http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—The cellular gatekeepers that escort the most common pharmaceuticals into our cells continue to work within the cells as well, according to a UC San Francisco discovery that could transform drug design and lead to new ways to treat disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cellular-gatekeepers-doors-drugs.html Medical research Mon, 08 Apr 2013 06:53:48 EST news284622817 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers have identified a critical protein role in the metastasis of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. Inhibition of the protein known as adenosine diphosphate ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) reduces the spread of melanoma to the lungs in mice, according to a study published in the March 5 issue of Science Signaling online, suggesting that targeting ARF6 may be an effective approach to preventing melanoma metastasis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-melanoma-inhibiting-key-protein-metastasis.html Cancer Tue, 05 Mar 2013 07:50:02 EST news281690616 Mice have made an immeasurable contribution to medicine and our overall understanding of human disease. This animal model is not without its limitations, however, and scientists are continually learning about important ways in which mouse and human biology differ. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-uncovered-human-counterparts-subset-mouse.html Medical research Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:54:13 EST news270294657 There are some genes that are only activated in the very first days of an embryo's existence. Once they have accomplished their task, they are shut down forever, unlike most of our genes, which remain active throughout our lives. EPFL scientists have unveiled part of this strange mechanism. The same process, accidentally initiated later in life, could be responsible for many kinds of cancer. The discovery is described in a recent article in the journal Cell Reports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-cancer-embryonic-gene-silencing-mechanism-awry.html Genetics Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:03:56 EST news268571024 Experimenting with cells in culture, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have breathed possible new life into two drugs once considered too toxic for human cancer treatment. The drugs, azacitidine (AZA) and decitabine (DAC), are epigenetic-targeted drugs and work to correct cancer-causing alterations that modify DNA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-scientists-reprogram-cancer-cells-doses.html Cancer Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:08:25 EST news251654884 Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have produced the first high resolution structure of a molecule that when attached to the genetic material of the hepatitis C virus prevents it from reproducing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-discovery-blueprint-drugs-inhibit-hepatitis.html Medical research Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:56:56 EST news251394640 University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-key-immune-cell-internal-guidance.html Immunology Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:00:17 EST news247668580 Human genes are preferentially encoded by codons that are less likely to be mistranscribed (or "misread") into a STOP codon. This finding by Brian Cusack and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin and the CNRS in Lyon and Paris is published in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics on October 13th, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-dangerous-nonsense-human-gene.html Genetics Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:30:28 EST news237745816 In cancer, genes turn on and off at the wrong times, proteins aren't folded properly, and cellular growth and proliferation get out of control. Even a cancer cell's metabolism goes haywire, as it loses the ability to appropriately sense nutrients and use them to generate energy. One particular piece of cellular machinery that is known to malfunction in a number of cancers is a group of proteins called mTORC1. This master control center coordinates many cellular functions by sensing external signals such as nutrients and growth factors and telling cells how to respond. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-cells-nutrients-fuel-cancer-cell.html Medical research Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:58:56 EST news237124644 A new computational approach has predicted numerous human proteins that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) requires to replicate itself. These discoveries "constitute a powerful resource for experimentalists who desire to discover new targets for human proteins that can control the spread of HIV," according to the authors of this study that appears in the Sept. 22, 2011 issue of PLoS Computational Biology, a journal published by the Public Library of Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-hiv-analysis.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:41:25 EST news235932059 Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have uncovered a previously unknown fail-safe (compensatory) pathway that potentially protects the brain and other organs from genetic and environmental threats. The discovery could provide new ways to diminish the negative consequences of genetic mutations and environmental toxins that cause neurological diseases and other maladies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-fail-safe-inherited-disorders.html Medical research Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:06:05 EST news235314350 (Medical Xpress) -- Cancer needs blood. In fact, some cancer medications work solely to slow or prevent cancer cells from creating new capillaries, choking off their much-needed blood and nutrient supply to halt the growth of tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-dual-action-protein-restricts-blood-vessel.html Medical research Tue, 09 Aug 2011 08:34:21 EST news232097630 Cells grow abundant when oxygen is available, and generally stop when it is scarce. Although this seems straightforward, no direct link ever has been established between the cellular machinery that senses oxygen and that which controls cell division. Now, in the June 10 issue of Molecular Cell, researchers at Johns Hopkins report that the MCM proteins, which promote cell division, also directly control the oxygen-sensing HIF-1 protein. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-link-cell-division-oxygen.html Medical research Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:46:39 EST news226982766