Tag: Molecular Biology

A Brief History of British Genomics

The isolation of DNA was successfully carried out in 1869. However, its sequencing had to wait until the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, more than a hundred years later. vitstudio | Shutterstock Modern genomics dates back to the 1970s, but its foundation was laid at least twenty years before this, with the creation

Scientists develop technique to observe radiation damage over femtoseconds

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a technique to observe how radiation damages molecules over time-frames of just one quadrillionth of a second — or a femtosecond. The technique involves dissolving organic molecules in water to simulate the state molecules are found in biological tissue. This allows the research team to

Few people with peanut allergy tolerate peanut after stopping oral immunotherapy: Continuing with a modest dose confers more protection

Allergy to peanut, which is often severe, is one of the most common food allergies in the United States. Although previous studies have shown that peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) — ingesting small, controlled amounts of peanut protein — can desensitize adults and children and prevent life-threatening allergic reactions, the optimal duration and dose is unknown.

Connecting neurons in the brain

The brain consists of a large collection of interconnected neurons. How complex patterns of neuronal cells grow into functioning circuits during development has fascinated researchers for decades. A team of scientists at VIB and KU Leuven has now uncovered a new signaling mechanism in fruit flies that specifies the formation of neuronal circuits in the

New light on blocking Shiga and ricin toxins — And on an iconic biological process: CRISPR genomic screen reveals newly recognized proteins toxins need to enter cells

Min Dong, PhD, and his lab are world experts in toxins and how to combat them. They’ve figured out how Clostridium difficile‘s most potent toxin gets into cells and zeroed in on the first new botulinum toxin identified since 1969. Now, setting their sights on Shiga and ricin toxins, they’ve not only identified new potential

Novel mechanism for generating our skeleton

There are more than 200 bones in the human body. Bone is formed during embryonic and postnatal skeletogenesis by two distinct, well-organized processes, intramembranous and endochondral ossification. Mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into chondrocytes to form a cartilaginous template, which, for long bones, induces bone formation through endochondral ossification. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (Erk5), which is

Cancer hijacks the microbiome to glut itself on glucose

Cancer needs energy to drive its out-of-control growth. It gets energy in the form of glucose, in fact consuming so much glucose that one method for imaging cancer simply looks for areas of extreme glucose consumption — where there is consumption, there is cancer. But how does cancer get this glucose? A University of Colorado

Chromatin structure: Slip-sliding away…

In the cell nucleus, the genomic DNA is packaged into a tightly condensed form, which is referred to as chromatin. The basic unit of chromatin organization is the nucleosome, a DNA-protein complex consisting of a defined length of DNA wrapped around a bead-like structure which is made of histone proteins. The individual nucleosomes are connected

Mapping out cancer’s movements

Cancer researchers struggle to identify tumor cells that are interspersed within nonmalignant tissues because tumor cells exploit the tissue environment and monopolize available resources to continue growing. Researchers attribute cancer cell’s ability to use cell signaling and metabolic pathways that override normal cell growth restrictions to complicated chemical exchanges between tissue and tumor cells. A

Saliva could influence taste preferences

Saliva is crucial for tasting and digesting food, but scientists have now found that it may have another, more subtle role. Salivary proteins could be part of a feedback loop that influences how food tastes to people — and by extension, what foods they’re willing to eat. The researchers hope that, one day, their findings

Neonatal pig hearts can heal from heart attack: This remarkable ability has clinical implications for humans

While pigs still cannot fly, researchers have discovered that the hearts of newborn piglets do have one remarkable ability. They can almost completely heal themselves after experimental heart attacks. This regenerative capacity is short-lived — disappearing by day three after birth, say teams of researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and at several

Turmeric-derived eye drops could treat glaucoma: study

A derivative of turmeric could be used in eye drops to treat the early stages of glaucoma, finds a new study led by UCL and Imperial College London researchers. In the new Scientific Reports paper, the researchers report a new method to deliver curcumin, extracted from the yellow spice turmeric, directly to the back of

Researchers discover a way to peer inside proteins to see how they are wired: The technique could help scientists develop methods for switching on or off specific proteins associated with diabetes and other diseases

The proteins in our bodies are sophisticated structures that perform specific jobs to keep us functioning and healthy. In many cases, these tiny machines are switched on or off through a two-step process where one part of the protein sends messages to another part called the “active site,” triggering the protein to start or stop