News tagged with molecular medicine

New animal model gives insights into mechanisms of Parkinson's disease pathogenesis

In Parkinson's disease, the protein "alpha-synuclein" aggregates and accumulates within neurons. Specific areas of the brain become progressively affected as the disease develops and advances. The mechanism underlying this ...

Parkinson's & Movement disorders created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The compound in the Mediterranean diet that makes cancer cells 'mortal'

New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells' "superpower" to escape death. By altering a very specific step in gene regulation, this compound essentially re-educates cancer ...

Cancer created May 20, 2013 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (18) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Immune protein could stop diabetes in its tracks

Melbourne researchers have identified an immune protein that has the potential to stop or reverse the development of type 1 diabetes in its early stages, before insulin-producing cells have been destroyed.

Immunology created May 20, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Mutation causing wrong-way plumbing explains one type of blue-baby syndrome

Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC), one type of "blue baby" syndrome, is a potentially deadly congenital disorder that occurs when pulmonary veins don't connect normally to the left atrium of the heart. This ...

Medical research created May 12, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research reveals possible reason for cholesterol-drug side effects

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and physicians continue to document that some patients experience fuzzy thinking and memory loss while taking statins, a class of global top-selling cholesterol-lowering ...

Medical research created May 10, 2013 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (12) | comments 13 | with audio podcast

It's not just what you eat, but when you eat it

Fat cells store excess energy and signal these levels to the brain. In a new study this week in Nature Medicine, Georgios Paschos PhD, a research associate in the lab of Garret FitzGerald, MD, FRS direct ...

Medical research created Nov 11, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (11) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Genes and their regulatory 'tags' conspire to promote rheumatoid arthritis, study finds

In one of the first genome-wide studies to hunt for both genes and their regulatory "tags" in patients suffering from a common disease, researchers have found a clear role for the tags in mediating genetic ...

Genetics created Jan 20, 2013 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Binding sites for LIN28 protein found in thousands of human genes

A study led by researchers at the UC San Diego Stem Cell Research program and funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) looks at an important RNA binding protein called LIN28, which ...

Genetics created Sep 04, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Foot soldiers of the immune system: IFIT antiviral protein recognizes foreign RNA and blocks viral infections

Researchers at McGill University and the Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have discovered the molecular blueprint behind the IFIT protein. This key protein enables the human ...

Immunology created Jan 13, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Mapping the embryonic epigenome

A large, multi-institutional research team involved in the NIH Epigenome Roadmap Project has published a sweeping analysis in the current issue of the journal Cell of how genes are turned on and off to direct early human ...

Genetics created May 09, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study shows gut bacteria byproduct predicts heart attack and stroke

A microbial byproduct of intestinal bacteria contributes to heart disease and serves as an accurate screening tool for predicting future risks of heart attack, stroke and death in persons not otherwise identified by traditional ...

Cardiology created Apr 24, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cancer cells' universal 'dark matter' exposed

Using the latest gene sequencing tools to examine so-called epigenetic influences on the DNA makeup of colon cancer, a Johns Hopkins team says its results suggest cancer treatment might eventually be more tolerable and successful ...

Cancer created Jun 26, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Atomic structure discovered for a sodium channel that generates electrical signals in living cells

Scientists at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle have determined the atomic architecture of a sodium channel. The achievement opens new possibilities for molecular medicine researchers around the world in designing ...

Medical research created Jul 13, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

New compound discovered that rapidly kills liver cancer

Scientists have identified a new compound that rapidly kills hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, the most common form of liver cancer and fifth most common cancer worldwide, while sparing healthy tissue. The compound, Factor ...

Cancer created Mar 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (20) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Breakthrough cancer-killing treatment has no side-effects, study finds

(Medical Xpress)—Cancer painfully ends more than 500,000 lives in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The scientific crusade against cancer recently ...

Cancer created Apr 03, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (19) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Molecular medicine

Molecular medicine is a broad field, where physical, chemical, biological and medical techniques are used to describe molecular structures and mechanisms, identify fundamental molecular and genetic errors of disease, and to develop molecular interventions to correct them. The molecular medicine perspective emphasizes cellular and molecular phenomena and interventions rather than the previous conceptual and observational focus on patients and their organs.

In November, 1949, with the seminal paper, "Sickle Cell Anemia, a Molecular Disease", in Science magazine, Linus Pauling, Harvey Itano and their collaborators laid the groundwork for establishing the field of molecular medicine. In 1956, Roger J. Williams wrote Biochemical Individuality, a prescient book about genetics, prevention and treatment of disease on a molecular basis, and nutrition which is now variously referred to as individualized medicine and orthomolecular medicine. Another paper in Science by Pauling in 1968, introduced and defined this view of molecular medicine that focuses on natural and nutritional substances used for treatment and prevention.

Published research and progress was slow until the 1970s' "biological revolution" that introduced many new techniques and commercial applications.

Molecular medicine is a new scientific discipline in European universities. Combining contemporary medical studies with the field of biochemistry, it offers a bridge between the two subjects. At present only a handful of universities offer the course to undergraduates. With a degree in this discipline the graduate is able to pursue a career in medical sciences, scientific research, laboratory work and postgraduate medical degrees.

For more information about Molecular medicine, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Related topics: stem cells , genes , cells , cancer cells , immune system