News tagged with molecular and cellular biology

Related topics: protein , brain , cells , neurons , mutations




Structure of a bond formed by two proteins critical for hearing and balance described for the first time

Researchers have mapped the precise 3-D atomic structure of a thin protein filament critical for cells in the inner ear and calculated the force necessary to pull it apart.

Medical research created Nov 07, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Using precisely-targeted lasers, researchers manipulate neurons in worms' brains, take control of their behavior

In the quest to understand how the brain turns sensory input into behavior, Harvard scientists have crossed a major threshold. Using precisely-targeted lasers, researchers have been able to take over an animal's ...

Neuroscience created Sep 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Using rabies virus, researcher tracks inputs to dopamine neurons

A genetically-modified version of the rabies virus is helping scientists at Harvard to trace neural pathways in the brain, a research effort that could one day lead to treatments for Parkinson's disease and addiction.

Neuroscience created Jun 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study shows how neurons interact, could lead to new treatment for addiction

Harvard scientists have developed the fullest picture yet of how neurons in the brain interact to reinforce behaviors ranging from learning to drug use, a finding that might open the door to possible breakthroughs in the ...

Neuroscience created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

'Brainbow,' version 2.0: Researchers refine breakthrough system for producing images of brain, nervous system

(Medical Xpress)—The breakthrough technique that allowed scientists to obtain one-of-a-kind, colorful images of the myriad connections in the brain and nervous system is about to get a significant upgrade.

Neuroscience created May 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The motivation to move: Study finds rats calculate 'average' of reward across several tests

Suppose you had $1,000 to invest in the stock market. How would you decide to pick one stock over another? Scientists have made great progress in understanding the neuroscience behind how people choose between ...

Neuroscience created Apr 19, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers identify and block protein that interferes with appetite-suppressing hormone

Ever since the appetite-regulation hormone called leptin was discovered in 1994, scientists have sought to understand the mechanisms that control its action. It was known that leptin was made by fat cells, reduced appetite ...

Medical research created Apr 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Fatheads: How neurons protect themselves against excess fat

We're all fatheads. That is, our brain cells are packed with fat molecules, more of them than almost any other cell type. Still, if the brain cells' fat content gets too high, they'll be in trouble. In a recent study in mice, ...

Medical research created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Loss of tumor suppressor SPOP releases cancer potential of SRC-3

Mutations in a protein called SPOP (speckle-type POZ protein) disarm it, allowing another protein called steroid receptor coactivator-3 (SRC-3) to encourage the proliferation and spread of prostate cancer cells, said researchers ...

Cancer created Apr 01, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Eat too much? Maybe it's in the blood

Bone marrow cells that produce brain-derived eurotrophic factor (BDNF), known to affect regulation of food intake, travel to part of the hypothalamus in the brain where they "fine-tune" appetite, said researchers from Baylor ...

Medical research created Feb 26, 2013 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Diabetes drug could hold promise for lung cancer patients

Ever since discovering a decade ago that a gene altered in lung cancer regulated an enzyme used in therapies against diabetes, Reuben Shaw has wondered if drugs originally designed to treat metabolic diseases ...

Cancer created Jan 29, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Synthetic 'poop' can cure C. difficile infection, study finds

A synthetic "poop" developed at the University of Guelph can cure nasty gastrointestinal infections caused by Clostridium difficile, a toxin-producing bacterium.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jan 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

New technique catalogs lymphoma-linked genetic variations

(Medical Xpress)—As anyone familiar with the X-Men knows, mutants can be either very good or very bad—or somewhere in between. The same appears true within cancer cells, which may harbor hundreds of mutations that set ...

Cancer created Dec 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Helping the nose know: Researcher answers 100-year-old question about how olfactory feedback mechanism works

More than a century after it was first identified, Harvard scientists are shedding new light on a little-understood neural feedback mechanism that may play a key role in how the olfactory system works in the brain.

Neuroscience created Dec 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

COUP-TFII sparks prostate cancer progression

Prostate cancer presents a dilemma for patients and the physicians who treat them. Which cancers are essentially indolent and present no risk and which are life threatening? Which can be watched and which need aggressive ...

Cancer created Nov 28, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast