http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Protein folding has nothing to do with laundry. It is, in fact, one of the central questions in biochemistry. Protein folding is the continual and universal process whereby the long, coiled strings of amino acids that make up proteins in all living things fold into more complex three-dimensional structures. By understanding how proteins fold, and what structures they are likely to assume in their final form, researchers are then able to move closer to predicting their function. http://phys.org/news226666152.html Biology Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:49:26 EST news226666152 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is one of many serious disorders for which prenatal testing is available. SMA affects approximately 1 in 10,000 live births and is the leading genetic cause of infant mortality and the second most common autosomal recessive disorder, after cystic fibrosis. Although the American College of Medical Genetics recommends carrier testing for all couples, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued a recommendation to the contrary, citing lack of information about the costs and benefits of screening for SMA. An article which may shed light on this controversy appears in the March 2010 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. http://phys.org/news187271615.html Medicine & Health Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:10:01 EST news187271615 (AP) -- Some of mankind's most devastating inherited diseases appear to be declining, and a few have nearly disappeared, because more people are using genetic testing to decide whether to have children. http://phys.org/news185608204.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:50:25 EST news185608204 An inexpensive, fast, accurate DNA test that reveals a person's risk of developing certain diseases is expected to become a reality, thanks to technology developed at the University of Edinburgh. http://phys.org/news185551223.html Chemistry Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:50:13 EST news185551223 In a study that could lead to new therapeutic targets for patients with the cystic fibrosis, a research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a defective signaling pathway that contributes to disease severity. In the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers report that defective signaling for a protein called the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) accounts for a portion of disease symptoms in cystic fibrosis, and that correction of the defective pathway reduces symptoms of the disease in mice. http://phys.org/news185374080.html Medicine & Health Sun, 14 Feb 2010 13:00:05 EST news185374080 Finding a biological mechanism much like an online social network, scientists have identified the bacterial protein VpsT as the master regulator in Vibrio, the cause of cholera and other enteric diseases. This discovery, now published in the journal Science, provides a major tool to combat enteric disease. http://phys.org/news185118951.html Biology Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:00:01 EST news185118951 (PhysOrg.com) -- Certain bacteria cause chronic lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis. Surviving in this oxygen-poor, nitrate-rich environment makes the bacteria less susceptible to antibiotics. http://phys.org/news184923826.html Medicine & Health Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:44:26 EST news184923826 Research performed at UC Santa Barbara points to the drug rapamycin as a potential treatment for kidney disease. The study builds on past research and shows that studies performed on mice are more likely to translate to humans than previously thought. The results are published in the current online issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. http://phys.org/news183654643.html Medicine & Health Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:11:13 EST news183654643 Biophysicists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), Germany, have published the results of single-molecule experiments that bring a higher-resolution tool to the study of protein folding. How proteins arrive at the three-dimensional shapes that determine their essential functions - or cause grave diseases when folding goes wrong - is considered one of the most important and least understood questions in the biological and medical sciences. Folding itself follows a path determined by its energy landscape, a complex property described in unprecedented detail by the TUM researchers. http://phys.org/news183121006.html Physics Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:57:02 EST news183121006 Bacteria can swim, propelling themselves through fluids using a whip-like extension called a flaggella. They can also walk, strolling along solid surfaces using little fibrous legs called pili. It is this motility that enable some pathogenic bacteria to establish the infections - such as meningitis - that cause their human hosts to get sick or even die. http://phys.org/news181830567.html Biology Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:30:48 EST news181830567 As it turns out, children were not the only ones with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads over this past holiday season. In a new research report published in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, a team of scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Hospitals for Children show how a compound from licorice root (glycyrrhizin from Glycyrrhiza glabra) might be an effective tool in battling life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns. Specifically, they found that in burned mice, glycyrrhizin improved the ability of damaged skin to create small proteins that serve as the first line of defense against infection. These proteins, called antimicrobial peptides, work by puncturing the cell membranes of bacteria similar to how pins pop balloons. http://phys.org/news181824551.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:58:03 EST news181824551 Johns Hopkins University researchers have created biodegradable nanosized particles that can easily slip through the body's sticky and viscous mucus secretions to deliver a sustained-release medication cargo. http://phys.org/news181824459.html Nanotechnology Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:48:20 EST news181824459 Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York, have identified three key regulators required for the formation and development of biofilms. The discovery could lead to new ways of treating chronic infections. http://phys.org/news180369659.html Biology Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:41:37 EST news180369659 A team of researchers studying the protein that, when defective or absent, causes cystic fibrosis (CF) has made an important discovery about how that protein is normally controlled and under what circumstances it might go awry. http://phys.org/news180339751.html Chemistry Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:40:01 EST news180339751 An increase in the number of screened carriers for cystic fibrosis (CF) was associated with a decrease in the number of children born with CF in northeast Italy, according to a study in the December 16 issue of JAMA. http://phys.org/news180182798.html Medicine & Health Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:10:01 EST news180182798 How does a cell manage to identify and degrade the diverse types of defective proteins and thus protect the body against serious diseases? The researchers Sabine C. Horn, Professor Thomas Sommer, Professor Udo Heinemann and Dr. Ernst Jarosch of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, have now found a crucial piece in this puzzle. In an enzyme complex that plays a critical role in the quality control of proteins, they discovered a scaffold regulating the identification and disposal of various defectively produced proteins. http://phys.org/news179757100.html Chemistry Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:10:02 EST news179757100 In an encouraging new development, a team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has restored partial function to lung cells collected from patients with cystic fibrosis. While there is still much work to be done before the therapy can be tested in humans, the discovery opens the door to a new class of therapies for this and a host of other chronic diseases. http://phys.org/news179328978.html Chemistry Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:37:24 EST news179328978 (PhysOrg.com) -- UW researchers have successfully used a method called exome sequencing to quickly discover a previously unknown gene responsible for a rare disorder. The finding demonstrates the usefulness of exome sequencing in studying the 7,000 plus rare genetic disorders affecting millions of people. http://phys.org/news177670903.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:10:04 EST news177670903 Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that a dietary antioxidant found in such vegetables as broccoli and cauliflower protects cells from damage caused by chemicals generated during the body's inflammatory response to infection and injury. The finding has implications for such inflammation-based disorders as cystic fibrosis (CF), diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegeneration. http://phys.org/news177612619.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:50:44 EST news177612619 Scientists in Belgium have successfully differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into major cell types of lung epithelial tissue using a convenient air-liquid interface. The technique, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research, could provide an alternative to lung transplants for patients with lung injury due to chronic pulmonary disease and inherited genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis. http://phys.org/news176622987.html Medicine & Health Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:57:13 EST news176622987 Bacteria that cause chronic lung infections can communicate with each other to form a deadly shield against the body's natural defenses. Studying these interactions could lead to new ways of treating bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, according to an article in the November issue of Microbiology. http://phys.org/news176352755.html Biology Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:53:31 EST news176352755 A cellular protein from a family involved in several human diseases is crucial for the proper production and release of insulin, new research has found, suggesting that the protein might play a role in diabetes. http://phys.org/news175787060.html Biology Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:47:01 EST news175787060 The American Thoracic Society has released new clinical guidelines for the treatment of exacerbations in cystic fibrosis based on a review of the literature on current clinical practices. http://phys.org/news175448719.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:30:01 EST news175448719 A new Tel Aviv University drug, based on an older generation antibiotic, may provide doctors with an effective and innovative method of treating colon cancer in both its incipient and full-blown stages -- and minimize the need for painful, uncomfortable colonoscopies and surgical polyp removal. http://phys.org/news174647816.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:18:05 EST news174647816 In the lung, mucus is produced by cells known as goblet cells, which are present in small numbers in the walls of the lungs and airways. http://phys.org/news172170684.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:11:40 EST news172170684 Researchers from The University of Arizona Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine are teaming up to try to invent a novel non-invasive lung test for cystic fibrosis sufferers. http://phys.org/news171807753.html Medicine & Health Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:40:05 EST news171807753 Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered a genetic risk factor for severe liver disease in people with cystic fibrosis. Those who carry a particular variant of the SERPINA1 gene (also known as alpha-1-antitrypsin or alpha-1-antiprotease) are five times more likely to develop cirrhosis and other liver complications than patients who carry the normal version of the gene. http://phys.org/news171649546.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:40:02 EST news171649546 In the new era of personalized medicine, physicians hope to provide earlier diagnoses and improve therapy by evaluating patients' genetic blueprints. But, as a new bioinformatics study emphasizes, the first step must be to correctly decipher the deluge of information locked in our DNA and determine its impact on human health. http://phys.org/news171193637.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:00:07 EST news171193637 Mortality remains high among patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension awaiting lung transplant, despite changes to the allocation system that were designed to reduce mortality and increase the equitable distribution of donor organs, according to new research out of University of California San Francisco. http://phys.org/news170306977.html Medicine & Health Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:00:03 EST news170306977 Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) usually experience significant muscle loss, a symptom traditionally considered to be a secondary complication of the devastating genetic disease. However, a recent study by Dr. Basil Petrof reverses the equation: his results show that muscle atrophy and weakness may be a primary symptom caused by the effects of CFTR gene mutations on the muscle itself. Dr. Petrof's findings will be published on July 31 in Public Library of Science -- Genetics. http://phys.org/news168270197.html Medicine & Health Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:00:01 EST news168270197