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Novel Peptides from South American Bushmaster and Pit Viper

The venom of the South American bushmaster, a resident of tropical rainforests, and the pit viper Cotiara, which lives in southern Brazil, both contain fragments of hemorrhagic toxins that may be used to treat high blood pressure.

8 Jan 2024

Toxic Plant Toxin Gets a Safety Upgrade for New Drugs and Pesticides

Picrotoxinin, a plant-derived toxin that Asian fishermen traditionally have used to paralyze and catch fish, has long been seen as a possible starting point for new human therapeutics and other neuroactive products.

26 Dec 2023

Wilmot Researchers Uncover a "Genomic Tug of War" That Influences Decitabine's Effectiveness

Some patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, like acute myeloid leukemia, benefit from a chemotherapy drug called decitabine that stunts cancer growth. But many others are resistant to decatibine's effects or become resistant over time.

17 Nov 2023

New Findings Suggest Endosymbiotic Origin of Apoptosis

Apoptosis, frequently described as programmed cell death, is a fundamental mechanism essential for the growth and development of multicellular organisms.

13 Oct 2023

Researchers Develop Bio-Inspired Drug to Boost Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

A new, bio-inspired drug restores the effectiveness of immune cells in fighting cancer, a team led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has found.

10 Oct 2023

The Astute White Blood Cell Defense

Neutrophils, the most prevalent kind of white blood cell, are able to block Candida albicans toxin, according to study from Umeå University. EMBO Reports has published the findings.

6 Oct 2023

A New Toxin from Aetokthonos hydrillicola Shows Potential Anticancer Properties

The cyanobacterium Aetokthonos hydrillicola has been found to produce not one, but two highly potent toxins.

27 Sep 2023

Newly Discovered Fungus Helps Destroy a Harmful Food Toxin

Patulin is a harmful mycotoxin produced by fungi typically found in damaged fruits, including apples, pears, and grapes.

1 Sep 2023

New Mechanism of Cannibalism Discovered in Bacillus velezensis SQR9

When considering a bacterial population as a multicellular community, it is imperative to understand the inherent roles of maintaining homeostasis and viability in response to environmental factors.

3 Aug 2023

Whitespotted Eagle Rays Have a Broader Diet Than Previously Thought

With mighty jaws and plate-like teeth, the whitespotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) can pretty much crunch on anything.

2 Aug 2023

New Toxin Found to Enhance Pathogen Infection and Disease Spread in Wheat

Although wheat was among the first domesticated food crops, it remains a global dietary staple several millennia later.

14 Jul 2023

Fragile Symbiosis Between Fungus and Bacteria Revealed

A new study on the coexistence of bacteria and fungi shows that a mutually beneficial, functioning symbiosis can be very fragile.

7 Jul 2023

Unraveling the Link Between Environmental Toxins and Lymphoma in Dogs

Lymphoma is a common cancer in dogs, but unlike human studies, which have associated the disease with environmental toxins, little is known about how it originates in dogs.

2 Jun 2023

Identifying Drugs to Put the Brakes On Accelerated Aging From HIV Infection, Treatment

Antiretroviral cocktails can make human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, undetectable and untransmittable, but both the virus and its treatment can also accelerate aging of bone and muscle.

24 May 2023

Novel Map Depicts the Human Body's Highly Complicated System for Repairing DNA Damage

Writing in the May 22, 2023 issue of Cell Systems, a diverse team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, have produced a novel map that depicts the human body's enormously complicated and highly evolved system for addressing and repairing DNA damage -; a cause and consequence of many diseases.

23 May 2023

Novel 3D Structure can Serve as Blueprint to Engineer New BoNT/E Variants

A team of researchers from the University of California, Irvine, have revealed the first crystal structures of the receptor-binding domain of botulinum neurotoxin E (BoNT/E) in complex with its human neuronal receptors, synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A).

28 Apr 2023

Unveiling the Molecular Structure of the Ssp Toxin from Serratia marcescens

A multinational research group has uncovered how the bacterial toxin Ssp may penetrate and kill a wide variety of living cells, including human cells.

21 Apr 2023

The “Hangry” Stage of Bacteria Cells

The word “hangry” describes individuals who become angry due to hunger. According to a recent study by Adam Rosenthal, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of microbiology and immunology, some bacteria cells experience hangry and release toxic substances into the body when they are denied certain nutrients.

5 Apr 2023

Study reveals how two proteins enable drug-resistant MRSA bacterium to secrete toxins

Antimicrobial resistance represents one of the top 10 global public health threats according to the World Health Organization, and scientists have been scrambling to find new tools to cure the most deadly drug-resistant infections.

14 Feb 2023

Microbiome therapeutic linked to quality of life improvement in patients with recurrent C. diff infection

Kevin Garey, professor of pharmacy practice and translational research at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy is reporting the first well-controlled study to demonstrate that a microbiome therapeutic, SER-109, is associated with significant quality of life improvement in patients with the debilitating recurrent infection and disease caused by Clostridium difficile (or C. diff).

1 Feb 2023