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.

Cell division can be halted in multiple ways, with implications for cancer

Brown University researchers have found that there are multiple independent ways to stop cell division, a phenomenon that prevents the spread of genetic mutation, which can make cells cancerous. Results of this research, along with an accompanying editorial, were published in the current issue of the journal Molecular Cell.

20 May 2004

Scientists have sped up a common jumping gene found in the human genome

Johns Hopkins scientists have transformed a common "jumping gene" found in the human genome into one that moves hundreds of times more often than normal in mouse and human cells.

20 May 2004

Study has important implications for African Americans who suffer from high blood pressure

A new study has important implications for the millions of African Americans who suffer from high blood pressure. The study, AADVANCE, shows Diovan HCT(R) (valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide) lowers blood pressure in African Americans to aggressive recommended target blood pressure goals as effectively as amlodipine.

20 May 2004

Causes of hepatitis and potential therapies that may improve care presented in study

Hepatitis, a potentially serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver, is a major problem worldwide. Hepatitis A is generally food-borne, while hepatitis B and C spread primarily through parenteral or sexual routes. Hepatitis B and C can be life-long, potentially deadly chronic infections.

19 May 2004

$First drug approved for hormone refractory prostate cancer that has shown a survival benefit$

First drug approved for hormone refractory prostate cancer that has shown a survival benefit

The the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Taxotere (docetaxel), injection in combination with prednisone ( a steroid), for the treatment of patients with advanced metastatic prostate cancer. This is the first drug approved for hormone refractory prostate cancer that has shown a survival benefit.

19 May 2004

Comparison study shows low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet loses more weight than low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diet

People who followed a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet lost more weight than people on a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diet during a six-month comparison study at Duke University Medical Center. However, the researchers caution that people with medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure should not start the diet without close medical supervision.

19 May 2004

Inexpensive, simple urine test that could identify impending kidney failure

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed the basis of an inexpensive, simple urine test that identifies impending kidney failure or rejection following transplant surgery. Their work, presented this week in a special invited lecture to the American Transplant Congress in Boston, Mass., is based on proteins found in urine, and could lead to a urine test kit that may allow many patients to skip painful biopsies.

19 May 2004

Closer to understanding the function of a protein linked to an inherited form of the movement disorder dystonia

The protein, torsinA, is defective in patients with DYT1 dystonia, an inherited condition that causes uncontrollable movements in the limbs and torso. Learning what torsinA does could be an important step toward developing a treatment for the disorder.

19 May 2004

Multimillion-dollar electron microscope unveils shapes of viruses and proteins

With a multimillion-dollar electron microscope and computer programs that can pick out the shapes of structures only six atoms wide, Dr. Wah Chiu and his colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston are attempting to explain the intricate structures of viruses and proteins.

19 May 2004

Survey shows chicken popular with low-carbohydrate dieters

The chicken industry has benefited even more than beef or pork from the high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets so popular with American consumers, according to a recent survey.

19 May 2004

Inactivating a protective molecule may help chemotherapy for leukemia but harm bone marrow

Inactivating a protective molecule in leukemic cells to make them more vulnerable to chemotherapy might also make healthy blood-forming cells more sensitive to the toxic effects of those same drugs.

19 May 2004

Bio-optical CD could screen patients for thousands of disease markers while they wait

While-you-wait medical tests that screen patients for thousands of disease markers could be possible with compact-disk technology patented by Purdue University scientists.

19 May 2004

To sleep…

Proteomic analysis using mass spectrometry could be used in a diagnostic test for sleeping sickness that can more accurately spot the disease than current approaches.

18 May 2004

Matching method allows surgeons to successfully transplant kidneys that would otherwise be discarded

By carefully matching the estimated function of kidneys from deceased donors with the needs of potential recipients, surgeons can successfully transplant kidneys that would otherwise be discarded, according to a report from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. The center was able to double its transplant volume within a year.

18 May 2004

High levels of troponin I (TNI) protein in the blood helps identify possible heart damage after cancer treatment

TNI is a protein present exclusively in heart cells. The TNI blood concentration is a well-established marker of heart muscle injury that’s widely used to diagnose and treat heart attacks and other acute coronary syndromes.

18 May 2004

Scientists move closer toward treatment for degenerative diseases

Scientists at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine have discovered a key step that will provide new targets for treatments of many degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes.

17 May 2004

Scientists have identified a compound that halts the activity of a deadly toxin called anthrax

University of Chicago scientists have identified a compound that halts the activity of a deadly toxin called anthrax lethal factor in laboratory tests. Nature Biotechnology will publish the findings online on May 16 and in the June issue of the journal's print edition.

17 May 2004

Researcher has learned how to maximize the cancer-fighting power of broccoli

University of Illinois researcher Elizabeth Jeffery has learned how to maximize the cancer-fighting power of broccoli. It involves heating broccoli just enough to eliminate a sulfur-grabbing protein, but not enough to stop the plant from releasing an important cancer-fighting compound called sulforaphane.

15 May 2004

Genetically engineered viruses may create new class of cancer therapies

A genetically engineered virus can selectively kill cancerous cells in the lung and colon while leaving healthy cells intact, according to new research published today in Cancer Research by William Wold and colleagues at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

15 May 2004

Cancer-causing gene identified that may play a key role in the development of leukemia and other cancers

Using genetically engineered mice, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center have identified a gene that functions as a cancer-causing gene (or oncogene) and may play a key role in the development of leukemia and other cancers in children and adults.

15 May 2004

Protein News and Research

Further Reading

Cell division can be halted in multiple ways, with implications for cancer

Scientists have sped up a common jumping gene found in the human genome

Study has important implications for African Americans who suffer from high blood pressure

Causes of hepatitis and potential therapies that may improve care presented in study

First drug approved for hormone refractory prostate cancer that has shown a survival benefit

Comparison study shows low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet loses more weight than low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diet

Inexpensive, simple urine test that could identify impending kidney failure

Closer to understanding the function of a protein linked to an inherited form of the movement disorder dystonia

Multimillion-dollar electron microscope unveils shapes of viruses and proteins

Survey shows chicken popular with low-carbohydrate dieters

Inactivating a protective molecule may help chemotherapy for leukemia but harm bone marrow

Bio-optical CD could screen patients for thousands of disease markers while they wait

To sleep…

Matching method allows surgeons to successfully transplant kidneys that would otherwise be discarded

High levels of troponin I (TNI) protein in the blood helps identify possible heart damage after cancer treatment

Scientists move closer toward treatment for degenerative diseases

Scientists have identified a compound that halts the activity of a deadly toxin called anthrax

Researcher has learned how to maximize the cancer-fighting power of broccoli

Genetically engineered viruses may create new class of cancer therapies

Cancer-causing gene identified that may play a key role in the development of leukemia and other cancers

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