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30 July 2010
‘Linc-ing’ a noncoding RNA to a central cellular pathway
The recent discovery of more than a thousand genes known as large intergenic non coding RNAs (or ‘lincRNAs’) has opened up a new approach to understanding the function and organization of the genome.
29 July 2010
The mystery of healthy fat people
It is common to find obese people – even morbidly obese people – who are healthier than their condition would normally allow.
28 July 2010
Morphine blocks tumour growth
Current research suggests that taking morphine can block new blood vessel and tumour growth.
27 July 2010
Infectious prions can arise spontaneously in normal brain tissue
A startling new study shows for the first time that abnormal prions, bits of infectious protein devoid of DNA or RNA that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease, can suddenly erupt from healthy brain tissue.
26 July 2010
Researchers discover how key enzyme repairs sun-damaged DNA
Researchers have long known that humans lack a key enzyme — one possessed by most of the animal kingdom and even plants — that reverses severe sun damage.
23 July 2010
Starve a cancer
Researchers at Boston College, MA, have found that reducing calorie intake can restrict the growth and spread of brain cancer.
22 July 2010
Quantum entanglement in photosynthesis
Recently, academic debate has been swirling around the existence of unusual quantum mechanical effects in the most ubiquitous of phenomena, including photosynthesis.
21 July 2010
Making cellulose easier to digest
Grains, vegetables and fruit taste delicious and are important sources of energy. However, humans cannot digest the main component of plants - the cellulose in the cell wall.
20 July 2010
Study sheds light on triglyceride metabolism
New findings reported in the July issue of Cell Metabolism are offering new leads as to why some people might suffer from high levels of triglycerides.
19 July 2010
Findings overturn old theory of phytoplankton growth
A new study concludes that an old, fundamental and widely accepted theory of how and why phytoplankton bloom in the oceans is incorrect.
16 July 2010
New strategy boosts speed and accuracy in simulation of protein folding
All proteins self-assemble in a fraction of the blink of an eye, but it can take a long time to mimic the process. And there has been no guarantee of success, even with the most powerful computers – until now.
15 July 2010
Amid the murk of gut flora, vitamin D receptor emerges as a key player
Within the human digestive tract is a teeming mass of hundreds of types of bacteria, a potpourri of microbes numbering in the trillions that help us digest food and keep bad bacteria in check.
12 July 2010
New retrieval method makes studying cancer proteins easier
A Purdue University researcher can better retrieve specific proteins needed to study how cancer cells form by using a newly developed technique and synthetic nanopolymer.
9 July 2010
Researchers demystifying complex cellular communications hubs found in sensory neurons
For decades ‘primary’ cilia, was believed to serve little to no purpose. Despite the fact that almost every cell found in vertebrates has at least one primary cilium, the organ was regarded as merely an evolutionary relic.
8 July 2010
Biologists find a new clue to cellular ageing
The ability to combat some age-related diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, may rest with scientists unlocking clues about the molecular and cellular processes governing ageing.
7 July 2010
Solved - the mechanism of cap removal from actin filaments
Researchers have solved the X-ray crystal structures of the actin capping protein (CP) complexed with its inhibitors, V-1 and CARMIL, and demonstrated that the two regulators modulate the filament capping activity in very different manners.
6 July 2010
Wallabies and bats harbour ‘fossil’ genes from the most deadly family of human viruses
New findings by University at Buffalo biologists reveal that modern mammals and marsupials harbour a ‘fossil’ copy of a gene that codes for filoviruses, which cause Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fevers and are the most lethal viruses to humans.
5 July 2010
Gene regulating human brain development identified
With more than 100 billion neurons and billions of other specialized cells, the human brain is a marvel of nature.
2 July 2010
Scientists find new role for DNA repair protein linked to cancer
Tufts University researchers have pinpointed a key cellular protein that repairs damaged DNA molecules but may also promote the development of cancer.
1 July 2010
How a Mediterranean diet fights heart disease
Everyone knows olive oil and a Mediterranean diet are associated with a lower risk for cardiovascular disease, but a new research offers a surprising reason why: these foods change how genes associated with atherosclerosis function.
30 June 2010
Deaths in the family cause bacteria to flee
The deaths of nearby relatives has a curious effect on the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus – surviving cells lose their stickiness.
29 June 2010
‘Copy-and-paste DNA’ more common than previously thought
Researchers at the University of Leicester have demonstrated that movable sequences of DNA, which give rise to genetic variability and sometimes cause specific diseases, are far more common than previously thought.
28 June 2010
Researchers develop world’s first plastic antibodies
UC Irvine researchers have developed the first ‘plastic antibodies’ successfully employed in live organisms – stopping the spread of bee venom through the bloodstream of mice.
25 June 2010
Wining and dining your way to better eyesight
Current research suggests that resveratrol, a naturally occurring compound found in red wine, grapes, blueberries, peanuts, and other plants, inhibits pathogenic new blood vessel growth.
24 June 2010
New function for pseudogenes and noncoding RNAs
The central dogma of molecular biology holds that genetic information is transferred from DNA to functional proteins by way of messenger RNA (mRNA). This suggests that mRNA has but a single role, that being to encode for proteins.
23 June 2010
Can START stop cholesterol build-up?
A newly discovered group of proteins could help treat cholesterol build-up in arteries.
22 June 2010
End bias and corruption in drug trials, says BMJ editor
Pharmaceutical companies should not evaluate their own products, said Dr Fiona Godlee, editor of the BMJ, last night.
21 June 2010
Pancreatic clock and diabetes
The pancreas has its own molecular clock that regulates the production of insulin. If the clock is faulty, the result is diabetes.
18 June 2010
'High fives' all round as the Biochemical Journal breaks the Impact Factor 5 barrier!
In the latest data released by ISI (2009 Journal Citation Reports © Thomson Reuters) the Biochemical Journal's Impact Factor has increased to 5.155.
17 June 2010
Mobile cells are more sensitive than you think
Mobile biological cells may be twice as good at following chemical signals as previously believed possible, according to researchers at Princeton.
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