https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences Cognitive dysfunctions are common symptoms for Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and other disorders of the central nervous system. Most people are familiar with the memory problems as one type of dysfunction, but cognitive dysfunctions encompass other aspects such as language use, complex attention, and social cognition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-10-qa-backup-drug-compound-memory.html Medical research Thu, 31 Oct 2024 15:44:04 EDT news649608242 Christian de Caestecker, a Ph.D. student in the lab of Ian Macara, Louise B. McGavock Professor and chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, has proposed and validated a mechanism that addresses a decades-old mystery surrounding epithelial cells. de Caestecker's research, published in Nature Cell Biology, sheds light on the process by which epithelial cells, polarized cells that face the outside world, sort and deliver the specialized proteins they need at each cell's top (outermost) surface. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-decades-protein-mystery.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 17:01:02 EDT news646588861 For researchers, projects can sometimes feel like babies, and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your baby grow up. For William Tansey, professor of cell and developmental biology, this baby started 10 years ago when he and Stephen Fesik, Orrin H. Ingram II, Professor of Cancer Research and professor of biochemistry, discovered that a protein called WDR5 is a "partner in crime" to MYC, a transcription factor and oncogene that is often mutated in cancers. In fact, dysregulation of MYC is estimated to be responsible for about a third of all cancer deaths annually. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-drug-compounds-strong-action-blood.html Medications Thu, 05 Sep 2024 11:29:04 EDT news644754542 Synaptic plasticity, the ability of synapses to strengthen or weaken over time in response to changes in their activity, is a central foundation of learning and memory. At synapses, presynaptic cells transmit signals to postsynaptic cells through a dance that is orchestrated by neurotransmitters, protons, receptors, scaffolding proteins, signaling molecules, and more. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-protons-tune-synaptic-protein-receptor.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 14 Aug 2024 14:46:03 EDT news642865562 Biopsies are clinical tools commonly used to diagnose a variety of diseases or to monitor tissue for abnormal growth or even rejection of a transplant. During biopsies, tissue samples are removed from the body so they can be examined more closely, but depending on the type of tissue that's needed, the procedure can be rather invasive. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-scientists-tool-noninvasive-liquid-biopsies.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 16 Jul 2024 09:08:07 EDT news640339681 A team of Vanderbilt researchers has created a new series of drug candidates against a hard-to-target receptor involved in the formation of blood clots. The research, spearheaded by the labs of Jens Meiler, research professor of chemistry, Craig Lindsley, Executive Director of Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery and professor of pharmacology, and Heidi Hamm, the Aileen M. Lange and Annie Mary Lyle Professor of Cardiovascular Research and professor of pharmacology, was published in ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science in March 2024. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-drug-candidates-blood-clots-aided.html Medications Tue, 11 Jun 2024 16:42:03 EDT news637342921