Proteins are molecular machines that transport substances, catalyze chemical reactions, pump ions, and identify signaling substances. They are chains of amino acids and the individual amino acid sequence is known for many of them. However, the functions a protein can carry out inside the cell are determined by the three-dimensional spatial structure of the protein. Establishing this so-called tertiary structure presents a great challenge to scientists. There is, thus, a lot of catching up to be done in structure analysis.
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Boston, MA—A new study has found that regular consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a clear and consistently greater risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. According to the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, the study provides empirical evidence that intake of sugary beverages should be limited to reduce risk of these conditions.
The study appears online October 27, 2010, in the journal Diabetes Care and will appear in the November print edition.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have found that the overproduction of a key protein in stem cells causes those stem cells to form cancerous tumors. Their work may lead to new treatments for a variety of cancers.
DURHAM, N.C. – A doubling of abnormally wet or dry summer weather in the southeastern United States in recent decades has come from an intensification of the summertime North Atlantic Subtropical High (NASH), or "Bermuda High."
And that intensification appears to be coming from global warming, according to a new analysis by a Duke University-led team of climate scientists.
Pancreatic cancer develops and spreads much more slowly than scientists have thought, according to new research from Johns Hopkins investigators. The finding indicates that there is a potentially broad window for diagnosis and prevention of the disease.
In new research published today, researchers uncover evolution in action in cancer cells. They show the forces of evolution in pancreatic tumours mean that not only is cancer genetically different between different patients, but each new focus of cancer spread within a patient has acquired distinct mutations.
(SALT LAKE CITY)—Just seven months after University of Utah geneticists took part in a landmark study that sequenced for the first time the genome of an entire Utah family, U of U researchers have taken part in another historic study that is the first large-scale genome sequencing project – 179 people representing three continents – and 60 Utahns played a major role in this study, too.
Pancreatic tumors are one of the most lethal cancers, with fewer than five percent of patients surviving five years after diagnosis. But a new study that peers deeply into the genetics of pancreatic cancer presents a bit of good news: an opportunity for early diagnosis. In contrast to earlier predictions, many pancreatic tumors are, in fact, slow growing, taking nearly 20 years to become lethal after the first genetic perturbations appear.
Small genetic differences between individuals help explain why some people have a higher risk than others for developing illnesses such as diabetes or cancer. Today in the journal Nature, the 1000 Genomes Project, an international public-private consortium, published the most comprehensive map of these genetic differences, called variations, estimated to contain approximately 95 percent of the genetic variation of any person on Earth.
Texas A&M University is one of 10 international partners involved in the global conservation study and subsequent scientific paper, "The Impact of Conservation on the Status of the World's Vertebrates," that is scheduled to be published in Science, the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
STANFORD, Calif. — The immune system may play a critical role in ensuring the success of certain types of cancer therapies, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The research showed treatments that disable cancer-promoting genes called oncogenes are much more successful in eradicating tumors in the presence of a signaling molecule secreted by kind of immune cell called a T helper cell.
Scientists are calling for more research on the possibility that some supposedly healthful plant-based antioxidants — including those renowned for their apparent ability to prevent cancer — may actually aggravate or even cause cancer in some individuals. Their recommendation follows a study in which two such antioxidants — quercetin and ferulic acid — appeared to aggravate kidney cancer in severely diabetic laboratory rats. The study appears in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Scientists have discovered the secret of how an amazing sea snail injects its venom after shooting a harpoon-like tooth into its prey — or some unlucky swimmer — at jetliner speeds. The creatures, called cone snails, use a highly specialized structure that instantly pumps the paralyzing venom through the tooth and into its target. Their study appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Proteome Research.