Professor of Biochemistry

UAB researchers report breakthrough in HPV research

UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) researchers have developed a new, inexpensive and efficient method for producing and studying a type of human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer. The process could speed understanding of how the virus functions and causes diseases, and lead to new prevention or treatment options.

Image pinpoints all 5 million atoms in viral coat

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Rice University's precise new image of a virus' protective coat is seriously undervalued.

Tinkering with the circadian clock can suppress cancer growth

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that disruption of the circadian clock - the internal time-keeping mechanism that keeps the body running on a 24-hour cycle -- can slow the progression of cancer.

Study helps explain gene silencing in developing embryo

In an embryo, certain genes must turn on to, for example, tell cells to develop into a limb. But just as importantly, the genes must then turn off, or go silent, to prevent abrnomral growth. How the genes do that gets some new light in research released out of North Carolina.

Experimental 'Gene Switch' Increases Lifespan

By experimentally switching genes off or on at specific stages in an animal's lifecycle, California scientists have discovered that vigor and lifespan can be significantly extended with no side effects. Many researchers believe that increasing lifespan will dampen reproduction. But the new study of the tiny roundworm commonly known as C. elegans shows that silencing a key gene only in adulthood increases longevity with no effect on reproduction.