http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has resulted in a promising approach to help treat Alzheimer's disease in a significant proportion of the population that suffers from a particularly rapid development of this disease. http://www.physorg.com/news167319118.html Chemistry Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:32:55 EST news167319118 Clarithromycin resistance is an uncommon occurrence among Malaysian isolates of Helicobacter pylori strains, and the mutations A2142G and A2143G detected were associated with low-level resistance. http://www.physorg.com/news166960227.html Medicine & Health Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:57:05 EST news166960227 Wild birds of several species are dying in large numbers from a paralytic disease with hitherto unknown cause in the Baltic Sea area. A research team at Stockholm University, Sweden, led by Associate Professor Lennart Balk, has demonstrated strong relationships between this disease, breeding failure, and advanced thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency in eggs, young, and adults. The results are presented in the article "Wild birds of declining European species are dying from a thiamine deficiency syndrome", published in the on-line Early Edition of the well-reputed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.physorg.com/news166805084.html Biology Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:50:02 EST news166805084 The secret to longevity may lie in an enzyme with the ability to promote a robust immune system into old age by maintaining the function of the thymus throughout life, according to researchers studying an "anti-aging" mouse model that lives longer than a typical mouse. http://www.physorg.com/news166471334.html Medicine & Health Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:02:59 EST news166471334 (PhysOrg.com) -- An oxygen-sensitive enzyme has been found to play a key role in how genes create the many different proteins that make up our bodies. http://www.physorg.com/news165840579.html Chemistry Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:50:05 EST news165840579 In a study with important consequences for studies on the effects of chemicals on steroid responses in humans, a team of French and American scientists, including Michael E. Baker, PhD, professor in UC San Diego's Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology-Hypertension, have found that - contrary to earlier assumptions - enzymes used for the synthesis of steroids in insects, snails, octopuses and corals are unrelated to those used in humans. http://www.physorg.com/news165516684.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:40:02 EST news165516684 Every cell lining the small intestine bristles with thousands of tightly packed microvilli that project into the gut lumen, forming a brush border that absorbs nutrients and protects the body from intestinal bacteria. In the June 29, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Matthew McConnell, Matthew Tyska, and colleagues now find that microvilli extend their functional reach even further using a molecular motor to send vesicles packed with gut enzymes out into the lumen to get a head start on breaking down their substrates. http://www.physorg.com/news165488833.html Biology Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:07:42 EST news165488833 A revolutionary new protein stabilisation technique has been developed by scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council which could lead to 30 per cent more proteins being available as potential targets for drug development - opening up exciting possibilities in drug discovery. http://www.physorg.com/news165148787.html Nanotechnology Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:40:17 EST news165148787 Experiment after experiment confirms that a diet on the brink of starvation expands lifespan in mice and many other species. But the molecular mechanism that links nutrition and survival is still poorly understood. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a pivotal role for two enzymes that work together to determine the health benefits of diet restriction. http://www.physorg.com/news165068957.html Biology Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:00:04 EST news165068957 Although it is known that infants are more susceptible than adults to the toxic effects of pesticides, this increased vulnerability may extend much longer into childhood than expected, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. http://www.physorg.com/news164973602.html Medicine & Health Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:00:26 EST news164973602 (June 17, 2009) - An overactive enzyme is behind a leaky calcium channel that plays a role in the development of atrial fibrillation, which is the most common cardiac arrhythmia that is responsible for a third of all strokes. However, it doesn't act alone, say researchers at Baylor College of Medicine. The findings can be found online in the current edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://www.physorg.com/news164455444.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:30:01 EST news164455444 For many years scientists have known that the numerous biological functions of an organism are not regulated solely by the DNA sequence of its genes: Superordinate regulatory mechanisms exist that contribute to determining the fate of genes. Although they are not anchored in the DNA, they can even be passed on to subsequent generations to a certain extent. Intensive research in recent years has shown that these mechanisms - bundled under the term epigenetics, are very multifaceted and complex. http://www.physorg.com/news164376644.html Biology Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:11:00 EST news164376644 A team of U.S. investigators led by neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) are steadily uncovering the role that amyloid precursor protein (APP) - the protein implicated in development of Alzheimer's disease - plays in normal brain function. In the June 10 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, they discovered that APP interacts with another protein known as Reelin to promote development of abundant connections between brain neurons. http://www.physorg.com/news163822240.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:13:26 EST news163822240 Viruses are molecular marauders, plundering cells for the resources they need to multiply. Of central importance for viruses is the ability to commandeer cellular gene expression machinery. Several human herpesviruses put the breaks on normal cellular gene expression to divert the associated enzymes and resources towards their own viral genes. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), which causes several AIDS-associated cancers, has now been shown to do this in an unexpected way, using a process that is normally protective, called polyadenylation. http://www.physorg.com/news162625056.html Biology Wed, 27 May 2009 06:38:19 EST news162625056 Michigan State University plant scientists have identified two new genes and two new enzymes in tomato plants; those findings led them to discover that the plants were making monoterpenes, compounds that help give tomato leaves their distinctive smell, in a way that flies in the face of accepted thought. http://www.physorg.com/news162553798.html Biology Tue, 26 May 2009 10:51:23 EST news162553798 (PhysOrg.com) -- In an article due to be published in Science, teams from the Institut Pasteurand the University of Limoges, associated with the CNRS and Inserm, decipherfor the first time the molecular mechanism that enables bacteria to acquiremultiresistance to antibiotics, and that even allows them to adapt thisresistance to their environment. This discovery highlights the difficulties thatwill have to be tackled by public health strategies if they are to address theproblems created by multiresistance. http://www.physorg.com/news162484449.html Biology Mon, 25 May 2009 15:34:57 EST news162484449 A Boston University-led research team has identified the structural underpinnings of a widely-known enzyme -- acetoacetate decarboxylase (AADase) -- that was first described correctly more than 43 years ago including how it accelerates its target reaction. Until now it has never been fully explained how the reactions occur in the environment of the cell. http://www.physorg.com/news162044237.html Chemistry Wed, 20 May 2009 13:18:09 EST news162044237 Genetic differences can explain why some patients undergoing heart surgery later experience shock and kidney complications, according to a study by researchers at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch in Germany and the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The results indicate that performing a genetic test on patients before they have surgery can help guide treatment after they leave the operating room. http://www.physorg.com/news160330655.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:17:59 EST news160330655 A West Australian research team has made the world-first discovery a 'pied piper' molecule within blood cells, called Liar, that leads other molecules into the nucleus of the cell, and could offer a key in treating prostate, breast and colon cancers as well as leukemia. http://www.physorg.com/news160155546.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:39:57 EST news160155546 Some DNA repair enzymes can become double-edged swords - If they work too slowly, they can block necessary cell maintenance and contribute to cell death. This could explain the somewhat mysterious success of the widely used cancer drug 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) and help clinicians to predict patient's response to chemotherapy, according to new findings from the University of Basel, Switzerland. http://www.physorg.com/news160129626.html Biology Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:27:34 EST news160129626 In an in vitro study, led by Grace Gill, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine, researchers discovered how a protein called SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-related Modifier) guides an enzyme complex that alters the structure of chromatin to regulate expression of genes. Chromatin is a compacted mass of DNA and protein that make up chromosomes. The interaction between SUMO and the enzyme complex is of interest in the study of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, where aberrant gene expression and altered SUMO function are thought to be indicative of disease. http://www.physorg.com/news160048671.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:58:22 EST news160048671 A team of scientists from the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra has identified a key enzyme in the development of cardiac insufficiency. This enzyme is involved in the accumulation of fibrous tissues in the hearts of patients with chronic cardiac diseases and deterioration of heart functions. http://www.physorg.com/news159789834.html Medicine & Health Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:04:21 EST news159789834 Scientists at the University of California, San Diego and the Moores UCSD Cancer Center have evidence of a potential new biomarker to predict the aggressiveness of an often difficult-to-treat form of leukemia. They found that high levels of a particular enzyme in the blood are an indicator that chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) - the most common form of adult leukemia - will be aggressive and in need of immediate treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news159374196.html Medicine & Health Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:36:57 EST news159374196 Combating several human pathogens, including some biological warfare agents, may one day become a bit easier thanks to research reported by a University of Iowa chemist and his colleagues in the April 16 issue of the journal Nature. http://www.physorg.com/news159112477.html Biology Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:55:03 EST news159112477 (PhysOrg.com) -- By creating a 'family tree' of genes expressed in one form of woody plant and a less woody, herbaceous species, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy`s Brookhaven National Laboratory have uncovered clues that may help them engineer plants more amenable to biofuel production. The study, published in the April 2009 issue of Plant Molecular Biology, also lays a foundation for understanding these genes` evolutionary and structural properties and for a broader exploration of their roles in plant life. http://www.physorg.com/news158856963.html Biology Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:57:25 EST news158856963 Like a climber scaling a rock face, a migrating cancer cell has to keep a tight grip on the surface but also let go at the right moment to move ahead. Chan et al. reveal that the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) coordinates these processes to permit forward movement. The study will be published online April 13 and will appear in the April 20 print issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. http://www.physorg.com/news158831209.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:47:26 EST news158831209 For men with Fabry disease, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with agalsidase alfa slows deterioration of kidney function, reports a study in the online edition of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "The results provide further evidence that ERT with agalsidase alfa may slow the progression of kidney disease, provided that ERT is initiated early in the disease process," comments Michael L. West, MD (Dalhousie University, Canada). http://www.physorg.com/news158433132.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:12:42 EST news158433132 A new study by Ohio State University cancer researchers shows that boosting the level of a molecule called miR-29b in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells can reverse gene changes that trap the cells in an immature, fast growing state of development. http://www.physorg.com/news157974933.html Medicine & Health Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:56:24 EST news157974933 Understanding the tens of thousands of proteins that compose the human proteome has emerged as a key challenge of this century, and research efforts to date have already enabled major advances in drug discovery and understanding basic biology. But many potential avenues have been blocked by lack of information about how the majority of these proteins function. http://www.physorg.com/news157559052.html Biology Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:24:43 EST news157559052 Like doctors making house calls, some DNA repair enzymes can relocate to the part of the cell that needs their help, a collaborative team of scientists at Emory University School of Medicine has found. http://www.physorg.com/news157284761.html Biology Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:13:05 EST news157284761