Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Biology / Biochemistry News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/biology-biochemistry/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156439.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156439.php Catalysts assist in chemical reactions without undergoing any alteration of their own. In the cells of living organisms, proteins perform this important function. They carry out the metabolism fundamental to all living processes. Proteins are instrumental in cellular respiration, they for instance reduce oxygen to water and oxidize food into carbon dioxide. This releases the energy that makes life possible at all. Proteins cannot perform these functions on their own. Biology / Biochemistry Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156443.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156443.php Lars Jansen's work on the formation of the centromere, a key cellular structure in powering and controlling chromosome segregation and accurate cell division, has just earned him a paper in Nature Cell Biology and a prestigious EMBO installation grant, of 50,000 euro per year, for a maximum of five years. Lars Jansen moved from California to the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), in Portugal, last year to head the Epigenetic Mechanisms group. Genetics Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156390.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156390.php Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found in humans. Neurology / Neuroscience Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156393.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156393.php A similarity in brain disturbance between insects and people suffering from migraines, stroke and epilepsy points the way toward new drug therapies to address these conditions. Queen's University biologists studying the locust have found that these human disorders are linked by a brain disturbance during which nerve cells shut down. This also occurs in locusts when they go into a coma after exposure to extreme conditions such as high temperatures or lack of oxygen. Headache / Migraine Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156395.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156395.php A new type of optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses and other particles on a chip as part of an integrated optofluidic platform. The optical trap is the latest innovation from researchers at the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who are developing new sensor technology for biomedical analysis and other applications. Medical Devices / Diagnostics Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156398.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156398.php Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered that gene mutations that once helped humans survive may increase the possibility for diseases, including cancer. The findings were recently the cover story in the journal Genome Research. Cancer / Oncology Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156250.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156250.php Charles Darwin and his contemporaries postulated that food consumption in birds and mammals was limited by resource levels, that is, animals would eat as much as they could while food was plentiful and produce as many offspring as this would allow them to. However, recent research has shown that, even when food is abundant, energy intake reaches a limit, even in animals with high nutrient demands, such as lactating females. Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156351.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156351.php Researchers from the Universities of York and Leeds have been awarded £3.3m from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to find out how a family of proteins known as colicins force their way into bacterial cells before destroying them. Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156358.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156358.php The Archaea are single-celled organisms and a domain unto themselves, quite apart from the so called eukaryotes, being bacteria and higher organisms. Many species live under extreme conditions, and carry out unique biochemical processes shared neither with bacteria nor with eukaryotes. Methanogenic archaeans, for example, can produce methane gas out of carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Genetics Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156365.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156365.php UCLA researchers have found that embryonic stem cells and skin cells reprogrammed into embryonic-like cells have inherent molecular differences, demonstrating for the first time that the two cell types are clearly distinguishable from one another. The data from the study suggest that embryonic stem cells and the reprogrammed cells, known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, have overlapping but still distinct gene expression signatures. Stem Cell Research Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156366.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156366.php Scientists at Singapore's Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) have made a novel discovery about how the gene, "Fas-apoptosis inhibitory molecule" (FAIM), protects both immune and liver cells from apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Their research is published in the current journal Cell Death and Differentiation. The scientists, Jianxin Huo, Ph.D., and Shengli Xu, Ph.D. Liver Disease / Hepatitis Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156369.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156369.php Several statistical and biological issues need to be addressed in order to improve biomarker identification for early detection of cancer, according to a commentary published online July 2 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The biomarker pipeline to develop and evaluate cancer screening tests includes the identification of promising biomarkers to detect cancers early and the initial and definitive evaluation of biomarkers for cancer screening. Cancer / Oncology Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156371.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156371.php A new study published in the July issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET) scans in mice can be used to determine whether a novel type of breast cancer treatment is working as intended. Researchers successfully used PET and a specially-developed radioactive compound to image HER2 - a protein often associated with aggressive breast cancer - in breast cancer cells before and after treatment aimed at decreasing HER2 expression. Breast Cancer Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156280.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156280.php Scientists are to study a group of proteins that are highly effective at killing bacteria and which could hold the key to developing new types of antibiotics. Researchers from the Universities of York and Leeds have been awarded £3.3m from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to find out how a family of proteins known as colicins force their way into bacterial cells before destroying them. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156234.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156234.php The salamander is a superhero of regeneration, able to replace lost limbs, damaged lungs, sliced spinal cord -- even bits of lopped-off brain. But it turns out that remarkable ability isn't so mysterious after all -- suggesting that researchers could learn how to replicate it in people. Biology / Biochemistry Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156245.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156245.php New research, conducted by Charles Wingo and his colleagues, at the University of Florida, Gainsville, suggests a link between the circadian rhythm and control of sodium (salt) levels in mice. The hormone aldosterone regulates levels of sodium in the blood and thereby helps control blood pressure. Biology / Biochemistry Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156246.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156246.php GENE THERAPY: Defining immune pathways limiting gene therapy In gene therapy, recombinant adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are commonly used vehicles for delivering the therapeutic gene into target cells. One factor limiting the clinical application of such vehicles is that the immune system often mounts a response against the AAV vehicle. Genetics Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156247.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156247.php We are all familiar with the fact that cognitive function declines as we get older. Moreover, recent studies have shown that the specific kind of daily activities we engage in during the course of our lives appears to influence the extent of this decline. A team of researchers from Technische Universität Berlin are studying how division of labour among honey bees affects their learning performance as they age. Neurology / Neuroscience Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156249.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156249.php A team of Penn State scientists has shed light on the processes that lead to certain human DNA mutations that are implicated in hundreds of inherited diseases such as tuberous sclerosis and neurofibromatosis type 1. The results one day could influence the way couples who seek to have children receive genetic counseling. Genetics Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156226.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156226.php Deleting two genes in mice responsible for repairing DNA strands damaged by oxidation leads to several types of tumors, providing additional evidence that such stress contributes to the development of cancer. That's the conclusion of a recent study* in DNA Repair by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and the New York University School of Medicine (NYUSM). Cancer / Oncology Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156231.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156231.php The joint research, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the UK MS Society as well as the National Institutes of Health and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, was conducted by scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and University of Cambridge and was published in the journal Genes and Development. Multiple Sclerosis Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156186.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156186.php Scientists at UC Santa Barbara and several other institutions have found laboratory evidence that a cluster of peptides may be the toxic agent in Alzheimer's disease. Scientists say the discovery may lead to new drugs for the disease. In an article published this week in Nature Chemistry, the researchers explain the process in which the toxic Amyloid Beta 42 peptides aggregate, and outline the new technology they use to study these peptides. Alzheimer's / Dementia Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156194.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156194.php Tooth-colored fillings may be more attractive than silver ones, but the bonds between the white filling and the tooth quickly age and degrade. A Medical College of Georgia researcher hopes a new nanotechnology technique will extend the fillings' longevity. "Dentin adhesives bond well initially, but then the hybrid layer between the adhesive and the dentin begins to break down in as little as one year," says Dr. Dentistry Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156175.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156175.php Johnson & Johnson has announced that Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, whose discoveries have led to novel cancer therapies including Herceptin® (trastuzumab) , is the winner of the 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research. An independent committee of world-renowned scientists selected Dr. Ullrich, who on September 8 will receive a $100,000 prize during a ceremony in Beerse, Belgium. Cancer / Oncology Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156177.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156177.php The 2009 Neuroscience Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation is being awarded to Jeffrey Hall, professor of neurogenetics at the University of Maine; Michael Rosbash, professor and director of the National Center for Behavioral Genomics at Brandeis University; and Michael Young, professor and head of the Laboratory of Genetics at Rockefeller University. Neurology / Neuroscience