Biodegradable particles mimic white blood cells, target inflamed tissue, new study finds
...ly developed the bead, which is made of polylactic acid and polyethylene glycol, two polymers commonly used in other medical applications, Goetz said. This biodegradable particle was 100 times more effective at sticking to the blood vessel wall than other materials tested in previous studies, the engineer...Scripps Research receives $3 million anonymous donation
...cus on." One of these, called gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Alcohol produces many of its intoxicating actions through facilitation of GABA receptor function, and preclinical studies of alcohol dependence at Scripps Research have shown that GABAergi...Researchers uncover pathway that could lead to plant generation of human-like protein
...ce, is common to humans and plants. "It's a sialic acid synthesis pathway," Joshi said. "In humans they are important for the half-life of our proteins and immune system, but we don't know what their role is in plants. It may be related to a plant's ability to survive stressful conditions, like a lack of ...Ability to smell food regulated by enzyme's interaction with RNA interference pathway
...nts are caused by aberrant RNAi." RNA is a nucleic acid that is an essential component of all cells. In a process called transcription, the information in our DNA genes is passed to RNA. A second process called translation allows the information in RNA to be turned into protein. Typically, one gene has th......ur. Umami receptors are sensitive to the amino acid glutamate, which most think serves as a marker for protein-rich foods. Glutamate also is the main ingredient in the commonly used flavor additive MSG (monosodium glutamate), which may explain the additive's appeal. Taste research has attracte...Breakthroughs lead to better understanding in prevention of transfusion-transmitted infection
...y is currently inspected in minipools with nucleic acid testing for HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and WNV, ...aboratories, Tempe, Ariz., have introduced nucleic acid amplification technology (NAT) screening, which has prevented a substantial number of transmitted We...Plant immune system's 'take two aspirin' gene, offers hope for disease control
...ate visible effect of SABP2 is to enable salicylic acid to induce the so-called hypersensitive resistance response. "We see programmed cell death at the site of the attack as plant cells sacrifice themselves for the overall survival of the plant," Klessig explains. "We believe programmed cell death helps ...Novel therapies show promise against myeloid leukemia
... (Abstract 486) All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA, found in vitamin A) and arsenic trioxide (A...the control of apoptosis, is fused to the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARa) gene in PML patients. The PML-RARa oncoprotein is present only in the leukemi...Researchers design and build first artificial protein
..." said Baker. The challenges of designing an amino acid sequence to fold into a new structure were conside...ructure, it might be that there is simply no amino acid sequence that will fold up to that structure. We had to develop methods to computationally sample po...Brain's 'master molecule' produces same behavior in mice from three different psychostimulant drugs
...is remarkable because it shows that a single amino acid on a single protein, by being altered, can abolish...e molecule ("dephosphorylation") on specific amino acid sites. In the findings reported in Science, the Rockefeller team found that DARPP-32 was phosphoryl...Three molecular-targeted compounds show promise against cancers
... deacetylase inhibitor: suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA): Abstract 1000 Some patients with advanced... of the compound called suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid or SAHA. "The results of our clinical trial demonstrate that this novel treatment has significant an...Scientists discover potential approaches to enhance existing cancer therapies
...o and in vivo radiosensitization by p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA): Abstract 1005 A research team from New York University School of Medicine analyzed the effects of PABA and radiation alone and together on several cancer cell lines grown in laboratory dishes, as well as on implanted tumors in mice and chick ...Extraterrestrial enigma: missing amino acids in meteorites
... Earth was bombarded with meteorites and the amino acid glycine has been detected on interstellar molecular clouds. The implications and enigmas of extraterrestrial amino acids will be detailed at a special session celebrating the life and work of the late Glenn Goodfriend, on Monday, Nov. 3, 2003, at th...Beyond biology: Simple system yields custom-designed proteins
...agues involves a simple system for designing amino acid sequences that fold like natural proteins. First publishing the idea in 1993, Hecht realized that some amino acids were strongly "water-loving" while others were "oil-loving." The two types naturally separate from each other, with the oil-loving ones...Clay may have aided formation of primordial cells
...uce. "Other researchers had observed that if fatty acid micelles, which are stable at basic conditions, ar... quantities of the clay, montmorillonite, to fatty acid micelles greatly accelerated the formation of vesicles. They also discovered that many other substan...Embryonic pathway critical to growth of digestive tract tumors
...onmental toxin or irritant, such as excess stomach acid chronically rising into the esophagus. If the damaging environmental irritant is also carcinogenic, such as tobacco smoke, the chances go up that these long-lived primitive cells eventually may collect the right genetic mutations to trigger cancer d...Nerve disorder in mice and men linked to mutated gene
...f the mutations in the ATCAY gene changes an amino acid and the other is a splice mutation expressing a non-functional, truncated form of caytaxin, the protein expressed by the gene," Burmeister explains. When U-M scientists analyzed gene expression in tissue from mice in the study, they found caytaxin pr...Cancer prevention pioneer receives AACR/Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation Award
High-dose retinoic acid a vitamin A derivative can prevent the occurrence of new head and neck cancers in patients initially cured by surgery, radiation therapy or a combination of the two, according to more than two decades of research by Waun Ki Hong, M.D. He and his c...Roderick MacKinnon wins 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
...s--painstakingly altering the protein by one amino acid at a time to determine the effects of such changes--MacKinnon's group eventually identified a "signature sequence" of eight amino acids that were key to the channel's function. They also demonstrated that potassium channels must consist of four subun...Illinois study seeking biomarkers of canine diabetes, other diseases
...-based diet. Researchers are analyzing ribonucleic acid (RNA) samples to generate gene expression profiles of some 384 genes associated with metabolism and immune function. They also are monitoring digestion, fetal microbes and concentrations of fermented end products to measure the effects of dietary cha...