New insights into an old drug: Scientists discover why aspirin works so well

Aspirin to improve cancer immunotherapy?

03-Apr-2023 - New research has revealed important information about how aspirin works. Even though this drug has been available commercially since the late 1800s, scientists have not yet fully elucidated its detailed mechanism of action and cellular targets. The new findings could pave the way to safer aspirin ...

Scientists see anti-aging potential in an invasive weed

Cocklebur extracts could protect skin, speed wound healing and ward off wrinkles

31-Mar-2023 - The fruit of the cocklebur plant, which grows worldwide and is often considered a noxious weed, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components that could make it useful as a skin protectant, according to new research. Researchers found that compounds in the species’ spiky fruits reduced damage ...

How cells handle a sticky, toxic, but absolutely essential molecule

A new study shows that a protein known for its role in metabolism also helps deliver heme where it's needed

18-Sep-2018 - Do you enjoy breathing air? You should spare a thought once in a while for heme, an iron-containing molecule essential to all organisms engaged in an air-breathing lifestyle. Heme molecules are most famously part of hemoglobin, the oxygen-transporting protein in blood, but they are also ...

Potential source of gender differences in migraines discovered

24-Apr-2018 - Of the more than 38 million Americans who experience migraine headaches, 28 million are women. Compared to men, women also experience more frequent and severe migraines and don't respond as well to drug treatments. Findings from a new study conducted in rats reveal that females may be more ...

How pathogenic bacteria prepare a sticky adhesion protein

10-Apr-2018 - Researchers at Harvard Medical School, the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of Georgia have described how the protein that allows strep and staph bacteria to stick to human cells is prepared and packaged. The research could facilitate the development of new ...

Expanding the reach of therapeutic antibodies

31-Aug-2017 - A group of researchers has developed an approach to efficiently produce antibodies that can bind to two different target molecules simultaneously, a long-desired innovation in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system that specialize in recognizing ...

Coral reefs provide potent new anti-HIV proteins

Discovery raises hope for new methods to prevent the spread of HIV

02-May-2014 - Researchers have discovered a new class of proteins capable of blocking the HIV virus from penetrating T-cells, raising hope that the proteins could be adapted for use in gels or sexual lubricants to provide a potent barrier against HIV infection. The proteins, called cnidarins, were found in a ...

Tracking breast cancer cells on the move

An important gene for bone metastasis

18-Jun-2012 - Breast cancer cells frequently move from their primary site and invade bone, decreasing a patient's chance of survival. This process of metastasis is complex, and factors both within the breast cancer cells and within the new bone environment play a role. In Journal of Biological Chemistry Roger ...

Scientists sever molecular signals that prolific parasite uses to puppeteer cells

Team liberates cellular hostages by silencing Toxoplasma gondii's back-seat driving

22-Apr-2010 - Scientists studying a cunning parasite that has commandeered the cells of almost half the world's human population have begun to zero in on the molecular signals that must be severed to free the organism's cellular hostages. While Toxoplasma gondii is not as widely known by the public as some of ...

Identifying molecular targets for diabetes-related ED

08-Apr-2010 - Erectile dysfunction is one of the most prevalent diabetes-induced complications in men; current estimates suggest that as many as 75% of men with diabetes will develop some degree of ED, and in many cases diabetics develop more severe forms of ED that are less responsive to standard drugs. Now, ...