Protein News and Research

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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

LJI scientists tracked down rare stem cells that generate neutrophils in humans

Neutrophils are the warriors of the immune system. They are always ready to spring to action to help heal injuries or fight off disease. Unless, that is, something goes wrong in their developmental process.

19 Aug 2020

Study investigates how Ebola virus adapts to bat and human cells

A new study by researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston uncovered new information on why the Ebola virus can live within bats without causing them harm, while the same virus wreaks deadly havoc to people.

19 Aug 2020

Long-term opioid use in back-pain patients leads to production of anti-opioid antibodies

University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have discovered that a majority of back-pain patients they tested who were taking opioid painkillers produced anti-opioid antibodies.

19 Aug 2020

RNA-based therapeutic approach could be used to cure hereditary diseases

Short RNA molecules can be used as medication. Their effectiveness is based on the genetic information they carry: therapeutic RNA can bind to the body's own RNA and thus influence how it functions.

19 Aug 2020

Study shows how proteins act as a defense mechanism to protect their own DNA

Viruses usually inject their DNA into a host cell to multiply. As soon as this foreign material penetrates the intracellular fluid, it activates a defense mechanism called the cGAS-STING pathway.

18 Aug 2020

High-speed AFM enables real-time visualization of influenza A hemagglutinin during viral entry

Unlike living organisms, to avoid extinction, viruses need to hijack living host machineries to generate new viruses.

18 Aug 2020

Protective anti-prion antibodies found in humans

Antibodies targeting the normal PrP version of the prion protein have been found in humans selected at random with no history of any associated transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

18 Aug 2020

Genome analysis helps identify 568 cancer driver genes

Analysis of the genomes of 28,000 tumors from 66 types of cancer has led to the identification of 568 cancer driver gene.

18 Aug 2020

Regulating cancer stemness using combination of nanotechnology and genetic engineering

The development of chemotherapeutic agents with selective anti-cancer activities is increasingly unattractive due to the emergence of resistance, poor targeting of cancer tissues, and subsequent metastasis.

18 Aug 2020

Protein produced by nervous system may be the key to treating inflammatory diseases

A Rutgers-led team may have found the key to treating inflammatory diseases like asthma, allergies, chronic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

From Rutgers University 18 Aug 2020

Researchers identify a novel interaction in hydrogenases

Hydrogenases can convert hydrogen just as efficiently as expensive platinum catalysts. In order to make them usable for biotechnological applications, researchers are deciphering how they work in detail.

18 Aug 2020

Novel receptor protein can be a promising treatment for COVID-19

A novel receptor protein that binds to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and prevents it from entering cells may hold promise for treating COVID-19 and other coronavirus-related diseases, according to research published online Aug. 4 in the journal SCIENCE.

18 Aug 2020

Researchers show how two X chromosomes communicate during embryo development

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have solved a mystery that has long puzzled scientists: How do the bodies of female humans and all other mammals decide which of the two X chromosomes it carries in each cell should be active and which one should be silent?

18 Aug 2020

NIH-supported research delineates how genetic variations cause atopic dermatitis

New research supported by the National Institutes of Health delineates how two relatively common variations in a gene called KIF3A are responsible for an impaired skin barrier that allows increased water loss from the skin, promoting the development of atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema.

17 Aug 2020

Scientists describe the mechanism of action of therapeutic antibodies

Since the late 1990s, immunotherapy has been the frontline treatment against lymphomas where synthetic antibodies are used to stop the proliferation of cancerous white blood cells.

14 Aug 2020

Hydrogels based on modified pectins could be used for neural tissue restoration

Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) scientists have developed implantable hydrogels based on plant polysaccharides (pectins). They can play the role of an artificial extracellular matrix, a special network of molecules that fills the space between body cells.

14 Aug 2020

Detection of cancer using different kind of liquid biopsy

Because cancer is easier to successfully treat when it's caught early, a major goal in cancer research is to develop new ways to find tumors at early stages, before they start to spread. One approach that's being studied are liquid biopsies.

14 Aug 2020

Researchers use supercomputer to gain new insights into hepatitis B virus

Researchers at the University of Delaware, using supercomputing resources and collaborating with scientists at Indiana University, have gained new understanding of the virus that causes hepatitis B and the "spiky ball" that encloses the virus's genetic blueprint.

14 Aug 2020

Scientists shed new light on the evolution and function of shapes seen in nature

Researchers have shed fresh light on the evolution and function of the shapes we see in nature - using as a model the heart shaped fruits of the Capsella genus.

14 Aug 2020

Researchers solve an ancient cancer mystery

The 1970s revealed the initial data indicating mutations in the genetic material of tumors, much before the first oncogene alterations were identified.

13 Aug 2020