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UrduUC San Diego researchers find stem cells use a surprising system for discarding misfolded proteins. This unique pathway could be the key to maintaining long-term health and preventing age-related blood and immune disorders.
Tag: Molecular Biology
Scientists create antibody ‘cocktail’ to fight deadly Lassa virus
A group of researchers have used the Advanced Photon Source to look at monoclonal antibodies to subvert the “shield” of the Lassa virus, potentially paving the way for new therapies.
Potential genetic regulators of the heartbeat identified by UT Southwestern researchers
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have mapped gene control elements in specialized cardiac cells responsible for coordinating heartbeats. The findings of the genome exploration study, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, provide insight into how heartbeats are regulated and could impact diagnosis and risk prediction for a variety of common arrhythmias.
UT Southwestern researchers discover gene regulation mechanism
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a method cells use to turn genes on and off that involves portions of proteins whose function has long been a mystery. The findings, reported in Cell, could lead to new ways of controlling gene regulation and may one day lead to new treatments for a broad array of diseases.
UT Southwestern cardiologist receives NIH Outstanding Investigator Award
UT Southwestern physician-scientist Hesham Sadek, M.D., Ph.D., has received the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Outstanding Investigator Award to support his ongoing research into mechanisms behind heart regeneration that could lead to treatments for heart failure.
UT Southwestern biochemist, molecular biologist to receive HHMI Emerging Pathogens awards
Two of UT Southwestern’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers in biochemistry and molecular biology will lead separate teams as part of HHMI’s Emerging Pathogens Initiative (EPI) targeting infectious diseases that pose a threat to human health.
Gene editing halts damage in mice after heart attacks in UT Southwestern study
Editing a gene that prompts a cascade of damage after a heart attack appeared to reverse this inevitable course in mice, leaving their hearts remarkably unharmed, a new study by UT Southwestern scientists showed. The findings, published in Science, could lead to a new strategy for protecting patients from the consequences of heart disease.
Stress-Tolerant Cells Drive Tumor Initiation in Pancreatic Cancer
UC San Diego scientists discover a molecular pathway critical to the initiation of pancreatic tumors. The findings may inspire new chemotherapeutic drugs targeting early stages of tumor formation and spread.
Beyond the average cell
Models based on an average cell are useful, but they may not accurately describe how individual cells really work. New possibilities opened up with the advent of single-cell live imaging technologies. Now it is possible to peer into the lives of individual cells. In a new paper in PLOS Genetics, a team of biologists and physicists from Washington University in St. Louis and Purdue University used actual single-cell data to create an updated framework for understanding the relationship between cell growth, DNA replication and division in a bacterial system.
Tissue-Specific Immunity May Be the Future, if We Can First Learn its Rules
UC San Diego study reveals critical insights into the complex biology of tissue-specific T cells, paving the way for a new branch of precision therapeutics in immunity, autoimmunity, and cancer.
Rewriting the Textbook on Gene Regulation: It’s the Big Picture That Counts
For the first time, researchers at UC San Diego have shown that changes in gene expression happen almost entirely during the transcription stage while the cells are growing. The researchers have provided a simple quantitative formula linking regulatory control to mRNA and protein levels.
Gene therapy corrects mutation responsible for common heart condition, UT Southwestern research shows
Using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system, UT Southwestern researchers corrected mutations responsible for a common inherited heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in human cells and a mouse model of the disease.
New Look at an Ancient Disease: Study Finds Novel Treatment Targets for Gout
UC San Diego scientists identify a new molecular model and potential therapeutic target for gout, the most common form of inflammatory arthritis.
UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute Launches Stem Cells Into Space
The UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute leads its first space launch, sending stem cells into space aboard the International Space Station. The NASA-partnered study will take advantage of the microgravity environment of space to study accelerated aging in stem cells.
Brain Organoids Reveal in Detail the Harms of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
UC San Diego researchers used human brain organoids to study the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neural development, revealing significant harms in molecular detail.
UT Southwestern scientists among top 1% of highly cited researchers across the globe
More than 20 UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists are among the 2022 Highly Cited Researchers listed in the top 1% of researchers from across the globe
Cedars-Sinai Cancer Leaders Assume New Roles
Lali Medina-Kauwe, PhD, former co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program in Cedars-Sinai Cancer, has assumed a new role as associate director for Basic Research.
UC San Diego Joins NIH ‘Bridge to Artificial Intelligence’ Program
UC San Diego scientists will lead several components of Bridge2AI, a new NIH-funded program to promote the use of AI in health and research.
Call for Papers – The International Halal Science and Technology Conference 2022 (IHSATEC): 15th Halal Science Industry and Business (HAISB)
The Halal Science Center, Chulalongkorn University, and Research Synergy Foundation, invites all to attend “The International Halal Science and Technology Conference 2022 (IHSATEC): 15th Halal Science Industry and Business (HAISB)” and has opened up a call for papers. The conference sessions will be on December 15-16, 2022 at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Key Mechanisms of Airway Relaxation in Asthma Revealed in New Study
Many therapeutics for asthma and other obstructive lung diseases target the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that rapidly supports airway relaxation when stimulated. Yet, overuse of these agents is associated with adverse health outcomes, including death, which has limited their utility as frontline therapies. Now, a mouse model study published in today’s issue of Molecular Cell, from investigators at University Hospitals (UH) and Case Western Reserve University, identifies a novel strategy to isolate the beneficial effects of β2AR stimulation. This suggests a new therapeutic approach to airway diseases as well as numerous other conditions involving the aberrant function of GPCRs.
Did Gonorrhea Give Us Grandparents?
UC San Diego researchers tracked the evolution of a gene variant that supports cognitive health in older humans, but may have first emerged to protect against bacteria.
10 scientists elected leaders of the ASBMB
Voting members of the scientific society chose a new secretary, re-elected three people to the governing council, and selected new committee members.
National Researcher of the Year 2022 Decodes Drug Resistance in Animals – A Step towards Sustainable Solutions
Chula Veterinary Lecturer and “National Outstanding Researcher 2022” has revealed the genetic code that causes drug resistance in animals that affects human health, animals, and the environment, and suggests comprehensive solutions under the concept “One Health”.
ASBMB honors 14 scientists for scientific and community contributions
Biochemists and molecular biologists will give award lectures at #DiscoverBMB, the society’s annual meeting, in March in Seattle.
DNA evolves at different rates, depending on chromosome structure
The structure of how DNA is stored in archaea makes a significant difference to how quickly it evolves, according to a new study by Indiana University researchers.
Gene Therapy Reverses Effects of Autism-Linked Mutation in Brain Organoids
UC San Diego scientists use lab-grown human brain tissue to identify neural abnormalities in Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome and show gene therapy tools can rescue neural structure and function.
Unravelling the origins of the human spine
The spinal column is the central supporting structure of the skeleton in all vertebrates.
Researchers at UC San Diego Identify the Skin’s Master Regulator
Researchers led by George Sen, PhD, associate professor of dermatology and cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, have identified the master regulator controlling the expression of genes regulating how the epidermis attaches to the underlying…
$6M NIH Grant Launches UC San Diego Consortium to Study Insulin-Producing Cells
UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers will receive $6.4 million in National Institutes of Health grant funding to study how external signals and genetic variations influence the behavior of one cell type in particular: insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.
Science Snapshots from Berkeley Lab
An experiment to study gravity at the quantum scale, insights into an antibiotic-building enzyme, and the backstory of an incredible new protein prediction algorithm are featured in this month’s roundup of science highlights.
What Makes Blood Vessels Leaky: New Insights for Sepsis Therapeutics
Lab studies reveal protein HSP27’s role in blood vessel leakage, opening the possibility that therapeutically dialing its activity up or down might stabilize patients with sepsis.
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology names 2022 award winners
The winners were nominated by colleagues and other leaders in their fields for making significant contributions to biochemistry and molecular biology and the training of emerging scientists.
Brain Organoids Mimic Head Size Changes Associated with Type of Autism
Stem cell models derived from people with specific genomic variation recapitulate aspects of their autism spectrum disorder, providing a valuable model to study the condition and look for therapeutic interventions.
Fungal and Bacterial Biodeterioration of Outdoor Canvas Paintings: The Case of the Cloisters of Quito, Ecuador
The journal Critical Review In Eukaryotic Gene Expression has just published an interesting article entitled: “Fungal And Bacterial Biodeterioration Of Outdoor Canvas Paintings: The Case Of The Cloisters Of Quito, Ecuador.”
New Blood: Lab-Grown Stem Cells Bode Well for Transplants, Aging Research
UC San Diego researchers develop a method to grow hematopoietic stem cells in culture, with clinical implications for bone marrow transplants and aging research.
New research on the brain’s relay processes could guide treatment for certain brain disorders
New research shows cells gather more data than once believed inside the thal-amus, a relay station of sensory and motor abilities in the brain. That could change how medicine treats schizophrenia, epilepsy and other brain disorders.
Journal of Biological Chemistry names new editor-in-chief
Alex Toker, professor of pathology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, will begin his term Oct. 1.
International collaboration of scientists rewrite the rulebook of flowering plant genetics
How do you study a group of organisms with over 300,000 species, dispersed across all seven continents, and with up to 50 times as much DNA content as the human genome? This is the question posed to biologists studying the…
Parkinson’s disease: How lysosomes become a hub for the propagation of the pathology
Over the last few decades, neurodegenerative diseases became one of the top 10 global causes of death. Researchers worldwide are making a strong effort to understand neurodegenerative diseases pathogenesis, which is essential to develop efficient treatments against these incurable diseases.…
Characterized drugs show unexpected effects
Known and yet unexpected: many active substances influence the cholesterol homeostasis and thereby possibly a SARS-CoV-2 infection
Study on chromosomal rearrangements in yeast reveals potential avenue for cancer therapy
Researchers from Osaka University uncover a mechanism by which chromosomal rearrangements occur, with implications for novel cancer therapies
DeepMind and EMBL release the most complete database of predicted 3D structures of human proteins
Partners use AlphaFold, the AI system recognised last year as a solution to the protein structure prediction problem, to release more than 350,000 protein structure predictions including the entire human proteome to the scientific community
Interaction identified between SARS-CoV-2 and unusual RNA structures in human cells
Replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, depends on a series of interactions between viral proteins and different cellular partners such as nucleic acids (DNA or RNA). Characterizing these interactions is crucial to elucidate the process of viral replication…
Fully booked at the bottom of the sea: There seems no room for new bacteria on sand grains
Bacteria on the sand on the ocean floor do not change between the seasons. Presumably, there is simply no room for change.
SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617 gives the immune system a hard time
SARS-CoV-2 still poses major challenges to mankind. The frequent emergence of mutant forms makes the threat posed by the virus difficult to predict. The SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617 circulated in India and gave rise to the Delta variant, B.1.617.2, which is…
How does the structure of cytolysins influence their activity?
Although Enterococcus faecalis is usually an innocuous member of the bacterial community in the human gut, it can also cause several infections, including liver disorders. The bacteria produce cytolysins, which are molecules that destroy cells. In a new study, researchers…
Genome editing meets marsupials
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) have succeeded in creating the first genetically engineered marsupial. This study, published in the scientific journal Current Biology , will contribute to deciphering the genetic background of unique characteristics observed…
New approach eradicates breast cancer in mice
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new approach to treating breast cancer kills 95-100% of cancer cells in mouse models of human estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancers and their metastases in bone, brain, liver and lungs. The newly developed drug, called ErSO, quickly shrinks…
New discoveries reveal how acute myeloid leukemia walks a fine line between growth and cell death
Researchers revealed new insights into how acute myeloid leukemia (AML) develops and progresses, according to a study published in Molecular Cell on July 20, 2021. They describe a mechanism by which AML cells regulate a cancer-related protein, mutant IDH2, to increase the buildup of blood cancer cells—a distinguishing characteristic of the disease.
No IgA leads to intestinal inflammation in mice
Tokyo, Japan – While researchers have known for years that immunoglobulin A (IgA) is important for gut health, it has remained unclear exactly what role it plays in preventing infection and disease. But now, researchers from Japan have found that…