Centipede venom may lead to new painkillers
Scientists have identified a molecule in centipede venom which can be used to develop powerful painkillers that are as effective as morphine. Researchers from The University of Queensland and the Chinese Academy of Sciences studied the venom of the Chinese red-headed centipede. Professor Glenn King, from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, said the molecule they found blocked the Nav1.7 channel in pain-sensing nerves. “People without a functioning Nav1.7 channel cannot feel pain, so it’s likely molecules that can block this channel will be powerful painkillers,” King said. “We recently demonstrated that the venom of the Chinese red-headed centipede was rich in molecules that can alter the function of nerve channels, so we decided to explore this venom to see if there was a molecule that could block Nav1.7,” King added. “The molecule we found selectively targets this pain channel, which is crucial as closely related channels play critical roles in controlling the heart and muscles,” King said. King said it was likely that centipedes had evolved the molecule to block similar nerve channels in insects in order to prey on them. “There are a number of FDA-approved drugs derived from venom components currently on the market, with several more in clinical trials or various stages of preclinical development,” King said. (PTI)
New tuberculosis vaccine developed
Researchers have developed a new vaccine that could help ward off tuberculosis. The vaccine, based on a genetically modified cold virus, was developed in the lab of Zhou Xing, professor of pathology and molecular medicine and the McMaster Immunology Research Centre, who co-led the phase one study with Dr. Fiona Smaill, professor and chair of the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster. The new vaccine was developed to act as a booster to Bacille Calmette Guerin, currently the only TB vaccine available. BCG was developed in the 1920s and has been used worldwide. The new “booster” would reactivate immune elements that over time diminish following BCG vaccination. The findings have been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. (ANI)
Mechanism behind herpes discovered
Researchers have for the first time been able to measure the internal pressure that enables the herpes virus to infect cells in the human body. The discovery has now paved the way for the development of new medicines to combat viral infections. A virus comprises a thin shell of protein, within which are its genes. A long-standing theory has been that a virus has high internal pressure because it is so tightly packed with genetic material. The pressure means that they can infect a cell by ejecting the genes at high force and speed. The cell is then duped into becoming a small ‘virus factory’ that produces new viruses, multiplying the number. Biochemist Alex Evilevitch from Lund University and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA, measured the pressure inside the herpes virus HSV-1 (herpes simplex virus 1) together with a research team in the US. This includes both of the two most common forms of herpes, which cause cold sores and genital herpes, as well as Varicella zostervirus, which causes chickenpox and shingles, Epstein-Barr virus, which leads to glandular fever, and viruses linked to various forms of cancer. The study has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, JACS. (ANI)
Scientists develop tear and saliva glands in lab petri dish
In another boost to the creation of bio-engineered organs, scientists have created saliva glands and tear glands in a lab dish, using stem cells from mice. Researchers, at the Tokyo University of Science, said that their findings could potentially help in treating the “dry eye” or “dry mouth” syndromes, which are caused by the malfunctioning glands, News 24 reported. For the study, lead researcher, Takashi Tsuji, along with a team, grew the two glands in the lab dish from precursor cells, and transplanted the primitive organs into mice. The results showed that both the transplanted glands performed well with the adjacent tissue, connecting up to ducts and nerve fibres. The tear glands, also called lacrimal glands, secreted teardrops and the saliva glands responded normally to stimulus from food and protected the mouse against oral infection. The researchers, however, added that several problems must be solved before the use of bio-engineered secretory glands becomes feasible, pointing to the need to set up a bank of suitable stem cells. (ANI)
Google search making people more forgetful?
The internet is fast eroding people’s memories of world-changing events in history, making them more forgetful as they increasingly bank upon Google to provide the information, a new UK study has found. The study of 2,000 adults found less than half of people surveyed could name the year when Princess Diana died, even though it happened as recently as 1997. Many respondents did not even know the year in which the terror attacks on the World Trade Center took place while many others were clueless about when the Berlin Wall fell, the ‘Metro’ reported. The important dates of world-changing events in history are fast disappearing from the memories of the internet generation, researchers said. Majority of the adults who took part in the survey said they made less of an effort to remember things “because we can look them up” on the internet. “The internet could be changing the traditional way we remember and process things – certainly compared to older generations,” spokesman for Grant’s Whisky, which commissioned the survey, said. (PTI)