Size of protein aggregates, not abundance, drives spread of prion-based disease In a study that challenges the conventional wisdom about infections caused by proteins called prions, Brown researchers report in Science that the size of protein structures, rather than their abundance, determines their transmission among cells. PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Mad Cow disease and […]

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Deadly virus reveals a potential weakness A new study of the JC polyomavirus, a devastating pathogen that attacks brain cells in patients with compromised immune systems, has revealed how it binds to its targets, providing a basis for developing drugs to interrupt that process. PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The JC polyomavirus doesn’t strike very […]

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Brown University scientists simplify biodiesel conversion Two chemists at Brown University have streamlined the conversion of waste vegetable oil into biodiesel, eliminating the need for corrosive chemicals to perform the reactions. Writing in the journal Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, the chemists were able to pull off the waste vegetable oil-to-biodiesel conversion in a single reaction vessel […]

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