News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

For the first time, Bernese researchers have been able to solve the structure of a transport protein and thus to describe the functional mechanism that plays a significant role in the survival of cancer cells. This is an important step towards developing effective inhibitors and fight tumor growth.

Researchers from Kanazawa University on the development of a technique to closely track a specific protein on the surfaces of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in cells. Their findings are published in Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry.

Scientists used a gene editing method called CRISPR/Cas9 to generate mice that faithfully mimic a fatal respiratory disorder in newborn infants that turns their lips and skin blue. The new laboratory model allowed researchers to pinpoint the ailment's cause and develop a potential and desperately needed nanoparticle-based treatment. Mostly untreatable, Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia with Misalignment of Pulmonary Veins (ACDMPV) usually strikes infants within a month of birth.

A reconfigurable 'body-on-a-chip' model could transform drug development by simultaneously measuring compound efficacy and toxicity, for both target cells and other organs, such as the heart and liver, for both parent drugs and its metabolites. The findings demonstrate the same results determined from testing patients in clinical studies, without the need of animal studies, demonstrating the ability of a body-on-a-chip model to truly revolutionize biomedical research and personalized medicine.

Research supported by the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) on Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (RA/SLE) provides new insights into tissue damage for these autoimmune conditions. These discoveries set the stage for uncovering potential drug target candidates that could advance to experimental treatments. Results of the studies were published today (June 18, 2019) in three papers in Nature Immunology.

Soham Chanda, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has designed a new experimental system that can rapidly assess the pathogenic effects of a drug on a baby's developing brain. His system uses embryonic stem cells reprogrammed into neurons, offering a powerful tool for probing genetic and molecular underpinnings of drug-induced neurodevelopmental disorders.