Ion News and Research

RSS

Researchers identify osmotic stress as stimulator of cellular waste disposal

Cellular waste disposal, where autophagy and lysosomes interact, performs elementary functions, such as degrading damaged protein molecules, which impair cellular function, and reintroducing the resulting building blocks such as amino acids into the metabolic system.

29 Jun 2020

Study may help design effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease

Neurons in the brains of such people are being depleted gradually and inevitably, resulting in the characteristic loss of cognitive function and memory.

29 Jun 2020

Pseudotargeted metabolomics method can help analyze bile and amino acids

A team of researchers has come up with a procedure through which the pseudotargeted metabolomics technique can be systematically summarized and upgraded.

29 Jun 2020

Study shows how the innate immune system fights off toxin-producing bacteria

The innate immune system is the main line of defense against infections caused by microorganisms.

24 Jun 2020

Study shows promise for treating developmental and epileptic brain disease

Studies show that a pair of mutations detected in people with developmental and epileptic brain disease can be traced back to the same ion channel.

19 Jun 2020

Fighting fish synchronize their attacks and also gene expression in the brain cells

When two betta fish are fighting for dominance, not only do their attacks mirror each other, but the gene expression in their brain cells also starts to align.

18 Jun 2020

Interaction between neurons and glial cells boosts appetite

Tanycytes are essentially glial cells, which interact with neurons in the brain to inform this organ about the type of food consumed by individuals.

From The University of Warwick 9 Jun 2020

Biophysicists shed light on how optogenetic tool works

An international research team has for the first time obtained the structure of the light-sensitive sodium-pumping KR2 protein in its active state.

29 May 2020

A New Imaging Approach To See Multiple Proteins Simultaneously

Degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's often involve complex interactions between multiple proteins and other biomolecules.

19 May 2020

Aging neurons build up DNA damage, study finds

MIT neuroscientists have discovered that an enzyme called HDAC1 is critical for repairing age-related DNA damage to genes involved in memory and other cognitive functions.

18 May 2020

Evidence of the ‘metabolon’

AZoLifeSciences speaks to Dr. Vidhi Pateek about her teams research that led to discovering evidence of the metabolon's existence.

From Penn State University 14 May 2020

Biophysicists uncover new features of molecular elevator

Biophysicists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have visualized a nearly complete transport cycle of the mammalian glutamate transporter homolog from archaea.

21 Apr 2020

Proving the existence of metabolons

For over four decades, researchers have proposed the presence of enzyme clusters, also called metabolons, which help facilitate several processes within cells.

17 Apr 2020

UTSW researchers solve structure of key protein involved in muscle contraction

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered the detailed shape of a key protein involved in muscle contraction.

16 Apr 2020

Metals can affect the formation of harmful misfolded peptide clusters in various diseases

Revealing the interactions between metal ions and peptides in the body could help develop enhanced treatments for Alzheimer’s diabetes, and other diseases.

14 Apr 2020

Role of VRAC ion channel in fight against virus infections

VRAC/LRRC8 chloride channels play a crucial role in the transport of neurotransmitters, amino acids, and cytostatics.

14 Apr 2020

Study on butterfly breeding sheds light on the evolution of iridescent colors

At her Florida-based butterfly farm, Edith Smith bred a shinier and bluer Common Buckeye but it was Rachel Thayer, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) who described the genetic and physical variations that are fundamental to the newly acquired iridescence of the butterfly.

9 Apr 2020

New model helps determine techniques used by cells to increase their sensitivity

The human body’s capability to identify foreign material, disease, and the location of food sources and toxins is governed by a mixture of chemicals surrounding the cells and also their ability to “read” these chemicals. Cells are extremely sensitive.

27 Mar 2020

New method for mapping the structures of heparan sulfate sugars

Heparin, the blood-thinning drug, is used worldwide. However, to date, mapping of the fundamental sugar structures of heparin and the wider class of heparan sulfate sugars in cells has not been accomplished.

23 Mar 2020

Regulating ion flow using a ball-and-chain mechanism

Ion channels that permit potassium and sodium ions to move in and out of cells are essential for the function of the brain and heart, and also for neuronal “firing” in the central nervous system.

19 Mar 2020