A protein known primarily for its role in killing cells also plays a part in memory formation, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report. Their work exploring how zebra finches learn songs could have implications for treatment of neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The surprising structure and properties of a protein responsible for regulating the transport, storage and use of iron - as it binds its target RNA - are described by researchers from the University of Illinois.

Scientists in Austria are reporting detection of previously unrecognized proteins that accumulate on the surface of silicone breast implants after implants are in the body. Georg Wick and colleagues say that the proteins may be involved in causing immune reactions in patients from breast implants and other types of silicone implants.

Specific protein targeted may be more important than breadth of CD8 response

Expression of two different proteins taken from primary tumor biopsies is highly associated with spread of breast cancer to nearby lymph nodes, according to researchers who say this protein profile could help identify at an early stage those patients whose disease is likely to metastasize.

How does an organism know when it must produce a protein and in what amount? Clever control mechanisms are responsible for the regulation of protein biosynthesis. One such type of mechanism, discovered only a few years ago, is riboswitches, which function as a sort of "off" switch for the production of certain proteins.

The Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) and AlgoNomics have joined forces to develop a technology that verifies whether certain proteins induce an immune response in humans. The collaboration between VIB and AlgoNomics has yielded a biological test that supplements the current computer simulations.

Scientists from Johns Hopkins and from the University of Milan have effectively proven that they can inhibit lethal human brain cancers in mice using a protein that selectively induces positive changes in the activity of cells that behave like cancer stem cells. The report is published this week in Nature.

Study shows low-protein, low-calorie dieters have reduced levels of hormone linked to cancer

Working with a common form of brewer's yeast, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have uncovered novel functions of a key protein that allow it to act as a master regulatory switch - a control that determines gene activity and that, when malfunctioning in humans, may contribute to serious neurological disorders.

Wnt protein required for taste buds and wiring of taste signals to the brain.
Of the five senses, taste is one of the least understood, but now researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have come one step closer to understanding how the sense of taste develops. They have pinpointed a molecular pathway that regulates the development of taste buds.