For reasons that have long been unclear, cells stop dividing when the pH rises inside tiny cellular compartments called lysosomes. Now scientists have found an explanation for this phenomenon, with potential implications for drug development.
Protein clumps are routinely found in the brains of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Now researchers find a link between this buildup and the intracellular movement of proteasomes, molecular machines tasked with degrading protein waste inside cells.
Research that began with the analysis of two developmental syndromes ultimately helped scientists understand how diverse epigenetic mechanisms can combine to drive tissue overgrowth in cancer.
A new study finds that neurons affected in Parkinson’s disease can shut down without fully dying, allowing them to also switch off neighboring cells. The findings might give scientists a better understanding of how the condition wreaks havoc in the brain, as well as ideas for new treatments.
To grow new hair, stem cells throughout the skin must work in sync. Researchers have discovered the molecular communication tool, part of the lymphatic system, that the cells use to synchronize their activities.
Allis, whose pioneering research established that enzymes that modify histone proteins, which package DNA in the nucleus, regulate gene expression, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
In studying cell division, scientists happened upon a new way of understanding how a chemotherapy compound works. The findings could make it possible to predict which patients are most likely to benefit from the drug.
Scientists have found that many receptors with high potential for drug discovery take a different configuration inside the body than in the test tube. The findings could explain why some promising drugs fail in clinical trials, and potentially open doors to new drug-development approaches.
