ESF EURYI award winner aims to stop cancer cells reading their own DNA
...apy can kill the malignant cells, and chemotherapy stops them dividing. Dekkers work is aiming towards a new generation of drugs that target cancer cells much more specifically than traditional chemotherapy, avoiding side effects such as temporary hair loss. Dekker is focusing on an enzyme called Topoisom...Identified mechanism in the malaria parasite to help it adapt to infected individuals
...at the epigenetic level, meaning that the parasite stops expressing a certain gene without changing the underlying genetic information, and that the mechanism is flexible, adaptable and easily reversible. This means that the parasite can re-express the proteins relatively easily when infecting another indi...Biologists at Tufts University discover 1 reason why chromosomes break, often leading to cancer
...ed. "We found that the fragile sequence actually stops replication," Freudenreich said. "So when replication gets there, it has trouble, it stops, it pauses, it can't go further very easily." Most of the time, chromosomes break and heal correctly. The problem arises when they do not heal correctly and ...Seawater intrusion is the first cause of contamination of coastal aquifers
...r efficient measure to prevent salinisation, as it stops seawater intrusion and increases freshwater levels. In this sense, for instance, clean water obtained from urban sewage purification can be used for irrigation of crops and golf fields as well as to create a hydraulic barrier against seawater intrusi...Researchers watch antibiotics, bacteria meet at atomic level
... the researchers already knew that this antibiotic stops RNA polymerase activity inside a cell. But they didn't know what controlled this mechanism. We have to know what we're looking at and working with before it's possible to make a useful antibiotic, Artsimovitch said. Now we can. Now we can see whe...Major breakthrough in understanding how HIV interferes with infected cell division
...s is the HIV protein, viral protein R (Vpr), which stops infected CD4+T cells from dividing and as a consequence compromises their immune function. In addition, by arresting cell division, Vpr helps HIV to harness the infected cells resources to enhance viral replication. The way Vpr exerts this effect is ...Cells take risks with their identities
... human cells. Flip the switch and a cell starts or stops producing a particular protein. But new evidence suggests that this model is too simple and that our genes are more ready for action than previously thought. Scientists in the lab of Whitehead Member Richard Young have discovered that many human ge...New way to target and kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria found
...crucial role in conjugation. The enzyme starts and stops the movement of DNA between bacteria. Relaxase is the gatekeeper, and it is also the Achilles heel of the resistance process, Redinbo said. Led by graduate student Scott Lujan, the team suspected they could block relaxase by searching for vulnerabi...New compound effectively treats fungal infections
...e end of the tRNA, trapping it on the enzyme. This stops the enzyme working and thus blocks protein synthesis, killing the fungal cell. The mechanism crucially depends on a boron atom that is part of AN2690, which is needed to link the compound to the tRNA. It is the first time that scientists describe suc...CSHL scientists successfully target tumor microenvironment to stop cancer growth
...ges of tumor progression and that eliminating EPCs stops cancer growth. Using sophisticated high-resolution microscopy and flow cytometry, they zeroed in on the earliest stages of cancer progression and identified the role of EPCs in generating blood vessels that allow cancers to grow. If we selectively bl...In nature, proteins sweep up nanoparticles
...h pickup at the nanoscale. Regardless, the process stops the spread of metal nanoparticles in natural environments, which is reason enough to explore it further. If we understand what causes nanoparticles to aggregate, we have the potential to control their mobility in the subsurface by adding constituen...Now, self-healing materials can mimic human skin, healing again and again
...talyst. In the current system, the healing process stops after seven healing cycles. This limitation might be overcome by implementing a new microvascular design based on dual networks, the researchers suggest. The improved design would allow new healing chemistries such as two-part epoxies to be exploit...Genome of Clostridium botulinum reveals the background to world's deadliest toxin
...ridia are from each other." C. botulinum toxin stops nerves from working the basis of its use in medicine to control tremors and in cosmetic treatments. For the prey of its opportunistic attacks, death is swift. Perhaps the most important tool it has to act out its stealth attacks is its ability to hi...Botulism bug has few genome wrinkles
...ridia are from each other." C. botulinum toxin stops nerves from working - the basis of its use in medicine to control tremors and in cosmetic treatments. For the prey of its opportunistic attacks, death is swift. Perhaps the most important tool it has to act out its stealth attacks is its ability to h...HIV in breast milk killed by flash-heating, new study finds
...d be particularly important at the time the mother stops nursing. Roughly 300,000 infants contract HIV from breastfeeding each year. Even if only a small proportion of HIV-positive mothers in resource-poor countries can successfully express and flash-treat their milk, this simple, inexpensive and potential...Combining NSAIDs with chemotherapy, radiation may improve cancer treatment
...al well-defined checkpoints where the growing cell stops and "decides" that things are ready to move on to the next stage. The UI research found that celecoxib alters the expression of G1 checkpoint proteins and significantly decreases the activity of a protein called E2F1. This activity is required for ...New genetic biomarkers could predict coronary heart disease
...elomeres reach a critically short length, the cell stops dividing and ages (senesces) which may cause or contribute to age-related diseases. Telomeres are essential regulators of the cellular lifespan and chromosome integrity, however it has recently been shown that telomeres may also play a role in comple...Notorious cancer gene may work by destroying messenger
...in chops up and destroys the mRNA, which instantly stops production of that protein. Cells use that mechanism to control the production of proteins such as growth factors, which activate genes in response to a hormone or other signal. PMR1 also plays a key role in Cooley's anemia, which causes the lo...Male reindeer inflate a large air sac in the neck region to emit their hoarse rutting calls
...wothree years, at which point the female's air sac stops growing, whilst the male's continues to develop. The authors of the research paper further explain that the rutting calls appear to be understood by rival males as an indicator of the caller's fighting ability. By contrast to male red deer, who a...New compound prevents alcoholic behavior, relapse in animals by blocking stress response
...e during the brains response to stress effectively stops excessive drinking and prevents relapse. The new, synthetic compound, known as MTIP, also muted the anxiety that typically develops in rats experiencing the equivalent of a hangover. Such stress is linked with higher levels of a brain chemical cal...