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Synthetic chemistry: Steroids that only nature could make on a large scale, until now
Jan. 3, 2013 Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have achieved a feat in synthetic chemistry by inventing a scalable method to make complex natural compounds known as “polyhydroxylated steroids.” These compounds, used in heart-failure medications and other drugs, have been notoriously problematic to synthesize in the laboratory. The researchers demonstrated the new strategy by synthesizing ouabagenin wa-bah-jenn-in, a close chemical cousin of ouabain, which Somali tribes once used as a potent poison on the tips of their arrows but was later developed as a treatment for congestive heart failure
Rethinking bacterial persistence: Optofluidics allow for new understanding of resistance to antibiotics
Jan. 3, 2013 It’s often difficult to completely eliminate a bacterial infection with antibiotics; part of the population usually manages to survive
Gene variant linked to active personality traits also linked to human longevity
Jan. 3, 2013 A variant of a gene associated with active personality traits in humans seems to also be involved with living a longer life, UC Irvine and other researchers have found. This derivative of a dopamine-receptor gene — called the DRD4 7R allele — appears in significantly higher rates in people more than 90 years old and is linked to lifespan increases in mouse studies.
Gene variant linked to active personality traits also linked to human longevity
Jan. 3, 2013 A variant of a gene associated with active personality traits in humans seems to also be involved with living a longer life, UC Irvine and other researchers have found. This derivative of a dopamine-receptor gene — called the DRD4 7R allele — appears in significantly higher rates in people more than 90 years old and is linked to lifespan increases in mouse studies.
Promising compound restores memory loss and reverses symptoms of Alzheimer’s in mice
Jan. 2, 2013 A new ray of hope has broken through the clouded outcomes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. A new research report published in January 2013 print issue of the FASEB Journal by scientists from the National Institutes of Health shows that when a molecule called TFP5 is injected into mice with disease that is the equivalent of human Alzheimer’s, symptoms are reversed and memory is restored — without obvious toxic side effects.
Space travel may be harmful to the brain, study suggests; Prolonged cosmic radiation exposure could hasten Alzheimer’s
Dec. 31, 2012 As if space travel was not already filled with enough dangers, a new study out today in the journal PLOS ONE shows that cosmic radiation — which would bombard astronauts on deep space missions to places like Mars — could accelerate the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists home in on cause of osteoarthritis pain
Dec. 27, 2012 Researchers at Rush University Medical Center, in collaboration with researchers at Northwestern University, have identified a molecular mechanism central to the development of osteoarthritis (OA) pain, a finding that could have major implications for future treatment of this often-debilitating condition.
New class of malaria drugs using essential calcium enzyme developed
Dec. 27, 2012 Calpain, a calcium-regulated enzyme, is essential to a host of cellular processes, but can cause severe problems in its overactivated state. It has been implicated as a factor in muscular dystrophy, AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancer
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