Toxins News and Research

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Key protein regulates cells’ innate defense mechanisms

Scientists from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) have found that heparanase (HPSE) is an important regulator of innate defense mechanisms of cells.

17 Mar 2021

Volatile signal in plants activates defense and inhibits growth processes

An international research team has performed a new study that revealed that Arabidopsis thaliana plants create beta-cyclocitral when attacked by herbivores.

10 Mar 2021

Interbacterial toxins may contribute to bacterial genetic diversity

A toxin produced by bacteria as a defense mechanism causes mutations in target bacteria that could help them survive, according to a study published today in eLife.

24 Feb 2021

Toxin-antitoxin systems negatively control plasmid replication

According to Thomas Wood, Biotechnology Endowed Chair and Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Penn State College of Engineering., toxin-antitoxin (TA) structures are currently known to adversely regulate the replication of plasmids.

From Penn State University 2 Feb 2021

Venom of Tiger Rattlesnakes may advance genetic science

Among all rattlesnake species, the Tiger Rattlesnake has the simplest yet most lethal venom. Now, a new study performed by a team of researchers can describe the genetics behind the venomous bite of the Tiger Rattlesnake.

21 Jan 2021

Exaggerated activation of food quality control system may explain the rising food allergies

For more than three decades, food allergies have been rising drastically across the developed world.

15 Jan 2021

New class of protein materials can influence cell signaling

A new study has revealed that a novel class of protein material that communicates with living cells without being absorbed by them can affect cell signaling. The protein material does this by attaching and sequestering cell surface receptors.

7 Jan 2021

Scientists identify biosynthetic genes involved in the production of usnic acid in lichens

Scientists from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Complutense University of Madrid have headed an international study that has successfully detected a sequence of biosynthetic genes that play a key role in the synthesis of usnic acid in lichen—a kind of compound that exhibits antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer, and neuroprotective activity.

14 Dec 2020

Study examines impacts of widespread ocean pollution on human health

Ocean pollution is widespread and getting worse, and when toxins in the oceans make landfall they imperil the health and well-being of more than 3 billion people, according to a new report by an international coalition of scientists led by Boston College's Global Observatory on Pollution on Health and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, supported by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

4 Dec 2020

Cooking with wood may increase risk of developing lung damage

Advanced imaging with CT shows that people who cook with biomass fuels like wood are at risk of suffering considerable damage to their lungs from breathing in dangerous concentrations of pollutants and bacterial toxins.

26 Nov 2020

Research provides new insight into how the CRISPR immune system evolved

With new insights into how the genetic tool CRISPR - which allows direct editing of our genes - evolved and adapted, we are now one step closer to understanding the basis of the constant struggle for survival that takes place in nature. The results can be used in future biotechnologies.

26 Nov 2020

Study shows how drug-like small molecules regulate the activity of ion channels

Researchers have recently discovered how the function of therapeutically relevant ion channels is regulated by drug-like small molecules.

24 Nov 2020

Chemists identify effective inhibitors to block the uptake of SARS-CoV-2

The cell membrane is impermeable to viruses: to get inside and infect a cell, they use a range of strategies to exploit the cellular and biochemical properties of the membranes.

23 Nov 2020

In-depth review of plant natural products paves way for drug discovery

Scientists have compiled the first comprehensive review of plant natural products that play a role in antibacterial activity, to serve as a guide in the search for new drugs to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

12 Nov 2020

Researchers outline the future effects of global warming on major cancers

Climate change will bring an acute toll worldwide, with rising temperatures, wildfires and poor air quality, accompanied by higher rates of cancer, especially lung, skin and gastrointestinal cancers, according to a new report from UC San Francisco.

6 Nov 2020

Toxins produced by tube-dwelling anemones have pharmacological potential, shows research

Researchers based in Brazil and the United States have completed the first-ever mapping exercise to profile the toxins produced by tube-dwelling anemones, or cerianthids, a family of marine animals belonging to the same phylum (Cnidaria) as sea anemones, jellyfish and corals.

30 Oct 2020