News: NIGMS Research Around the Nation

NIGMS-funded researchers are working to create molecules that selectively interfere with the production of mutant proteins that cause Huntington's disease.

By literally turning up the heat, a team of NIGMS-supported scientists has uncovered an RNA editing enzyme in an ancient heat-loving organism.

 NIGMS-supported researchers have found that small stockpiles of a secondary flu medication—if used early in local outbreaks—could extend the effectiveness of primary drug stockpiles during a global influenza pandemic.

A 10-year study funded in part by NIGMS has produced an unprecedented amount of genetic data about Africans, demonstrating the great diversity on the continent.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered that HIV primarily enters cells via endosomes, suggesting that new drugs could inhibit that process.

NIGMS-funded researchers have shown that artificial mimics of a plant hormone could help crops survive drought.

MIDAS-supported researcher Ira Longini talks about his efforts to simulate hypothetical influenzas and study how they might spread.

An NIGMS-supported study explored how a protein called SUMO alters the structure of chromatin to regulate genetic activity.

An NIGMS-funded study has found that a type of vitamin B1 could treat the inflammation that is a common cause of blindness.

NIGMS IMSD grant could give up to 24 minority students a boost toward a doctorate in biomedical research.

NIGMS-funded research has discovered widespread convergent molecular evolution across mitochondrial proteins.

NIGMS-funded biochemists have determined the structure of a key genetic mechanism in bacteria that could lead to a new class of antibiotics.

NIGMS-funded researchers have found hints that copper regulation is disrupted in prion disease.

NIGMS-funded biologists have discovered that a protein called Mcl-1 plays a critical role in melanoma cells' resistance to death.

Chemists funded by NIGMS have created an efficient way to make a complex alkaloid found in club moss that has medical potential.

NIGMS-funded researchers have developed a slow-release, injectable anesthetic that has no apparent toxic effects.

An NIGMS-funded study draws parallels between a DNA repair factor and a ubiquitin-like modifier that are both essential for genome stability.

NIGMS-funded researchers have studied how genetically identical cells have different amounts of proteins that can affect their response to drugs.

NIGMS-funded biologists have solved the structure of a plant protein that is similar to proteins that control the master clock in mammals.

NIGMS-funded biologists report that a protein plays a critical role in helping cells decide to repair DNA damage instead of committing suicide.

NIGMS-funded molecular biologists have found that the assembly of silent heterochromatin domains in DNA depends on the strength with which a protein binds to histones.

NIGMS-funded investigators have deciphered a large proportion of the total protein complement in a species of yeast.

NIGMS-funded physicists have used game theory and yeast genetics to understand how cooperative behavior is compatible with evolutionary forces.

NIGMS-funded biochemists have discovered mechanisms behind two key checkpoints in cell development that are related to tumor growth.

With support from MBRS RISE Award, Elizabeth City State University prepares undergraduate students for research careers.

NIGMS-funded research suggests that nicotine may interfere with more processes in the body than previously thought.

NIGMS-funded biological engineers have used a "fuzzy logic" approach to model information networks in cells.

NIGMS-funded researchers have identified a fluorescent anesthetic that should help in future research to discover and understand anesthetics.

MARC U-STAR helps St. Augustine undergraduate pursue dream of becoming a cancer researcher.

NIGMS-funded researchers have found many new prions in yeast to better address whether they have a beneficial role in nature.

An NIGMS-funded study suggests that sleep refreshes the brain by lowering levels of proteins that build up in the synapses.

NIGMS-funded researchers have created a bipedal, autonomous DNA "walker" to better understand molecular motor systems.

NIGMS-funded researchers suspect that a protein called Muc4 may promote metastasis and inhibit cancer cells' death.

NIGMS-funded researchers have used magnetic particles like molecular sheep dogs, a strategy that could be used to build human tissues.

NIGMS grantee Lucy Shapiro has won the 2009 Gairdner International Award for her insights on cell differentiation.

NIGMS-funded researchers say that scientists who examine human evolution have used faulty statistical methods.

NIGMS-funded chemists have designed a lock-like molecule that clasps or unclasps based on exposure to light.

A study funded partly by NIGMS has produced a test that could help doctors identify which breast cancer patients should receive aggressive therapy.

NIGMS-funded researchers have solved the structure of a protein that keeps many drugs out of cells and can make cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy.

NIGMS-funded researchers report that they have created induced human pluripotent stem cells free of viral vectors and exotic genes.

A team of scientists has advanced stem cell research by finding a way to endow human skin cells with embryonic stem cell-like properties without inserting potentially problematic new genes into their DNA.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered an effective new anti-cancer agent related to drugs previously used to treat bone diseases.

Researchers partially funded by NIGMS have created a switch that allows the monitoring of muscle regeneration in mammals.

NIGMS-funded biochemists built a functioning protein from scratch, that is, without working from an existing scaffold from nature.

NIGMS-funded study of the motor protein kinesin-2 sheds light on the important process of cell transport and how it could be recruited to fight disease.

NIGMS-funded biologists used temporal network analysis to explore the factors that promote or reduce scientific productivity.

NIGMS-funded researchers have been able to follow the changing shape of individual alpha-synuclein proteins, which are linked to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

NIGMS-funded researchers who discovered a prion in yeast are testing whether it could have a natural role in gene regulation.

NIGMS-funded researchers are designing antibiotics that disrupt quorum sensing instead of killing bacteria.

NIGMS-funded researchers have identified a key protein that links the morning and evening components of the daily biological clock of plants.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered an additional proofreading step in the protein-making process.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered how circadian rhythms regulate energy levels in cells.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered that a species of algae that grows in hot, acidic environments chemically modifies arsenic to make it less toxic.

An NIGMS-funded study has shed light on how kinetochores, which control chromosome movement during cell division, can be both strong and dynamic.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered that a gene remnant was resurrected during human evolution.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered a unique role for two RNAs; they organize and maintain a compartment within the nucleus.

An NIGMS-funded study has discovered that a single antibody can target a wide range of flu viruses, a finding that could lead to a universal flu vaccine or treatment.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered a method that uses RNA replicator molecules to detect specific chemicals.

NIGMS-funded researchers have explored how molecular "noise" affects when cells divide.

A study supported in part by NIGMS suggests improvements to treating sepsis, which would be more effective and not lead to internal bleeding.

NIGMS-funded researchers have collaborated to study how amino acid chains fold into unique three-dimensional proteins.

Studying fruit flies, NIGMS-funded researchers have explored the genes underlying sleep.

An NIGMS-funded study suggests that by inhibiting the liver from making cholesterol, statins could inhibit brain function.

NIGMS-funded researchers have revealed how a cell protein recognizes an invading virus and alerts the body to the infection.

An NIGMS-funded study found a new molecular relationship between a known anti-aging protein and how cells respond to stress.

NIGMS-funded researchers discovered that a protein regulates the length of actin filaments, which make up part of the cytoskeleton and are important for transport and cell division.

A world wide team of researchers used computer modeling to address one of the trickiest drugs to prescribe—the blood-thinner warfarin. To test the gene-based strategy in patients, NIH is launching a large-scale clinical trial.

An NIGMS-funded team has developed a computer program that can show how to change enzymes to make natural antibiotics.

NIGMS-funded researchers have found that drugs that inactivate a specific part of matrix metalloproteinases may target tumors without damaging side effects.

NIGMS-funded researchers have found that a drug approved to treat nausea can treat opioid withdrawal.

With NIGMS support, chemists have developed a two-armed nanorobotic device that can manipulate molecules in a device built from DNA.

NIGMS-funded scientists have found that linker histones, a class of chromatin proteins, are crucial for chromosome packaging and gene regulation.

NIGMS announces plans for PSI:Biology, a program to support research partnerships between groups of biologists and high-throughput structure determination centers to solve problems of biomedical importance.

NIGMS-funded researchers have shed light on the process of intracellular protein delivery.

NIGMS-funded researchers have developed a way to direct chemical modifications to specific sites on recombinant proteins.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered that the proteins dynein and Nudel are essential for regulating the assembly of the spindle matrix.

NIGMS-funded researchers have solved the crystal structure of an intermediate particle in virus assembly.

NIGMS-funded researchers are exploring how rapidly evolving genes involved in the nuclear pore complex help one species split into two.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered that companion cells in plant pollen protect DNA in sperm cells from damage with small RNA molecules.

NIGMS-funded researchers found that altering four "clock" genes suppressed cancer growth in a mouse model.

A set of studies funded in part by NIGMS sheds light on the complex networks of gene interactions that guide the development of different species.

An NIGMS-supported chemical library screen identified two new classes of compounds that affect a biochemical system involved in cancer and many diseases.

NIGMS-funded researchers have found that a drug with a long history holds promise as a therapy for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered which part of dynein takes charge of mitosis to keep chromosomes in order.

NIGMS-funded researchers have found a connection between two signaling pathways associated with cancer.

NIGMS-funded researchers used an optical trap to unwrap strands of DNA from their histone cores to understand this important interaction.

NIGMS-funded biologists have discovered that ordinary plants cells have the ability to replace lost organs in plants.

NIGMS-funded molecular biologists have explained how a gene mutation causes atypical RNA splicing that results in a devastating disease.

NIGMS-funded researchers have created a method for comparing entire genomes that are vastly different from each other.

Scientists in the NIGMS-funded Pharmacogenetics Research Network have linked scores of genetic variations with how children respond to leukemia drugs.

NIGMS-funded researchers have demonstrated how a rare and relatively new amino acid was incorporated into the menu for protein synthesis.

NIGMS-funded researchers are developing advanced fluorescent probes to watch structures and processes in living cells.

NIGMS-funded researchers have discovered that cells do not replace or repair the core structure of nuclear pores, which become leaky over time.

NIGMS-funded biochemists have found two proteins that work together to ensure proper chromosome segregation during cell division.

An NIGMS-funded study shows that adaptation, rather than neutral change, plays a large role in human evolution.

NIGMS-funded researchers have found that repeating CGG sequences in DNA, which are associated with inherited neurological disorders, stall DNA replication.

NIGMS-supported scientists have synthesized for the first time RNA enzymes that can indefinitely replicate themselves without the help of proteins or other cellular components.

A group of NIGMS-supported researchers has found a new function for one of the proteins involved with chromosome segregation during cell division.

NIGMS-supported researchers have revealed the molecular structure of aromatase, the enzyme targeted by Tamoxifen and other, related drugs.

A team of NIGMS-supported biologists has discovered that two RNA polymerases found only in plants are specialized forms of an enzyme common to all eukaryotic organisms.