Brown scientists to discuss best practices for the oceans Brown University scientists will present ideas to help carry out President Obama’s National Ocean Policy, which calls for better stewardship of the nation’s oceans, coastal waters and the Great Lakes. Heather Leslie and Leila Sievanen will speak at the AAAS annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on […]

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NIH study in mice uncovers pathway critical for UV-induced melanoma Scientists have made an unanticipated discovery in mice that interferon-gamma, a type of protein primarily used by the immune system for intercellular communication, acts as a promoter for the deadly form of skin cancer known as melanoma. This finding resulted from a series of experiments […]

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Insight offers new angle of attack on variety of brain tumors A research team led by scientists at Brown University and the University of California–San Francisco have associated a mutation found in many kinds of brain tumors with a molecular process that affects metabolism genes. The discovery may open the door to developing new treatments […]

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Study suggests that quitting smoking improves mood Christopher Kahler and colleagues at Brown and USC tracked symptoms of depression in people who were trying to quit smoking. They found that people were never happier than when they were kicking the habit and remaining free from smoking. Results of the study were published online Nov. 24, […]

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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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$7.5M grant to fund research on interaction of drinking and HIV infection Individually, HIV and excessive alcohol consumption are international health crises, but when they intersect they can be uniquely troubling. Scientists at the Brown Alcohol Research Center on HIV, a new federally funded center, will explore physiological and behavioral questions raised by the combination, […]

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Brown-led research divines structure for class of proteins A research team led by Brown University has determined the structure for three proteins in a class known as intrinsically disordered proteins. The findings, reported in Structure, are important because they show how these proteins fold with the regulator protein phosphatase-1, which must happen for biological instructions […]

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