Research demonstrates how Rensselaer-made peptides can bind to cells and potentially block viruses RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE Designer peptides show potential for blocking viruses, e TROY, N.Y. — Chemically engineered peptides, designed and developed by a team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, could prove valuable in the battle against some of the most persistent human...
Category: <span>Peptides</span>
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Experimental peptide targets Covid-19
Computational modeling yields a protein fragment that could bind to coronavirus spike proteins and destroy them. The research described in this article has been published on a preprint server but has not yet been peer-reviewed by scientific or medical experts. Using computational models of protein interactions, researchers at the MIT Media Lab and Center for...
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Memory impairment in mice reduced by soy derivate that can enter the brain intact
Ingestion of the protein fragment improved working and long-term memory in mice treated to simulate Alzheimer’s disease KYUSHU UNIVERSITY In a study that could help one day give a literal meaning to food for thought, researchers from Kyushu University in Japan have reported that a protein fragment that makes its way into the brain after...
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Renewed hope for treatment of pain and depression
by Luxembourg Institute of Health Researchers at the Department of Infection and Immunity of the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) have developed LIH383, a novel molecule that binds to and blocks a previously unknown opioid receptor in the brain, thereby modulating the levels of opioid peptides produced in the central nervous system (CNS) and potentiating...
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Peptide weakens superbugs to make old antibiotics effective again
By Michael Irving Viruses may be hogging all the headlines at the moment, but it’s important to remember that bacteria are also a looming threat to public health, as they continue to develop resistance to antibiotics. Now a new study has identified a peptide that can make existing antibiotics more effective at a much lower...
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Nanodevices for the brain could thwart formation of Alzheimer’s plaques
CREDIT: CENTER FOR NANOSCALE MATERIALS, ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, affecting one in 10 people over the age of 65. Scientists are engineering nanodevices to disrupt processes in the brain that lead to the disease. People who are affected by Alzheimer’s disease have a...
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Researchers are developing potential treatment for chronic pain
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have developed a new way to treat chronic pain which has been tested in mice. With a compound designed and developed by the researchers themselves, they can achieve complete pain relief. Between seven and ten percent of the world’s population suffers from chronic pain originating from nerves that have...
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A study finds neuropeptide somatostatin enhances visual processing?
By: PROFESSOR SEUNG-HEE LEE, KAIST Researchers have confirmed that neuropeptide somatostatin can improve cognitive function in the brain. A research group of Professor Seung-Hee Lee from the Department of Biological Sciences at KAIST found that the application of neuropeptide somatostatin improves visual processing and cognitive behaviors by reducing excitatory inputs to parvalbumin-positive interneurons in the...
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Designing peptide inhibitors for possible COVID-19 treatments
Scientists across the globe are rushing to find inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are using computer simulations to identify promising compounds before conducting actual experiments in the lab. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have used computer modeling to assess four peptides that mimic the virus-binding domain of the...
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New nanocarrier drug delivery technology crosses the blood-brain barrier
KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY A Japanese research team has developed a cyclic peptide (a chain of amino acids bonded circularly) that enhances blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration. By attaching the cyclic peptide to the surface of nanoparticles, research and development of new drug nanocarriers for drug delivery to the brain becomes possible. Unlike blood circulation to the peripheral...