Toxins News and Research

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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

Researchers examine poop samples of fringe-lipped bats to understand their eating habits

Poop is full of secrets. For scientists, digging into feces provides insights into animal diets and is particularly useful for understanding nocturnal or rare species.

23 Oct 2020

New strategy for capturing interactions among glycans and protein activators in live cells

Human cells are encased by a membrane coated with diverse sugar molecules known as glycans. These glycans play many roles in health and disease, making them important to understand.

20 Oct 2020

Scientists develop new antimicrobial molecules from toxic proteins in wasp venom

A team led by scientists in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has engineered powerful new antimicrobial molecules from toxic proteins found in wasp venom.

13 Oct 2020

Enzyme SSH1 impairs disposal of damaged tau and mitochondria leaking toxins

In a healthy brain, the multistep waste clearance process known as autophagy routinely removes and degrades damaged cell components - including malformed proteins like tau and toxic mitochondria.

13 Oct 2020

New interactive tool finds toxins lurking in drinking water

Exposure to hydraulic fracturing fluid in drinking water has been shown to increase the risk of respiratory problems, premature births, congenital heart defects, and other medical problems.

24 Sep 2020

Scientists uncover new pathway to protect plants from fungal infection

Widespread fungal disease in plants can be controlled with a commercially available chemical that has been primarily used in medicine until now. This discovery was made by scientists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of the State of Paraná in Brazil.

23 Sep 2020