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. Understanding the incredibly speedy atomic mechanisms at work when a protein transitions from one shape to another has been an elusive scientific goal for years, but an essential one for elucidating the full panoply of protein function. How do proteins transition, or interconvert, between distinct shapes without unfolding in the process? Until now, this question has been a hypothetical one, approached by computation only rather than experimentation. http://www.physorg.com/news179673102.html Biology Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:30:02 EST news179673102 A well-known Eastern medicine supplement may help avoid the most common cause of liver transplantation, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding came as a surprise to the scientists, who used a number of advanced genetic and genomic techniques in mice to identify a molecular pathway that counters acetaminophen toxicity, which leads to liver failure. http://www.physorg.com/news177703404.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:10:03 EST news177703404 In a novel approach at disseminating scientific research, the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (JHMRI) will hold a web summit to release the latest breakthroughs in malaria research, including new approaches to boosting mosquito immunity to malaria, mapping mosquito migrations, and the promise of a rapid sputum test that could revolutionize the way malaria is tracked and tested for in rural areas, which are hotbeds for the disease. http://www.physorg.com/news177253313.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:20:01 EST news177253313 (PhysOrg.com) -- A research collaboration led by biologists and neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania has found a molecular pathway in the brain that is the cause of cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation. Just as important, the team believes that the cognitive deficits caused by sleep deprivation, such as an inability to focus, learn or memorize, may be reversible by reducing the concentration of a specific enzyme that builds up in the hippocampus of the brain. http://www.physorg.com/news175443751.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:23:19 EST news175443751 Like an unusually forceful career counselor, the Id3 protein decides the fate of a given white blood cell precursor, according to researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Their findings, published today in the journal Immunity, describe how Id3 directs blood cell progenitors to become gamma-delta T cells. http://www.physorg.com/news174833291.html Medicine & Health Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:00:01 EST news174833291 Heart problems may account for a huge share of deaths from influenza, according to a study published on Tuesday that recommends cardiac patients be vaccinated against flu. http://www.physorg.com/news172779555.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:30:01 EST news172779555 A molecular signature that helps account for the aggressive behavior of a variety of cancers such as pancreatic, breast and melanoma may also predict the likelihood of successful treatment with a particular anti-cancer drug. The finding, which could lead to a personalized approach to treatment for a variety of solid tumors that are currently resistant to therapies, will be published September 6 in the advance online edition of Nature Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news171462152.html Medicine & Health Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:23:38 EST news171462152 Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered, for the first time, a common molecular pathway that is used by both normal stem cells and cancer stem cells when they reproduce themselves. http://www.physorg.com/news168791714.html Medicine & Health Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:00:01 EST news168791714 Two genes may contribute to chemotherapy resistance in drugs like 5-fluorouracil, which is used in liver cancer treatment, according to Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news167325348.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:16:45 EST news167325348 Scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have found two new genes that together double a person's risk of developing melanoma. http://www.physorg.com/news166098212.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:23:56 EST news166098212 For the first time, researchers have been able to identify genetic predictors of the potential success or failure of IVF treatment in blood. Dr. Cathy Allen, from the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today that her research would help understand why IVF works for some patients but not for others. http://www.physorg.com/news165643562.html Medicine & Health Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:07:31 EST news165643562 Mice who inherit a particular chromosomal duplication from their fathers show many behaviors associated with human autism, researchers report in the June 26th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press Publication. The duplicated chromosomal region in mice is the equivalent of human chromosome 15q11-13, the most frequent cytogenetic abnormality observed in autism, accounting for some five percent of all cases. http://www.physorg.com/news165152905.html Biology Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:49:09 EST news165152905 Scientists have uncovered a novel mechanism linking soluble amyloid -- protein with the synaptic injury and memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The research, published by Cell Press in the June 25 issue of the journal Neuron, provides critical new insight into disease pathogenesis and reveals signaling molecules that may serve as potential additional therapeutic targets for AD. http://www.physorg.com/news165066096.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:43:18 EST news165066096 (PhysOrg.com) -- Cornell scientists have discovered how two related proteins and their roles in a key molecular pathway are critical to creating obesity-causing fat cells. http://www.physorg.com/news163266213.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:44:35 EST news163266213 A protein that plays a key role in tumor formation, oxygen metabolism and inflammation is involved in a pathway that extends lifespan by dietary restriction. The finding, which appears in the May 22, 2009 edition of the on-line journal PLoS Genetics, provides a new understanding of how dietary restriction contributes to longevity and cancer prevention and gives scientists new targets for developing and testing drugs that could extend the healthy years of life. http://www.physorg.com/news162215715.html Medicine & Health Fri, 22 May 2009 12:55:40 EST news162215715 New research sheds light on how cocaine regulates gene expression in a crucial reward region of the brain to elicit long-lasting changes in behavior. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 14th issue of the journal Neuron, provides exciting insight into the molecular pathways regulated by cocaine and may lead to new strategies for battling drug addiction. http://www.physorg.com/news161443652.html Medicine & Health Wed, 13 May 2009 14:27:54 EST news161443652 Scientists have found evidence to suggest that ‘small molecule` drugs could offer the first effective chemotherapy for childhood low-grade astrocytomas, improving the prognosis for hundreds diagnosed with the disease - reveals research published today in The Journal of Pathology. http://www.physorg.com/news159113256.html Medicine & Health Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:10:28 EST news159113256 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have for the first time identified a molecular pathway that triggers an immune response in multiple mosquito species capable of stopping the development of Plasmodium falciparum-the parasite that causes malaria in humans. http://www.physorg.com/news156160228.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:51:04 EST news156160228 (PhysOrg.com) -- Plant stem-cells are master cells located at the tip of the stem and are part of a structure called the shoot apical meristem (SAM). Here, the stem cells -all clumped together -divide throughout the life of the plant to give rise to other cells, resulting in the formation of above-ground organs such as leaves, flowers, branches and stem. http://www.physorg.com/news154707886.html Biology Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:25:18 EST news154707886 Plant cells communicate via microscopic channels called plasmodesmata that are embedded in their cell walls. For the stem cells in the plants' growing tips, called "meristems," the plasmodesmata are lifelines, allowing nutrients and genetic instructions for growth to flow in. http://www.physorg.com/news154101168.html Biology Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:53:14 EST news154101168 (PhysOrg.com) -- Stem cells are the body's primal cells, retaining the youthful ability to develop into more specialized types of cells over many cycles of cell division. How do they do it? Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have identified a gene, named scrawny, that appears to be a key factor in keeping a variety of stem cells in their undifferentiated state. Understanding how stem cells maintain their potency has implications both for our knowledge of basic biology and also for medical applications. The results will be published in the January 9, 2009 print edition of Science. http://www.physorg.com/news150557536.html Biology Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:32:16 EST news150557536