peptides

NIST issues new reference material

Mon, 28 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

National Institute of Standards and Technology NIST has issued its first-ever reference material designed to improve the performance and reliability of experiments to measure the masses and concentrations of peptides in biomolecular samples. The new reference material is expected to be an important tool in the analysis of proteins, both for disease diagnosis and drug discovery. Release

Peptide gel used to control bleeding

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:01:39 -0400

A team of scientists from MIT and the University of Hong Kong has developed a gel from peptides that is able to stop bleeding in animals in a matter of seconds. The gel then breaks down into amino acids which go to work on tissue repair. These researchers have already used the gel to spur the regrowth of brain cells as well as partially restore sight in hamsters. This new work in stopping bleeding may point the way to control bleeding during surgeries, which would in turn reduce the time it takes to complete surgery by up to 50 percent. The researchers applied the gel to wounds in the brain, liver, skin and more. MIT researcher and lead author Rutledge Ellis-Behnke published their findings in the online edition of Nanomedicine

- read the report on the gel from Xinhuanet

TX researchers find new mechanism in Alzheimer's

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

Focusing on the role of an enzyme known as presenilin, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas say they have identified a second function that may play a big role in the development of Alzheimer's. Presenilins are already well known for cleaving amyloid precursor proteins to create amyloid ß-peptides that form plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's victims. Mutant presenilins present in 40 percent of familial cases of Alzheimer's also lose the ability to balance calcium inside cells, researchers say. Calcium is a signaling molecule that plays an important role in memory. Their work may help spur new research into therapies that control the effect of presenilins. Specifically, drugs that restore normal calcium levels could possibly be used to combat Alzheimer's.

"Clearly it makes sense that presenilin's role in cleaving APP would affect Alzheimer's disease," said Ilya Bezprozvanny of UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "But our findings suggest a totally different angle, raising the possibility that presenilin's effect on the disease may be two-fold."

- read the report from The Hindu