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Study reveals why the FMO5 gene produces an enzyme with a different activity

Our body produces lots of enzymes that break down toxic substances. One class of such enzymes are the flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs), which are present in all tetrapods. Humans have five different FMO genes, of which the first four display the same activity. However, the fifth FMO gene triggers a different breakdown reaction. University of Groningen biochemists have succeeded in resurrecting the ancestral genes of all tetrapod FMOs to show how this divergence has occurred. Their results appear on 24 February in Nature Communications.

28 Feb 2023

New model simplifies the understanding of vascular malformations

Our bodies are made up of 60,000 miles of complex pipes that play a vital role in transporting nutrients throughout our bodies, performing waste disposal, and supplying our organs with fresh oxygen and blood.

27 Feb 2023

Insilico Medicine: IND application for first generative AI-designed drug for COVID-19 approved

Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage biotech company powered by generative AI, today announces that China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for ISM3312, an orally available 3CLpro inhibitor generated and designed with the support of Insilico's proprietary generative chemistry platform Chemistry42 for the treatment of COVID-19.

24 Feb 2023

Deep-learning approach to achieve faster and high-resolution photoacoustic computed tomography

It takes a few moments for the sound of thunder to reach our ears after a flash of lightning. This phenomenon is due to the photoacoustic (PA) effect where materials near the lightning instantly expand as the optical energy of the lightning is absorbed and converted into thermal energy.

24 Feb 2023

Mount Sinai researchers reveal mechanisms underlying autoimmunity in Down syndrome

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York have identified which parts of the immune system go awry and contribute to autoimmune diseases in individuals with Down syndrome.

23 Feb 2023

Metabolic reactions upon activating Akt2 enzyme revealed

Takeaki Ozawa and his team from the University of Tokyo reveal the metabolic reactions upon activating an enzyme called Akt2.

22 Feb 2023

Study shows how convalescent plasma can be used as effective treatment during future pandemics

Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, new variant outbreaks continue to fuel economic disruptions and hospitalizations across the globe.

22 Feb 2023

Adults struggling with chronic constipation benefit from a vibrating capsule

A vibrating capsule designed to stir the colon to action appears to double the ability for adults struggling with debilitating chronic constipation to defecate more normally and without drugs, researchers report.

22 Feb 2023

ApoE4 from neurons plays a critical role in Alzheimer's disease

Of all the known genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the strongest is a gene for the protein called ApoE4.

22 Feb 2023

Accelerating the structure-guided discovery of chemogenetic tools

In order to more fully understand how diseases arise in the brain, scientists must unravel the intricate way neurons relay messages (either chemical or electrical) along a complex web of nerve cells. One way is by using a tool called DREADDs, which stands for Designer Receptors Activated by Designer Drugs.

21 Feb 2023

Iron-dependent cell death can be used to improve immunotherapies against liver cancer

Iron-dependent cell death (ferroptosis) is a type of programmed cell death by means of which the body kills off diseased, defective or superfluous cells.

20 Feb 2023

Identifying antimicrobials that effectively treat AMR infections

In a potential game changer for the treatment of superbugs, a new class of antibiotics was developed that cured mice infected with bacteria deemed nearly "untreatable" in humans -; and resistance to the drug was virtually undetectable.

19 Feb 2023

LLNL set off to develop vaccines to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus

People afflicted with autoimmune diseases may someday receive help through treatments now under development by a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) licensee and its' collaborations with two major pharmaceutical companies.

19 Feb 2023

Expert releases open-source compilation of the SARS-CoV-2 molecular structure

A biomedical researcher at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR), part of Main Line Health, has created a groundbreaking resource for scientists seeking to develop new and better vaccines in the fight against COVID-19.

19 Feb 2023

Location is the key for psychedelic drugs to work

Location, location, location is the key for psychedelic drugs that could treat mental illness by rapidly rebuilding connections between nerve cells.

17 Feb 2023

New method for studying mitochondria using advanced imaging technology

Scientists at Scripps Research have developed an advanced imaging-based approach that provides a unique perspective on mitochondria, which are best known as the “powerhouses” of cells.

17 Feb 2023

New approach to better target cellular proteins

By studying how enzymes move from one membrane compartment to another inside a cell, scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago have figured out a way to better target cellular proteins, which play a role in many diseases.

16 Feb 2023

The essential protein needed for immune evasion and tumor cell metabolism

Typically, tumor cells change their energy metabolism and take in more glucose to enable their rapid division and spread. As a result, the body’s immune response to cancer is suppressed by limiting the immune cells’ access to glucose.

15 Feb 2023

How the immune response in the brain aggravates epilepsy

Biologists at the University of Iowa have conclusively connected epilepsy with the brain’s immune system.

15 Feb 2023

New method triggers and analyzes the dynamics of brain protein linked to Alzheimer’s

Scientists are not yet clear on how the tau protein changes from a benign protein essential for normal function in our brains into the toxic neurofibrillary tangles that are a signature of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

15 Feb 2023