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Suggested Explanation for Glowing Seas–Including Currently Glowing California Seas

By Guest PostOctober 20, 2011Environment, Scienceabundance of protons, bioluminescence, blue flashes, california waters, channels in membranes, coastal california waters, dinoflagellates, electrical events, electrical impulses, Environment, j woodland hastings, luciferase, marine environments, mechanical stimulation, organism, potential mechanism for bioluminescence, produce toxins, protein, scintillons, unicellular plankton, vacuole, voltage gated proton channels

*Potential mechanism for dazzling blue flashes of light in oceans identified*

It has long been known that spectacular blue flashes–a type of bioluminescence–that are visible at night in some marine environments (currently including coastal California waters) are caused by tiny, unicellular plankton known as dinoflagellates. However, a new study has, for the first time, detailed the potential mechanism for this bioluminescence.

The study, which was partially funded by the National Science Foundation, is reported by Susan Smith of Emory School of Medicine, Thomas DeCoursey of Rush University Medical Center and colleagues in the Oct. 17, 2011 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). (more…)

Modified Vaccine Shows Promise in Preventing Malaria

By Guest PostSeptember 29, 2011Health, Scienceandrea amalfitano, barnett rosenberg, circumsporozoite protein, csp, deadly disease, eat 2, gene, gene adjuvants, global effort to prevent malaria infections, hiv, immune response, immune system stimulating gene, key role, malaria parasite, malaria vaccine, michigan state university, nathaniel j schuldt, protein, rea, us army, vaccine, virus, yasser a aldhamen

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Continuing a global effort to prevent malaria infections, Michigan State University researchers have created a new malaria vaccine – one that combines the use of a disabled cold virus with an immune system-stimulating gene – that appears to increase the immune response against the parasite that causes the deadly disease.

At the same time, the group led by Andrea Amalfitano of the College of Osteopathic Medicine also discovered another immune-system stimulating agent – created at MSU and which has been successful in improving immune responses in vaccines for diseases such as HIV – paradoxically made for a less effective malaria vaccine. (more…)

Scientists Unfolding Protein Mystery, Fighting Disease with Windows Azure

By Guest PostJune 14, 2011Technologyalzheimer, baker laboratory, benchmark, cancers, chris sinco, cloud computing, computational biology labs, computing power, david baker, dennis gannon, malaria, marlin eiben, Microsoft, microsoft research extreme computing group, modern diseases, needle, nikolas sgourakis, pankaj arora, protein, salmonella, search for extraterrestrial intelligence, seti, structure and behavior of proteins, university of washington, vacation, windows azure, world class researcher with a world class problem

*Microsoft has partnered with the University of Washington’s Baker Laboratory to help scientists supercharge the computing power of their protein folding research with Windows Azure. Helping scientists get faster results could mean speeding up cures for Alzheimer’s, cancers, salmonella, and malaria.*

REDMOND, Wash. – June 14, 2011 – Cloud computing is helping biologists uncloud one of nature’s biggest mysteries: proteins.

Microsoft has partnered with the University of Washington’s Baker Laboratory, one of the world’s top computational biology labs, to give scientists access to some high-caliber computing power. That, in turn, helps them explore and understand proteins, which could eventually lead to thwarting everything from Alzheimer’s to Malaria, and from cancer to salmonella. (more…)

UF Researchers Find Quiet Protein Speaks Loudly in Fight Against Cancer

By Guest PostMay 5, 2011Healthaubrey thompson, brahma, brm, cancer causing genes, cancer inhibiting properties, cancer therapy, carcinogens, cell adhesion, cells, david reisman, dna repair, geoffrey liu, hdac, histone deacetylase, lung cancer, oncogene, protein, race, sex, tumor growth, university of florida, university of toronto

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When a movie character says, “It’s too quiet,” that’s usually a sign something bad may happen.

Now, University of Florida researchers have discovered that when variations of a certain protein in our cells are too quiet, it may add to the risk that someone will develop lung cancer. When scientists restored the protein to its normal, active self, its cancer-inhibiting properties reappeared. (more…)

Polluted Air Leads To Disease by Promoting Widespread Inflammation

By Guest PostApril 20, 2011Environment, Healthanimal model, cellular activity, chronic inhalation, enzyme, exposure to pollution, il-12, immune system, inflammation, inflammatory monocytes, interleukin-12, mcp-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein, monocytes, nadph oxidase, ohio state university, polluted air, protein, sanjay rajagopalan, thomas kampfrath, tlr4, tnfa, toll-like receptor 4, tumor necrosis factor alpha, white blood cells

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Chronic inhalation of polluted air appears to activate a protein that triggers the release of white blood cells, setting off events that lead to widespread inflammation, according to new research in an animal model.

This finding narrows the gap in researchers’ understanding of how prolonged exposure to pollution can increase the risk for cardiovascular problems and other diseases. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Scientists Find That Normal Breast Cells Help Kill Cancer Cells

By Guest PostApril 20, 20111 commentHealth, Scienceberkeley lab, breast cancer cells, cytostatic, cytotoxic, dna mutations, extracellular matrix culture, healthy cells, human body, il25, immune system, inflammation, interleukin 25, malignant phenotype, mammary epithelial cells, microenvironmental factors, mina bissell, natural defense mechanism against cancer, pathogens, protein, saori furuta, treatment of breast cancer, tumor cells, tumor surveillance system

It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer – healthy cells. A new study shows that normal mammary epithelial cells, as they are developing, secrete interleukin 25, a protein known for its role in the immune system’s response to inflammation, for the express purpose of killing nearby breast cancer cells.

“We found that normal breast cells provide an innate defense mechanism against cancer by producing interleukin 25 (IL25) to actively and specifically kill breast cancer cells,” says breast cancer authority Mina Bissell, of Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division, who led this research. “This suggests that IL25 receptor signaling may provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of breast cancer.” (more…)

Berkeley Lab Researchers Illuminate Laminin’s Role in Cancer Formation

By Guest PostMarch 8, 2011Sciencebreast, breast cancer, cancer death, cell, cytoplasmic protein, dna synthesis, dynamic reciprocity theory, epithelial cell quiescence, epithelial tissue, genetic information, laminin, laminin 111, matrix metalloproteinase 9, microenvironment of breast, mina bissell, mmp9, nucleus, protein, quiescence, stages of tumor development, transcription, united states, zinc dependent enzyme

Laminin, long thought to be only a structural support protein in the microenvironment of breast and other epithelial tissue, is “famous” for its cross-like shape. However, laminin is far more than just a support player with a “pretty face.” Two studies led by one of the world’s foremost breast cancer scientists have shown how laminin plays a central role in the development of breast cancer, the second most leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. In one study it was shown how laminin influences the genetic information inside a cell’s nucleus. In the other study it was shown how destruction of laminin can play a detrimental role in the early stages of tumor development. (more…)

A Second Pathway for Antidepressants: Berkeley Lab Reports New Fluorescent Assay Reveals TREK1 Mechanism

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2011Scienceantidepressant drugs, berkeley lab, c terminal, cell based fluorescent assay, cytoplasm, ehud isacoff, flow of electrical current, fluorescent protein, fluoxetine, gfp, green fluorescent protein, guillaume sandoz, high speed transistors, human brain, ion channels, membrane, molecular gates, neurons, pharmacological agents, plasma membrane, protein, prozac, sarah bell, transmembrane proteins, trek1, trek1 potassium channel

Using a unique and relatively simple cell-based fluorescent assay they developed, scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC), Berkeley have identified a means by which fluoxetine, the active ingredient in Prozac, suppresses the activity of the TREK1 potassium channel. TREK1 activity has been implicated in mood regulation and could be an important target for fluoxetine and other antidepressant drugs. (more…)

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