The European Bioinformatics Institute and Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB)–Ghent University have launched the PRoteomics IDEntifications database (PRIDE; www.ebi.ac.uk/pride). PRIDE allows researchers who work in the field of proteomics – the large-scale study of proteins – to share information much more readily than was previously possible. This will allow them to exploit the growing mass of information on how the body’s complement of proteins is altered in many disease

Myelodysplastic / myeloproliferative diseases (MDS/MPD) are blood stem cell disorders characterized by ineffective formation and development of blood cells in the bone marrow, resulting in abnormal development of bone marrow precursor cells and a reduction in the number of blood cells. The broad spectrum of symptoms makes MDS/MPD difficult to treat, and there are no good prognostic markers available. No single gene defect has been found for these diseases, and no animal model was available

Insulin resistance is a fundamental factor in non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Prolonged activation of the insulin receptor, inflammation, and excessive insulin levels can induce insulin resistance by decreasing levels of insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins. However, the mechanism(s) underlying the destruction of IRS proteins and subsequent resistance to insulin have not been well defined. Proteins of the SOCS family have been implicated in the negative regulation of insulin signaling and

A team of researchers has discovered a molecular missing link that helps explain why fasting brings on acute attacks of the genetic disease hepatic porphyria, according to a new report in the 26 August issue of the journal Cell. The finding could help improve treatments for those suffering from the disease, which may have been the culprit behind the “madness” of King George III of England.

Porphyria disease is caused by defects in the enzyme pathway that produces heme, a critical iron

Achieving equality between the sexes can be a challenge even for single cells. Since evolution began removing bits of male DNA to create the “Y” chromosome, males have had a single copy of certain key genes on the X chromosome, whereas females have two. Normally this would lead females to produce twice the amount of some proteins, which could be fatal, but cells have developed ways to prevent this. Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg have now made a bre

The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum uses different pathways to invade red blood cells, evading the body’s immune system and complicating efforts to create effective vaccines against the disease. A research team led by Australia’s Alan F. Cowman, an international research scholar with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has identified a gene that the parasite uses to switch back and forth between invasion pathways.

Researchers from the Scripps Research Institute in La

A newly discovered protein not only is vital to the immune system’s ability to fight off viral infections but also has been found in an unexpected location within the cell, causing researchers to rethink previous notions about the workings of the human immune system.

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center said their findings may lead to new therapies aimed at preventing and treating viral diseases such as the flu, hepatitis, West Nile virus and SARS. The study is avai

PGC-1 mediates effects of nutrition on blood disease porphyria

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers say they have uncovered a molecular explanation for the episodic attacks of irrational and demented behavior in porphyria, the disease believed to have afflicted “Mad” King George III, the British ruler blamed for the loss of the American colonies in the Revolutionary War.

The mental and physical symptoms of porphyria, a rare genetic blood disease which a number of

Researchers have discovered how the abnormal repetition of a genetic sequence can have disastrous consequences that lead to the death of neurons that govern balance and motor coordination. The studies bolster the emerging theory that neurodegenerative disorders can be caused by having extra copies of a normal protein, not just a mutated one.

People who are afflicted with the rare neurodegenerative disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) suffer damage to cerebellar Purkinje

Three confocal microscopic images of a cell stained with an antibody that detects the protein MAVS (left), Mito-Tracker (center), and an overlay of the green and red images (right) that indicates the mitochondrial localization of MAVS.

Researchers have discovered a surprise lurking inside mitochondria, the power plants that are present in every cell. It turns out that these powerhouses also contain a protein that triggers the immune system to attack viral invaders.

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Research led by Dr. Anne Mueller at Stanford University School of Medicine demonstrates that successful eradication of Helicobacter may not prevent future aggressive gastric lymphoma since resting B cells are left behind. The paper by Mueller et al., “The role of antigenic drive and tumor-infiltrating accessory cells in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter-induced MALT lymphoma,” appears in the September issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

Helicobacter pylori, a spiral bac

Dräger Medical will unveil its new remote access concept at the 9th World Congress of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine in Buenos Aires, August 27-31, 2005. This new concept enables physicians to remotely access their patients’ cardiopulmonary status in near real time by using an integrated remote access solution.

Components of the new remote access concept include the Infinity® Gateway Suite, which provides the tools to export vital sig

One of the most devastating diseases in sub-Saharan Africa almost disappeared in the late 1950s. That disease, African sleeping sickness, or trypanosomiasis, largely succumbed to heroic public health efforts — including relocating entire villages. But in the past several decades, because of post-colonial turmoil, the catastrophic illness has come back to ravage parts of Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sudan and other countries. In some regions, the tsetse fly-borne infection

MIT technique is noninvasive

MIT scientists have developed a new dye that could offer noninvasive early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, a discovery that could aid in monitoring the progression of the disease and in studying the efficacy of new treatments to stop it.
The work will be published in the Aug. 26 issue of Angewandte Chemie.

Today, doctors can only make a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s-currently the fourth-leading cause of death in the

Five years ago x-ray crystallography made it possible for the first time to study ribosomes in cells, where the all-important synthesis of proteins takes place. But it hasnt been understood just how amino acids are joined together to form proteins. Now researchers at Uppsala University have discovered the only possible mechanism and have used it to explain a number of biochemical experiments.

The new findings, being published in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National

The brain plays an important role in the maintenance of proper bone density, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have revealed.

The results of this research, involving a study of the activity of the protein interleukin 1 in the brain, comprise not only a breakthrough in understanding the regulation of bone density by the brain but also hold promise for the development of future treatment for osteoporosis, say the researchers. An article about their work appears in th