Most parts of living organisms come packaged with ribbons. The ribbons are proteins – chains of amino acids that must fold into three-dimensional structures to work properly. But when for any reason the ribbons fold incorrectly, bad things can happen, and in humans misfolded-protein disorders include Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
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Italian and U.S. biologists this week report that a little-understood protein previously implicated in a rare genetic disorder plays an unexpected and critical role in building and maintaining healthy cells. Even more surprising, their report in the journal Nature shows that the protein, called “atlastin,” does its work by fusing intracellular membranes in a previously undocumented way.
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Recycling is a critical component in the process of transmitting information from one neuron to the next, and a large protein called Tweek plays a critical role, said an international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the current issue of the journal Neuron. Fruit flies that lack the protein, named for the over-caffeinated character in the cartoon South Park, shake in a hyperactive manner, said Dr.
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Pediatric researchers have found that a gene previously shown to be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes also predisposes children to having a lower birth weight. The finding sheds light on a possible genetic influence on how prenatal events may set the stage for developing diabetes in later childhood or adulthood.
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THURSDAY, July 30 — Legalizing euthanasia for terminally ill people doesn’t lead to reduced use of palliative care, Belgian researchers say.
The team from the End-of-Life Care Research Group in Brussels also found that dying patients who received…
THURSDAY, July 30 — Infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) may improve survival in patients with head and neck cancer, U.S. researchers report.
They said the finding may explain why black Americans, who have far less HPV infection than…
THURSDAY, July 30 — Cancer survivors are more likely than their healthy peers to suffer serious psychological distress such as anxiety and depression, even a decade after treatment ends, new research shows.
Those who were relatively young at the…
THURSDAY, July 30 — Exercise programs designed to increase muscle density in the elderly could help reduce rates of disability and hospitalization, new research suggests.
The contention stems from a study of 3,011 healthy U.S. residents, aged 70 to…
THURSDAY, July 30 — The two prime means by which the seasonal influenza vaccine activates the immune system against the virus appear to be diminished in people with lupus, a new study finds.
According to Dutch researchers led by Albert Holvast, of…
THURSDAY, July 30 — Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on complementary and alternative medicine in 2007 alone, U.S. health officials report.
CAM includes medical practices and products, such as herbal supplements, meditation,…