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.

Gene variation makes people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram

A variation in a gene called GRIK4 appears to make people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram (Celexa) than are people without the variation, a study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, has found.

3 Aug 2007

Scientists find why red beans and rice can be nauseating

Scientists have discovered how lectins, a family of proteins believed to be a natural insecticide that is abundant in undercooked legumes and grains, can make you feel temporarily miserable.

3 Aug 2007

Discovery of molecular pathway that detects and eliminates defective messenger RNAs from red blood cells

Other such pathways - known as surveillance pathways - operate in a more general way, in many cell types. Knowing how this specific surveillance system works can help researchers better understand hereditary diseases, in this case, thalassemia, a form of anemia, which is the most common genetic disorder worldwide.

3 Aug 2007

Persons with narcolepsy with cataplexy have low levels of protein thought to help regulate sleep

Persons with narcolepsy with cataplexy have low levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hypocretin-1, a protein thought to help regulate sleep and wakefulness, according to a study published in the August 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Aug 2007

Phase II study of TroVax vaccine in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

A therapeutic cancer vaccine has shown effectiveness when given alongside chemotherapy to patients with metastatic colorectal cancer in a phase II trial, according to researchers at Oxford BioMedica (UK) Ltd.

2 Aug 2007

Autonomous glial mechanism may drive circadian rhythms

Glial cells of the nervous system, once thought to function strictly as support cells for neurons, are now thought to actively modulate them.

2 Aug 2007

New strategy for treating allergic disorders

Ghent - Oral intake of allergens or auto-antigens via the lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis might be a new strategy for treating various kinds of auto-immune and allergic disorders.

2 Aug 2007

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol opens door for virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma

The major active component of marijuana could enhance the ability of the virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma to infect cells and multiply, according to a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School.

2 Aug 2007

Erroneous messages on diet and breast cancer with potentially life threatening consequences

Recent media reports are suggesting that a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in fat has no notable impact on breast cancer recurrence or death.

2 Aug 2007

New understanding of adult stem cell regulation

Forsyth Institute scientists have discovered an important mechanism for controlling the behavior of adult stem cells.

2 Aug 2007

Vaccines for tuberculosis

The microorganism that causes tuberculosis, M. Tuberculosis, infects more than a one third of the world's population.

2 Aug 2007

Colon cancer may benefit from hormone replacement therapy

Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have found new evidence suggesting that colon cancer is actually a disease of missing hormones that could potentially be treated by hormone replacement therapy.

2 Aug 2007

Fear protein found

A University of Iowa study shows that loss or chemical inhibition of a protein, known as acid sensing ion channel protein (ASIC1a), reduces innate fear behavior in lab animals, making normally timid mice relatively fearless.

2 Aug 2007

Biological markers of narcolepsy

The first report to identify the biological markers of narcolepsy using gene expression in white blood cells finds that the MX2 gene, which is relevant to the immune system, is significantly less expressed in narcoleptics compared with normal subjects.

2 Aug 2007