DISCOVERIES

Students of synthetic biology soon discover that living things are more adaptive and creative than most people ever imagined. According to Perry Marshall in his book, Evolution 2.0: Breaking the Deadlock Between Darwin and Design, “Darwinists underestimate nature and Creationists underestimate God.” Cells forming symbiotic relationships and communicating in complex ways suggests limitations to the … Read more

Proteins, which are the workhorses of the cell, are made up of long, interconnected strings of amino acids that fold into a wide variety of 3D shapes. Understanding the precise shape of a protein facilitates efforts to figure out its function, its potential role in a disease, and even how to target it with therapies. … Read more

Glycobiology crosses many fields including chemistry, biology, medicine, and materials science. Broadly speaking, glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis and biology of glycans (carbohydrates). All cells and many proteins are covered with a dense and complex array of covalently attached sugar chains (called oligosaccharides or glycans). The biological roles of these glycans become particularly important … Read more

Proteogenomic has the potential to match cancer patients with an effective therapy for their particular cancer. A new study identifies three molecular subtypes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) that could be used to better determine appropriate treatment. The research led by Baylor College of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University and the National Cancer … Read more

Where is cancer research headed in the next decade? Scientists and oncologists at the National Cancer Institute share their thoughts on proteogenomics. Oncology has experienced more constant change in the last 30 years than from the late 20th century to the time cancer was first identified in 440 B.C. The rapid pace of innovation in … Read more

There’s more to a tree than you may have thought. Consider the characterizations from a scientist, a philosopher and a poet. Professor Birgitta Whaley pursues novel quantum computing devices by using advanced probing methods (ie. ultrafast spectroscopy) to resolve the underlying mystery behind a biological molecule’s capacity to concurrently inhabit multiple places, times or energy … Read more

The approval in 2018 of a new drug  to treat polyneuropathy caused by a rare and frequently fatal disease called hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (hATTR) marks the arrival of a new class of therapeutics. The new drug, called patisiran (Onpattro), is a small interfering RNA (siRNA) that is part of a class of therapeutics that can … Read more

Since sequencing the first whole human genome in 2003, scientists have failed to identify small gaps scattered among the 23 pairs of chromosomes. Sometimes called dark genes, these genes have limited scientific understanding of genetics. Short-read sequencers make errors interpreting dark genes because they contain long, highly repetitive stretches of DNA that produce errors during … Read more

In March, Allergan plc and Editas Medicine, Inc. announced the treatment of the first patient in the BRILLIANCE clinical trial of AGN-151587 (EDIT-101) at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Casey Eye Institute, an academic eye center. Scientists say that the gene editing tool, CRISPR, used in this trail is the first time CRISPR has … Read more

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. Healthy red blood cells are round, and they move through small blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. In someone who has SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a farm tool called … Read more