Carnegie Mellon scientists find key HIV protein makes cell membranes bend more easily
...important discovery that aids the understanding of why HIV enters immune cells with ease. The researchers found that after HIV docks onto a host cell, it dramatically lowers the energy required for a cell membrane to bend, making it easier for the virus to infect immune cells. The finding, in press in Bi...Study identifies new gene therapy tools for inherited blindness
...they're going down the tubes," Corbo says. "That's why there are so many inherited forms of blindness linked to degeneration of photoreceptors." Corbo and colleagues began their studies with three genes previously shown to be important to regulation of photoreceptor proteins. The three genes, known as tr...Call for EU to launch major project to map out all our proteins
...olve one of biologys more recent puzzles, which is why all organisms, from the simplest to the most complex, contain a significantly higher number of predicted protein coding genes than experimentally detected proteins. The shortfall is significant in almost all organisms there are only about 65 per ce......of Humboldt squid in this area. This may explain why the squid that appeared in 1997 disappeared within a year or twothey came and they ate, but they did not reproduce locally and eventually died out. Since 2002,however, the authors suggest that Humboldt squid have been both feeding and reproducing off...Monell researchers find metabolic defect in liver that can lead to obesity
...enzymes needed to burn fat and may help to explain why some people become obese while others remain thin. The global obesity epidemic is thought to be caused in part by the increased availability and intake of high calorie foods rich in fat and carbohydrates. These foods promote weight gain in humans ...Enzyme discovery sheds light on vitamin D
...fferent pathways, until now they could not explain why this occurs. The teams findings are published on-line in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Other members include: research associate David Prosser, PhD student Martin Kaufmann, and research technician Valarie By...Eat fish -- especially if you drink high levels of alcohol
...A intake of alcoholics." "This helps to explain why alcohol abuse leads to losses in polyunsaturated fats in the circulation and organs," said Salem. "However, dietary influence does not explain all of the changes observed in past studies of fatty-acid changes in organs of alcohol abusers. Alcohol a...Study sheds light on why humans walk on two legs
... puzzle humans have always wondered about: How and why did we become human" And why do we alone walk on two legs""...Effects of aging in stem cells
...ney, brain, and arteries. It may also help explain why HSCs lose function. One of the up-regulated genes,... understand the molecular mechanisms of aging, and why so many of us face a high risk of cancer in our later years. ....... These findings will enhance the understanding of why milk is healthful and the molecular pathways that create the bodies own quality control pipe line," says Dr. Evans. The researchers noticed that pups of the PPAR-deficient females who were, themselves, genetically normal - were displaying a number...Genomic analysis uncovers new targets for HIV vaccine
...s, that together greatly increase our knowledge of why patients differ in how well they can control the virus that causes AIDS. These findings represent only the first of what investigators said will be a series of future genome-wide studies to pinpoint additional targets for HIV vaccines. In the new ...First genome-wide study of infectious disease opens new avenues for HIV treatment, vaccines
...nology (CHAVI), has yielded a new understanding of why some people can suppress virus levels following HIV infection. The clearer picture of host responses to the virus achieved through this examination of genomes could lead to improved HIV therapies and provides new targets for vaccine developers, says ...MIT IDs link between brain tumor proteins
...GBM. This discovery could offer an explanation for why GBM tumors are so invasive, because over-activated c-Met has already been implicated in very invasive types of lung and breast cancers. The researchers dont know yet how EGFRvIII is activating c-Met, and whether other proteins are involved in the ...Measuring the unseeable: Penn researchers probe proteins' dark energy
...otein structure-function relationships, suggesting why rational drug design has been so difficult. The...ers suggest that the entropy component may explain why drug design fails more often than it works. Currently, drugs are designed generally based on the pre...Study explains how pathogens evolve to escape detection
...ays resistant for 20 years or more." Understanding why some varieties have more durable disease resistance is important to the development of more sustainable agricultural practices, he said. The study by Cornell and BTI scientists describes how a single bacterial protein, AvrPtoB, which is injected by ...CRESIB coordinates an international consortium to fight malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax
... initial duration of 4 years. This is the reason why CRESIB, through DR. Hernando A. del Portillo, specialist in molecular biology and vaccine development against Plasmodium vivax , gives plenty of importance to the development of new control tools for this type of malaria. In the field of malaria ...Universal flu vaccine being tested on humans
...uring a previous infection or vaccination. This is why we run the risk of catching the flu each year and also why a new flu vaccine must be developed each year. A universal flu vaccine that provides broad and lifel...Study finds hereditary link to premenstrual depression
...e able to find gene differences that might explain why some women have these mood disorders and others don't," said Dr. David R. Rubinow, the study's senior author and the Meymandi distinguished professor and chair of psychiatry at UNC School of Medicine. "This study may begin to provide important clues ...Immune system 'escape hatch' gives cancer cells traction
...ings of MDSCs in cancer the teams findings suggest why experimental cancer vaccines have to date been plagued by T-cell tolerance, a weakened rather than strengthened immune response, says Jonathan Schneck, M.D., Ph.D., one of the studys authors. Our findings also open up a new door in drug and vaccine...Study identifies energy efficiency as reason for evolution of upright walking
...atomy, said Raichlen. We were able to show exactly why certain individuals were able to walk bipedally more cheaply than others, and we did that with biomechanical modeling. The biomechanical modeling revealed that more energy is used with shorter steps or more active muscle mass. Indeed, the chimpanz...