Applying math and computers to the drug discovery process, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a method to predict protein separation behavior directly from protein structure. This new multi-scale protein modeling approach may reduce the time it takes to bring pharmaceuticals to market and may have significant implications for an array of biotechnology applications, including bioprocessing, drug discovery, and proteomics, the study of protein structure and function.

Signs of heart failure may be in the blood. Cardiac researchers at Jefferson Medical College have found an enzyme in the blood that could be a potential marker for heart failure.

A team of scientists led by Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine in the Department of Medicine in Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, previously showed that an enzyme called GRK2 or beta-adrenergic kinase (ßARK1) is critically impo

Surprising findings from just five patients has led to the first proof of how the rare disorder Fanconi anemia causes chromosomal instability. A team of international researchers, led by scientists at Rockefeller University, reports the findings in the September issue of Nature Genetics.

The scientists found a gene mutation not previously known to be related to Fanconi anemia, and they say that BRIP1 is the first gene associated with the disease whose protein has a known functio

The largest trial so far conducted using Butterbur extract to treat intermittent allergic rhinitis (hay fever) shows that this plant extract is as effective as a commonly used antihistamine (Telfast 180).

In recent years there have been a few reports of small research trials that give a mixed view about the effectiveness of Butterbur extract for treating intermittent allergic rhinitis (IAR). Now researchers from Germany and Switzerland have published results from a randomised, double-b

Every eight adults in Sweden suffer from migraine. Using a new method, researchers at Göteborg have managed for the first time ever to provide a detailed picture of an untreated attack. This will be of great significance for the development of new forms of treatment. The findings are reported in a dissertation at the Sahgrenska Academy.

In the first nation-wide study of migraine in Sweden, it is shown that one million individuals, more than 13 percent of the adult population, suffer fr

Kentucky study indicates combination of surgery and radiation yields better mobility, lower death rates in patients suffering from spinal cord compression

Cancer patients and their physicians have new answers as they seek the best treatment for the immobilizing trauma of spinal cord compression in metastatic cancer, thanks to Roy Patchell and colleagues at the University of Kentucky.

In this week’s Lancet, Patchell’s UK research team evaluate traditional surgic

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute have found that an experimental vaccine can prime the immune system to help fight an aggressive form of lymphoma, even though prior therapy had eliminated virtually all of the B cells thought necessary to mount such a defense.

Their study, published in the September issue of Nature Medicine, has both important basic science and clinical implications, researchers say. It demon

Findings have implications for urinary tract infections

Scientists have discovered a new phenomenon in which one bacterial cell can stop the growth of another on physical contact. The bacteria that stop growing may go into a dormant state, rather than dying. The findings have implications for management of chronic diseases, such as urinary tract infections.

The discovery by a team of scientists working in the laboratory of David Low, professor of biology at the Unive

Many living things, from fruit flies to people, naturally produce disease-fighting chemicals, called antimicrobial peptides, to kill harmful bacteria. In a counter move, some disease-causing bacteria have evolved microbial detectors. The bacteria sense the presence of antimicrobial peptides as a warning signal. The alarm sets off a reaction inside the bacteria to avoid destruction.

University of Washington (UW) and McGill researchers have revealed a molecular mechanism whereby bacteria ca

Otters cavorting in the water is a scene with which we’re all familiar. Yet, unlike many other mammals that spend a considerable amount of time in the water–polar bears, seals, dolphins, and whales–river otters do not have a thick layer of body fat to keep warm. They rely, instead, on a few unique adaptations; namely, their fur and the densely packed layer of specially adapted underhairs.

Using scanning electron microscopy and polarizing light microsopy, John W. Weisel, PhD, Profe

Scientists are one step closer to understanding the genetic pathway involved in the development of hearing. New research findings, published online this week in the journal Nature Genetics, detail how sensory hair cells in the ear –– the cells largely responsible for hearing –– develop unique shapes that enable the perception of sound.

Located in the spiraled cochlea, the hearing portion of the inner ear, the hair cells transform the mechanical vibrations that enter the ear in

In an ongoing effort to fight disease by manipulating energy regulation of cells, a collaborative study led by Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) has demonstrated that cells lacking a tumor-suppressing kinase called LKB1 can still maintain healthy energy levels when they become stressed. This energy regulation is essential for keeping cells from dying off too quickly. The study’s results could signal new advances for combating cancerous tumor growth, but also type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Researchers at Oregon State University and Diversa Corporation have discovered that the smallest free-living cell known also has the smallest genome, or genetic structure, of any independent cell – and yet it dominates life in the oceans, thrives where most other cells would die, and plays a huge role in the cycling of carbon on Earth. In nature, apparently, bigger is not always better.

In a publication today in the journal Science, scientists outlined the growing knowledge about S

U-M-led study finds fear of recurrence and radiation treatment drives women – not their surgeons – to opt for mastectomy

When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, her top priority is to get the cancer out and reduce the odds that it will ever return. But for some women just getting the cancer out doesn’t feel like enough.

According to a new study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, when women, not their surgeons, have contro

Non-invasive imaging may help predict type 1 diabetes and response to treatment in humans: Joslin recruiting for new Imaging in Diabetes Clinical Trial

A key obstacle to early detection of type 1 diabetes – as well as to rapid assessment of the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention – has been the lack of direct, non-invasive technologies to visualize inflammation in the pancreas, an early manifestation of disease. Instead, clinicians have had to await overt symptoms before

Humpback likely born along Madagascar traveled to central Africa, says WCS researchers

For the first time ever, a genetic study has followed a single humpback whale from one ocean basin to another, adding to traditional notions of the migratory patterns of these majestic marine mammals in the process, according to researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and New York University. In the most recent Royal Society’s B