Biochemistry

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Circular DNA found in cancer cells supports their survival and resistance

A new study uncovers the role of the circular, 3D shape of extrachromosomal DNA in augmenting mutant oncogenes in cancer cells.

20 Nov 2019

Applying a Proteomics-based Approach to the Clinic

Matthias Mann explains why applying proteomics-based technologies such as timsTOF could accelerate the diagnosis and prediction of human disease.

From Bruker Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry 20 Nov 2019

New database helps identify therapeutic targets to fight infectious diseases

Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms capable of entering, colonizing and growing within a host organism, thus producing an infection. Bacterial infections have been on the rise worldwide in recent years, but many mechanisms underlying bacterial pathogenesis are still poorly understood.

19 Nov 2019

U.S. Army project may lead to new class of self-healing materials and therapeutics for soldiers

Synthetic biologists working on a U.S. Army project have developed a process that could lead to a new class of synthetic polymers that may create new high-performance materials and therapeutics for Soldiers.

18 Nov 2019

Directional control of protocell's movement could lead to precision drug delivery

Synthetic protocells can be made to move toward and away from chemical signals, an important step for the development of new drug-delivery systems that could target specific locations in the body.

18 Nov 2019

Fluorescent carbon dots can effectively detect calcium levels in cells

In hospitals, doctors often advise patients to take calcium supplements. But does the calcium get into the cells that need it? Until recently, it's been hard to tell.

12 Nov 2019

Scientists publish structural and functional keys that distinguish two similar transcription factors

Scientists at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, in collaboration with the Sloan Kettering Institute (New York, US), have published the structural and functional keys that distinguish two very similar transcription factors, namely SMAD2 and SMAD3.

12 Nov 2019

Study provides new insight into antibiotic synthesis

Researchers at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine have made important strides in understanding the functioning of enzymes that play an integral role in the production of antibiotics and other therapeutics. Their findings are published in Science.

11 Nov 2019

Compound that may help delay onset of Alzheimer’s can be produced in baker’s yeast

Scientists prove that ergothioneine, an important compound that may be used to delay the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, can be produced in baker’s yeast.

11 Nov 2019

Study shows how glucocorticoid hormones control sugar and fat levels over the course of 24 hours

For the first time, a study led by researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München and the German Center for Diabetes Research shows how glucocorticoid hormones, such as cortisol, control sugar and fat levels differently during day and night, feeding and fasting, rest and activity, over the course of 24 hours.

10 Nov 2019

Investigators use the power of computation to build better targeted drug therapy

Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) -- cancer drugs that are designed to target and destroy cancerous tissue while leaving healthy cells intact -- represent a long sought-after advancement in cancer therapy.

8 Nov 2019

UVA scientists develop a better way to determine what our genes do

Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have developed a better way to determine what our genes do – allowing scientists to better probe the genetic causes of diseases and more efficiently determine whether new drugs will act on the intended target exactly as needed.

7 Nov 2019

New study sheds light on how memories are formed

How does the brain translate information from the outside world into something we remember? An international team of researchers working in the Human Brain Project have zoomed in on the neuronal circuits in the striatum, a brain structure involved in memory, behavior and reward learning.

7 Nov 2019

Cytoplasm of ruptured Xenopus frog eggs reorganizes into cell-like compartments, study shows

Can scrambled eggs unscramble themselves? Well, sort of.

6 Nov 2019

Amping up the pharma lab using electrochemistry

Sparked by several high-profile reports, electrochemistry -- using electricity to perform chemical reactions like oxidation and reduction -- is gaining popularity in the pharmaceutical field.

6 Nov 2019

Scientists discover structure of novel RNA-modifying enzyme

RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is present in the cells of all living beings and required to synthesize proteins. A research team at the University of California, Riverside, has discovered the structure of a novel RNA-modifying enzyme, ZCCHC4, and identified the mechanism that controls how this enzyme recognizes its substrate.

6 Nov 2019