Biochemistry

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Research sheds light on molecular mechanisms that enable bacteria to compete and establish symbiosis

Two factors that control the expression of a key gene required by luminescent bacteria to kill competing bacterial cells have been identified.

7 Mar 2020

New route for total synthesis of tetrodotoxin

In Japan, puffer fish is considered a delicacy, but the tickle to the taste buds comes with a tickle to the nerves: fugu contains tetrodotoxin, a strong nerve toxin.

6 Mar 2020

Microbiome research uncovers new form of antibiotic tolerance

Antibiotics can make easy work of infections. But how do they affect the complex ecosystems of friendly bacteria that make up our microbiome?

5 Mar 2020

Researchers find previously unknown response within gut microbiome

The gut microbiome, which is a collection of numerous beneficial bacteria species, is key to our overall well-being and good health. Recent studies have linked the gut microbiome with several beneficial properties, such as aiding in the development of our immune system and warding off pathogen infections.

5 Mar 2020

Breakthrough technology identifies proteins' nearest neighbors on cell surfaces

When corporate partners in the Princeton Catalysis Initiative sat down two years ago with David MacMillan, they presented him with a biological challenge at the heart of potential cancer medicines and other therapeutics: which proteins on a cell's surface touch each other?

5 Mar 2020

Molecule-sized drills can target diseased cells and kill them in minutes

Molecule-sized drills do the damage they are designed to do. That's bad news for disease.

5 Mar 2020

Researchers uncover novel neurotransmitter system in the brain

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit signals between neurons or from neurons to other cells. They interact with specific receptors found in the brain of humans and animals, controlling a variety of biological processes, e.g. fear, anger, pleasure, memory, energy, appetite and sleep.

5 Mar 2020

New repair mechanism for alcohol-induced DNA damage discovered

Researchers of the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, United Kingdom, have discovered a new way in which the human body repairs DNA damage caused by a degradation product of alcohol.

4 Mar 2020

Chemists develop promising molecular tool to target cell immortality's underlying gears

One of the hallmarks of cancer is cell immortality. A Northwestern University organic chemist and his team now have developed a promising molecular tool that targets and inhibits one of cell immortality's underlying gears: the enzyme telomerase.

3 Mar 2020

Inhibiting energy production in immune T-cells allows some tumors to escape treatment

A small molecule that inhibits energy production in immune T-cells allows some tumors to escape treatment with an immunotherapy called PD-1 blockade therapy, says a study in mice published today in eLife.

3 Mar 2020

Observation of telomerase activity at a single-molecule level using 'optical tweezers'

Stem cells involved in replenishing human tissues and blood depend on an enzyme known as telomerase to continue working throughout our lives. When telomerase malfunctions, it can lead to both cancer and premature aging conditions.

3 Mar 2020

Study provides new insight on neural processes behind our desire for revenge

New insight on the neural processes that drive a desire for revenge during conflict between groups has been published today in the open-access journal eLife.

3 Mar 2020

Study reveals the mechanisms in our brains that lead to satiety after a meal

You just finished a good meal and are feeling full? Researchers from the CNRS, Inrae, University of Burgundy, Université de Paris, Inserm, and University of Luxembourg have just revealed the mechanisms in our brains that lead to this state.

3 Mar 2020

Supplying nutritional amino acid restores spatial memory in mouse model of Alzheimer's

Scientists at the Laboratoire des Maladies Neurodégénératives and the Neurocentre Magendie have just shown that a metabolic pathway plays a determining role in Alzheimer's disease's memory problems.

3 Mar 2020

SFU researchers help discover potential new drug to kill superbugs

Researchers in Simon Fraser University's Brinkman Laboratory are collaborating with U.S. researchers to test a new drug that can kill a wide range of superbugs - including some bacteria now resistant to all common antibiotics.

3 Mar 2020

New tool shows potential to predict developmental toxicity in humans with high accuracy

Recently published results from an evaluation of 1,065 chemical and drug substances using the devTOX quickPredict (devTOXqP) screening platform developed by Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc. demonstrated the platform's ability to predict developmental toxicity in humans with high accuracy using a cell-based test.

3 Mar 2020

WFIRM scientists develop miniature organ model to test drug toxicity

Scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicinehave developed the world's most sophisticated laboratory model of the human body, creating a system of miniaturized organs that can be used to detect harmful and adverse effects of drugs before they are prescribed to patients.

2 Mar 2020