Carnegie Mellon University
2011

August 11, 2011

By: Jocelyn Duffy, jhduffy@andrew.cmu.edu, 412-268-9982

PITTSBURGH—A new study by Carnegie Mellon University biochemists, published in the Aug. 12 issue of Science, describes how the motors fold in on themselves, or save energy, when their transport services aren’t required. According to the researchers, the solution to this molecular puzzle provides new insight into how molecular motor proteins are regulated, and may open new avenues for the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.

“Molecular motor proteins play a major role in all eukaryotic cells, but they are particularly critical to nerve cells,” said David Hackney, professor of biological sciences in the Mellon College of Science, and one of the paper’s authors.

Read the full press release on Carnegie Mellon University's website

March 21, 2011

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Nucleic Acids Science and Technology (CNAST) are advancing their work aimed at better understanding and treating disease. The DSF Charitable Foundation gave a $3.9 million grant to further the development of novel biomedical tools targeted at monitoring and manipulating gene expression.

Read the full article on the Inspire Innovation blog

March 15, 2011

By: Jocelyn Duffy, jhduffy@andrew.cmu.edu, 412-268-9982

PITTSBURGH-The DSF Charitable Foundation has given a $3.9 million grant to Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Nucleic Acids Science and Technology (CNAST) to further the development of novel biomedical tools targeted at monitoring and manipulating gene expression.

The grant will allow the interdisciplinary team of researchers to advance their work aimed at providing innovative approaches for understanding and treating disease.  These include the development of peptide nucleic acids (PNA), synthetic analogs of DNA and RNA that have extraordinary scientific and therapeutic potential.

Read the full press release on the Carnegie Mellon University website