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Ten-foot tall microscopes helping combat world’s worst diseases

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The century-long mission to understand how the proteins which underpin amyloid-based diseases like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s has taken major steps forward in the last 12 months. High-powered microscopes using electrons instead of light to ‘see’ the actual shape of samples put under them, at near atomic-levels of detail, have only recently become available to...

Devastating plant virus revealed in atomic detail

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The complex 3D structure of one of the world’s most lethal families of plant viruses has been revealed in unprecedented detail by scientists at the University of Leeds. Geminiviruses are responsible for diseases affecting crops such as cassava and maize in Africa, cotton in the Indian subcontinent and tomatoes across Europe. Being able to see...

Green tea molecule could prevent heart attacks

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A molecular compound in green tea could hold the key to preventing deaths from heart attacks and strokes caused by atherosclerosis, according to new research. Scientists from the University of Leeds and Lancaster University have discovered that a compound which is found within the popular drink and is currently being studied for its ability to...

New way for scientists to see how cells move

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Scientists have developed a new way to see inside individual cells, and study how they move and operate inside the human body. This improved understanding of cell-level activity could give researchers extra insight and tools to tackle cancers and other diseases. The University of Leeds team is using a lab-made protein called an Affimer that...

Transplant-damaging virus brought into focus

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Researchers from the University of Leeds have revealed the structure of a virus which affects kidney and bone marrow transplant patients in near-atomic levels of detail for the first time. This detailed information serves as a molecular-level structural visualisation, allowing scientists to study several potential targets for antiviral therapies or drugs. Read the full press...

How could we use microbubbles to fight cancer?

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You could fit ten thousand microbubbles into a single full stop. But now a team of researchers at Leeds is hoping to use these tiny bubbles as a drug delivery device to treat cancer and other serious diseases. Read more on the Leeds Microbubble Consortium website

New vaccine could consign polio to the history books

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A new vaccine that could spell the end of polio has been produced using a genetically modified “drug factory” plant. The leaves of the plant, a close relative of tobacco, contain virus-like particles (VLPs) that mimic the polio pathogen but are incapable of causing a harmful disease. In animal tests, the viral particle vaccine tricked...

Better tools to study the processes of life

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Scientists have developed a new biological tool for examining molecules – the building blocks of life. It could provide new insights and benefits such as reducing numbers of animals used in research. The University is working in collaboration with Avacta Life Sciences, a Leeds spin-out company, and has developed a tool called Affimer technology. The...

Scientists a step closer to drug treatment for Hepatitis B

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A major new insight into how Hepatitis B Virus works could pave the way for new drug treatments for the infection which is the major cause of liver cancer worldwide. The team at the Universities of Leeds and York identified an 'assembly code' in the genetic material of Hepatitis B Virus that allows it to...