteins on the cellular level Histones are proteins needed to assemble DNA molecules into chromosomes. They have long represented a classic balancing act in biology; too few histone molecules result in DNA damage, while too many histones are toxic to the cell. New research at the University of Rochester is causing a fundamental shift in the concept of histone balance and the mechanism behind it.
Biochemistry Source: University of Rochester
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Friday, Oct 19, 2012, 11:00am Rating: | Views: 1275 | Comments: 0
Physics explains how sickling cells make people sick Researchers at Drexel University have identified the physical forces in red blood cells and blood vessels underlying the painful symptoms of sickle cell disease. Their experiment, the first to answer a scientific question about sickle cell disease using microfluidics engineering methods, may help future researchers better determine who is at greatest risk of harm from the disease. They report thei
Biochemistry Source: Drexel University
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Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012, 1:00pm Rating: | Views: 1187 | Comments: 0
Cell growth protein Ras forms a 'pair' on the cell membrane Bochum biophysicists in collaboration with the MPI Dortmund have for the first time measured the orientation of the Ras protein bound to the cell membrane. The RUB team combined the use of three biophysical methods - infrared spectroscopy, computer simulations and fluorescence measurements - and came to the surprising conclusion that two Ras molecules form a pair to take an upright position on the
Biochemistry Source: Ruhr-University Bochum
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Monday, Oct 15, 2012, 1:00pm Rating: | Views: 1667 | Comments: 0
IspH -- a protein free to choose its partners The iron-sulfur protein IspH plays a central role in the terpene metabolism of several pathogens. The mechanism of the reaction provides an approach for developing new antibiotics, particularly against malaria and tuberculosis. While researching this enzyme, biochemists at the Technische Universitat Munchen discovered a previously unknown reaction: IspH accepts two completely different classes of
Biochemistry Source: Technische Universitaet Muenchen
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Wednesday, Oct 10, 2012, 12:15pm Rating: | Views: 1340 | Comments: 0
A molecular scissor related to Alzheimer's disease An international research team led by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and researchers from Kiel University revealed the atomic‐level structure of the human peptidase enzyme meprin β (beta). The study was published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Biochemistry Source: Spanish National Research Council
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Friday, Oct 05, 2012, 1:00pm Rating: | Views: 2328 | Comments: 0
Clot-busting enzymes are working 2 jobs The body's blood clot-busting enzymes are much busier than previously imagined, with new research showing that they also dispose of every cell that dies prematurely from disease or trauma.
Biochemistry Source: Monash University
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Friday, Oct 05, 2012, 12:00pm Rating: | Views: 1288 | Comments: 0
Researchers uncover biochemical events needed to maintain erection For two decades, scientists have known the biochemical factors that trigger penile erection, but not what's needed to maintain one. Now an article by Johns Hopkins researchers, scheduled to be published this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), uncovers the biochemical chain of events involved in that process. The information, they say, may lead to new
Biochemistry Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
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Thursday, Sep 27, 2012, 8:45am Rating: | Views: 2187 | Comments: 0
Lab encodes collagen The human body is proficient at making collagen. And human laboratories are getting better at it all the time.
Biochemistry Source: Rice University
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Wednesday, Sep 26, 2012, 1:00pm Rating: | Views: 1557 | Comments: 0
New findings on protein misfolding Misfolded proteins can cause various neurodegenerative diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) or Huntington's disease, which are characterized by a progressive loss of neurons in the brain. Researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, together with their colleagues of the Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France, have now identified 21 proteins
Biochemistry Source: Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
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Wednesday, Sep 19, 2012, 8:15am Rating: | Views: 1185 | Comments: 0
Scientists create first 3-D model of a protein critical to embryo development The first detailed and complete picture of a protein complex that is tied to human birth defects as well as the progression of many forms of cancer has been obtained by an international team of researchers led by scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Knowing the architecture of this protein, PRC2, for Polycomb Repressive Complex
Biochemistry Source: DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
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Monday, Sep 17, 2012, 1:15pm Rating: | Views: 1360 | Comments: 0
Chemists develop reversible method of tagging proteins Chemists at UC San Diego have developed a method that for the first time provides scientists the ability to attach chemical probes onto proteins and subsequently remove them in a repeatable cycle.
Biochemistry Source: University of California - San Diego
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Monday, Sep 17, 2012, 12:00pm Rating: | Views: 1287 | Comments: 0
X-rays reveal the self-defence mechanisms of bacteria Many pathogenic bacteria are able to go into a dormant state by producing persister cells that are not susceptible to conventional antibiotics. This causes serious problems in the treatment of life-threatening diseases such as tuberculosis, where the presence of persister cells often leads to a resurgence of infection following medical treatment.
Biochemistry Source: Aarhus University
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Monday, Sep 17, 2012, 8:15am Rating: | Views: 1554 | Comments: 0
Charting the SH2 pool New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Cell Communication and Signaling describes a large set of interactions (interactome) which maps the range of phosphotyrosine (pTyr)-dependent interactions with SH2 domains underlying insulin (Ins), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathways.
Biochemistry Source: BioMed Central
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Saturday, Sep 15, 2012, 8:00am Rating: | Views: 1258 | Comments: 0
Birth-defect mechanism found by biochemists The cellular cause of birth defects like cleft palates, missing teeth and problems with fingers and toes has been a tricky puzzle for scientists.
Biochemistry Source: Brigham Young University
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Thursday, Sep 13, 2012, 8:15am Rating: | Views: 1164 | Comments: 0
Chain reaction in the human immune system trapped in crystals The complement system is part of the innate immune system and is composed of about 40 different proteins that work together to defend the body against disease-causing microorganisms. The complement system perceives danger signals in the body by recognising characteristic molecular patterns presented by pathogenic microorganisms or some of our own sick or dying cells that must be eliminated.
Biochemistry Source: Aarhus University
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Wednesday, Sep 12, 2012, 8:15am Rating: | Views: 1286 | Comments: 0
Binding sites for LIN28 protein found in thousands of human genes A study led by researchers at the UC San Diego Stem Cell Research program and funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) looks at an important RNA binding protein called LIN28, which is implicated in pluripotency and reprogramming as well as in cancer and other diseases. According to the researchers, their study – published in the September 6 online issue of Molecular
Biochemistry Source: University of California - San Diego
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Wednesday, Sep 05, 2012, 10:30am Rating: | Views: 1195 | Comments: 0
Science study shows 'promiscuous' enzymes still prevalent in metabolism Open an undergraduate biochemistry textbook and you will learn that enzymes are highly efficient and specific in catalyzing chemical reactions in living organisms, and that they evolved to this state from their “sloppy” and “promiscuous” ancestors to allow cells to grow more efficiently.
Biochemistry Source: University of California - San Diego
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Friday, Aug 31, 2012, 2:45pm Rating: | Views: 1456 | Comments: 0
Researchers discover how cancer cells 'hijack' a mechanism to grow Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida have discovered a mechanism that explains how some cancer cells "hijack" a biological process to potentially activate cell growth and the survival of cancer gene expression.
Biochemistry Source: H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
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Wednesday, Aug 15, 2012, 8:15am Rating: | Views: 1289 | Comments: 0
New substances 15,000 times more effective in destroying chemical warfare agents In an advance that could be used in masks to protect against nerve gas, scientists are reporting development of proteins that are up to 15,000 times more effective than their natural counterpart in destroying chemical warfare agents. Their report appears in ACS' journal Biochemistry.
Biochemistry Source: American Chemical Society
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Friday, Aug 10, 2012, 10:30am Rating: | Views: 1177 | Comments: 0
Catching the cap-snatcher Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, have determined the detailed 3-dimensional structure of part of the flu virus' RNA polymerase, an enzyme that is crucial for influenza virus replication. This important finding is published today in PLoS Pathogens. The research was done on the 2009 pandemic influenza strain but it will help scientists to de
Biochemistry Source: European Molecular Biology Laboratory
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Friday, Aug 03, 2012, 2:45pm Rating: | Views: 1295 | Comments: 0
Is it a rock, or is it Jell-O? Defining the architecture of rhomboid enzymes Johns Hopkins scientists have decoded for the first time the "stability blueprint" of an enzyme that resides in a cell's membrane, mapping which parts of the enzyme are important for its shape and function. These studies, published in advance online on June 14 in Structure and on July 15 in Nature Chemical Biology, could eventually lead to the development of drugs to treat malaria an
Biochemistry Source: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
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Friday, Aug 03, 2012, 8:30am Rating: | Views: 1269 | Comments: 0
The modeling of new enzymes helps develop therapies for cocaine abuse Researchers from the University of Kentucky have designed and discovered a series of highly efficient enzymes that effectively metabolize cocaine. These high-activity cocaine-metabolizing enzymes could potentially prevent cocaine from producing physiological effects, and could aid in the treatment of drug dependency. The results of this study by Chang-Guo Zhan et al are published in the journal
Biochemistry Source: Public Library of Science
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Friday, Jul 27, 2012, 2:30pm Rating: | Views: 1461 | Comments: 0
Viruses' copying mechanism demystified, opening the door to new vaccine strategies Certain kinds of viruses such as those that cause the common cold, SARS, hepatitis, and encephalitis, copy themselves using a unique mechanism, according to a team of Penn State University scientists that includes David Boehr, an assistant professor of chemistry and a co-leader of the research team. The discovery sheds light on a previously identified, but never-before-understood region of an enzy
Biochemistry Source: Penn State
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Friday, Jul 20, 2012, 12:15pm Rating: | Views: 1198 | Comments: 0
Biochemistry Source: Ohio State University
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Friday, Jul 20, 2012, 11:15am Rating: | Views: 1338 | Comments: 0
Crystals, Information And The Origin of Life The combination of information theory and crystallography should lead to a better understanding of DNA molecules, cells and perhaps even complex living things like humans