Researchers determine genetic cause of Timothy syndrome
...ll. Calcium is one of the most important signaling molecules in the body, and perturbing calcium transport can cause a wide range of disorders. Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Mark T. Keating and his colleagues reported in the October 1, 2004, issue of the journal Cell, that a pinpoint mutatio...Molecular motor implicated in tissue remodeling
...o the team looked for an energy source. While most molecules that act as motors are inside cells and get their energy from a ubiquitous high-energy molecule called ATP, the team found that MMP-1 gets its energy by breaking the molecular bonds in the collagen filament it is attached to. "In fact," Goldberg say...DNA lends scientists a hand, revealing new chemical reactions
...iggybacking collections of different small organic molecules onto short strands of DNA, which then gives the re...dress fundamental challenges in chemistry. Organic molecules are attached to, and "encoded" by, single strands of approximately a dozen DNA bases; when two stran...New molecular link key to cellular proteins involved in cancer progression, other diseases
...ther the consequence of H2A ubiquitination nor the molecules responsible were known. Now, 29 years later, work by Zhang and colleagues has provided answers to both questions. "Since Polycomb-group proteins have been previously linked to cancer, we anticipate that the ubiquitination of histone H2A will also be ...Phase II trials of second-generation antisense cancer drug planned following successful early study
... OGX-011 is an advance on earlier ones in that the molecules have a longer tissue half life and are potentially more potent. Pre-clinical studies had shown that blocking the production of clusterin with OGX-011 impairs a cancer cell's survival mechanism and enhances the effectiveness of standard chemotherapy, ...Wisconsin scientists develop quick botox test
...s. "A cell-based assay has the potential to reveal molecules that may inhibit various toxin action pathways." Botulinum toxin is made by a bacterium that causes food poisoning. The poison is the most toxic substance known, six million times more potent than rattlesnake venom. It works by binding to nerve endi...Marijuana use could cause tubal pregnancies
...ough two cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2. Lipid molecules made by the body, called "endocannabinoids," activate these receptors, and are involved in several important physiological functions, including memory, pain and appetite. In the 1990s, while at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, ...Rice finds 'on-off switch' for buckyball toxicity
...cal notation is C60, are hollow, soccerball-shaped molecules containing 60 carbon atoms. Their diameter is just...rcher s modified the buckyballs by attaching other molecules to their sides. Researchers measured how many cells died within 48 hours of exposure to each solutio...UCI scientists successfully target key HIV protein; breakthrough may lead to new drug therapies
...ncy syndrome, or AIDS. Nef was targeted with small molecules synthesized by the researchers molecules that disrupted Nef's interaction with other proteins. The technique used for identifying the synthe...New sequence involved in DNA replication timing may aid in cancer detection
...er Institute. "In both cases, some portions of DNA molecules are nearly always duplicated early in S phase while other portions are nearly always duplicated late." Until recently, very little was known about how cells control replication timing. Studies in budding yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) have sugges...Master of antimalarial resistance
... of its new host, drawing on the cells' hemoglobin molecules for sustenance. As the parasite digests the hemoglobin inside a membrane pocket called the digestive vacuole, it creates a toxic byproduct called free heme. Normally, the parasite detoxifies the free heme by turning it into a product called hemozoin....Anthrax enzyme images reveal secrets of antibiotic resistance, suggest new drug design
...triggering resistance. DHPS normally combines the molecules DHPP and pABA during part of a biochemical pathway...ique to make images of the enzyme bound to the two molecules that the enzyme chemically combines with to make folic acid. Based on these images of the enzyme an...Groundbreaking research could ignite new solutions to heat transfer in nano-devices
... a molecule on one side of a molecular wall causes molecules within the wall to move," said John Deak, Ph.D., a...aterials whose properties originate in clusters of molecules on the nanometer level. This research can be used to help us better understand how molecules interac...Brown research reveals key insight into memory-making
...n during LTP, recycling endosomes also carry lipid molecules along with other "cargo" proteins that can be used to expand synapses during memory formation. "It's an exciting, essential finding," said Kauer. "The more we understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind memory, the closer we are to treatm...'Smart antibiotics' may result from UCLA research
...was able to change to recognize different receptor molecules on the surface of bacteria. The phage genome contains a series of genes, identified by Miller's team, that enable this fast-change routine. The researchers discovered that the phage's genome contains a "little genetic 'cassette' that functions to div...Experimental drug shown to block mutant protein causing blood disease
...ing cancers," explains Stone. Tyrosine kinases are molecules that act as biological switches inside cells, regulating processes including cell division and growth. Abnormal kinases have been discovered to be major culprits in many forms of cancer. Because inhibitor drugs strike the abnormal kinases in cancer c...Environmental decontamination, greenhouse gases, and the genome of a methane-loving bacterium
...ifferent pathways depending on the availability of molecules needed to sustain cellular activities. Most surprising, the researchers note, was evidence that this methane specialist can turn into a sort of metabolic generalist-with a capacity to use sugars, hydrogen, and sulfur-and appears able to survive reduc...Amyloid fibers sprout one step at a time
...ed with the transient accumulation of intermediate molecules that have been implicated in causing disease. "The process of forming amyloids seems to be implicated in disease perhaps as much as the actual aggregates themselves," said Weissman. "So understanding why some proteins form amyloids and aggregate, and...Chemical genetics identifies SARS inhibitors
...ded a reservoir of novel biologically active small molecules that could be developed as anti-SARS therapeutics........ For now, the process lets chemists produce known molecules with greater control. Down the line, it could be used to search for new medicines. Sheila Patek , 31, University of California, Berkeley for her work in the field of biomechanics. Why would a biologist spend her days battling crustaceans? Because...