Changing Channels Kissing a frog might not spark a fairy tale ending, but learning how frogs survive some of nature’s most deadly poisons has opened a new chapter in the laboratory of Daniel Minor Jr. https://sbgrid.org/members/tale/changing-channels… Continue Reading
Golgi localized β1-adrenergic receptors stimulate Golgi PI4P hydrolysis by PLCε to regulate cardiac hypertrophy Beta blockers are among the most widely used drugs for treating heart failure. It has long been thought that these drugs act on proteins, known as adrenergic receptors, that solely reside on cell surfaces. A… Continue Reading
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Meets Its Match As climate change brings more red tides, a protein from the American bullfrog might provide protection from paralytic shellfish poisoning. Article Continue Reading
A Bullfrog’s Powerful Defense Against Toxic Red Tides As climate change raises ocean temperatures, fisheries and public health agencies closely monitor the waters for harmful algal blooms known as red tides. The algae in these blooms produce a neurotoxin that accumulates in… Continue Reading
Evidence for hormonal control of heart regenerative capacity during endothermy acquisition Why can’t we regenerate the heart? A recent study by the Huang laboratory at UCSF explored the heart of echidnas, platypus, anteaters, armadillos, whales and bats, and identified a key hormone that made our ancestors warm-blooded… Continue Reading
How Scientists Detect the Most Lethal Shellfish Toxin You’ve Never Heard Of There is a weapon that is released by algae around the world and concentrated, invisible, in the flesh of shellfish. An amount the size of a poppy seed is enough to kill a grown person.… Continue Reading
Frog Protein May Mitigate Dangers Posed by Toxic Marine Microbes Fueled by Climate Change CVRI investigators have uncovered how an American bullfrog protein known as saxiphilin binds to and inhibits the action of saxitoxin. This deadly neurotoxin, which is about one thousand times more potent than cyanide, is made by algal… Continue Reading
Unique transmembrane domain interactions differentially modulate integrin αvβ3 and αIIbβ3 function CVRI investigators decipher the mechanism by which platelets are activated to form clots, a key step in both normal and thrombotic processes. The researchers reveal how interactions between transmembrane helices of key proteins found in… Continue Reading
Electronic Cigarette Use and Myocardial Infarction Among Adults in the US Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health E-cigarettes are widely promoted as safer alternatives to cigarettes. But a new study by CVRI Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education’s Dharma Bhatta, PhD, and Stanton Glantz, PhD shows just the opposite. Using data… Continue Reading