BY ELISE OVERGAARD Misfolded proteins are toxic to cells. They disrupt normal functions and cause some age-related human degenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases. Cells work constantly to eliminate misfolded proteins, but these clearance mechanisms are still poorly understood. In a new study published April 20 in Nature Cell Biology, researchers at Stanford University discovered a previously unknown...
by Greg Glasgow, CU Anschutz Medical Campus Credit: CC0 Public Domain Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have discovered a new mechanism for slowing scarring of heart tissue—a process known as cardiac fibrosis. “Fibrosis of the heart occurs in response to a variety of stresses,” says the study’s corresponding author, Timothy McKinsey, Ph.D., professor of...
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY IMAGE: BACTERIAL GENES KGRA-E, SHOWN AS ARROWS AT THE TOP, ENCODE FOR THE ENTEROPEPTIN PRECURSOR PEPTIDE AND FOUR TAILORING ENZYMES. THESE ENZYMES MODIFY THE CORE AND REMOVE THE LEADER AND FOLLOWER SEGMENTS OF THE PRECURSOR TO PRODUCE ENTEROPEPTIN A. CREDIT: NATURE CHEMISTRY Researchers in the Princeton University Department of Chemistry have discovered a new multi-step...
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH IMAGE: X-SHAPED CHROMOSOMES ARE STAINED PURPLE, AND TELOMERES APPEAR AS GREEN SPOTS AT CHROMOSOME TIPS. WHEN RESEARCHERS USED A NOVEL TOOL TO INDUCE OXIDATIVE DAMAGE SPECIFICALLY AT TELOMERES, THEY CAN BECOME FRAGILE (GREEN ARROWS), SENDING CELLS INTO SENESCENCE. THE INSET SHOWS AN ENLARGED CHROMOSOME WITH FRAGILE TELOMERES, INDICATED BY MULTIPLE GREEN SPOTS...
by University of Birmingham Credit: CC0 Public Domain Leading scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered a previously unknown pathway that prevents specific drugs from working in patients with bowel cancer. The research findings pave the way for increasing the number of bowel cancer patients who can be successfully treated, say the scientists. Bowel cancer, also called colorectal cancer, affects...
CENTRO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIONES ONCOLÓGICAS (CNIO) IMAGE: ALEJO EFEYAN AND ANA ORTEGA- MOLINA. /CNIO CREDIT: CNIO For their own benefit and to grow beyond control, tumors manipulate cell signals to make it appear as if the cells have the nutrients they need. That is the case in follicular lymphoma, a type of tumor that affects...
by Rosemary Brandt, University of Arizona Benjamin Renquist, an associate professor in the UArizona School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Research. Credit: University of Arizona This year marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, a scientific breakthrough that transformed Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, from a terminal disease...
TECHNION-ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY When treating cancer, researchers are always searching for ways to remove cancer cells while minimizing damage to the rest of the body. One possible approach is to find processes unique to cancer cells, and which would allow specific targeting. If such a process can be disrupted, only those cells would be affected. A...
