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Preventing protein-protein interactions with a new tool

Proteins constantly interact with one another inside cells to perform various tasks. Blocking the binding of two or more proteins appears as a potential treatment for some diseases where these functions are altered.

1 Dec 2022

Revealing the unappreciated role of POLQ in responding to DNA replication stress

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, in partnership with Artios, have discovered how an enzyme involved in DNA repair (POLQ) becomes critical to the survival of some tumors when the cancer cells lose the ability to employ a more frequent way of DNA repair.

1 Dec 2022

Microglial cells trigger inflammatory protective mechanisms in the immune system

Microglia, the brain’s own immune cells, are present in the central nervous system.

1 Dec 2022

Using nanotechnology and magnetic manipulations to bioengineer 3D neural networks

Neurons are the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, the cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending motor commands to our muscles, and for transforming and relaying the electrical signals at every step in between.

30 Nov 2022

Revealing the mechanism that ensures genome stability in normal cells

To create new cells, the old cells must divide. This is a constant, frequent, and pervasive process that begins with conception and culminates with death.

30 Nov 2022

Importance of localizing BRCA gene mutations for ovarian cancer treatment

Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are inherited by 1 in 400 and 1 in 800 persons, respectively, elevate the risk of various malignancies such as ovarian, breast, pancreatic, and prostate cancer considerably.

30 Nov 2022

Chemical-biological method to upcycle plastic waste into pharmacologically useful products

Plastic waste is one of the most significant ecological and economic problems of our time. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a research team has now introduced a chemical–biological method for upcycling polyethylene waste: catalytic cleavage is used to make carboxylic diacids that are subsequently converted into pharmacologically useful natural products by genetically engineered fungi.

29 Nov 2022

AI creates artificial DNA to control cell protein production

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed synthetic DNA that uses artificial intelligence to control the production of proteins in cells.

25 Nov 2022

Tankyrase protein plays an important role in helping drive bowel cancer

The inner workings of the main protein involved in an extensive range of cellular processes have been disclosed by researchers. This possibly sets the stage for improved and less toxic cancer drugs.

25 Nov 2022

Breakthrough on the way to new therapeutic strategies

As far as the field of cancer research is concerned, hollow spheres composed of MYC proteins sets the stage. Researchers from Würzburg have found them out and have reported this discovery in the Nature journal.

25 Nov 2022

RNA-targeting strategy to repair the genetic cause of ALS and dementia

Researchers at UF Scripps Biomedical Research have created a potential treatment for a major factor in the development of ALS and dementia that functions by removing disease-causing RNA segments.

24 Nov 2022

Novel approach increases the protein production efficiency of synthetic mRNAs

A group of synthetic biologists at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) recently figured out a way to improve the efficiency of synthetic mRNA protein production by up to tenfold.

24 Nov 2022

The influence of genes and small molecules on personal disease risk

Each individual has a unique chemical fingerprint. Small molecules in the blood, like fats or sugars, have a significant impact on how the human body responds to stress, which diseases people are predisposed to, and how serious an illness will be.

23 Nov 2022

Molecular motion of “undruggable” proteins reveals drug-binding sites

“Undruggable” proteins, whose structures and roles in disease are known but who appear unable to be targeted by drugs that will bind to them, present some of the hardest problems in disease treatment.

23 Nov 2022

3D “mini eyes” provide insight into genetically induced blindness

The development of “mini eyes” by researchers at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UCL GOS ICH) has made it possible to study and comprehend the onset of blindness in the rare genetic disease known as Usher syndrome more.

From University College London 22 Nov 2022

Applying “programmable molecular scissors” to combat COVID-19 infection

As an approach that could be used to create a new class of antiviral drugs, synthetic biology was used by Cambridge scientists to artificially create enzymes programmed to attack the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 and eliminate the virus.

17 Nov 2022

Revealing cancer development in people carrying inherited BRCA1 mutations

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered that people who inherit a mutant copy of the BRCA1 gene may develop mutations and cancer due to error-prone DNA replication and repair.

16 Nov 2022

HIV’s covert methods of evading treatment and immunity

According to Duke Health researchers, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) appears to be driven into a latent state, lurking in cells only to erupt once more. This immune response likely evolved to help fight infections.

15 Nov 2022

Researchers create genetic 'devices' to perform computations like artificial neural circuits

Bringing together concepts from electrical engineering and bioengineering tools, Technion and MIT scientists collaborated to produce cells engineered to compute sophisticated functions – "biocomputers" of sorts.

15 Nov 2022

NIH funds research on mRNA vaccines to stop cancer development

The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health has awarded a multidisciplinary team of Weill Cornell Medicine researchers a five-year $5.7 million grant to support a center dedicated to creating messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to prevent the development of cancer in at-risk groups.

15 Nov 2022