Category: Cellular and Molecular Science

2023-24, Cancer, Cellular and Molecular Science, Chemistry

EN1 Protein Has Been Recognized as Playing a Key Role in Pancreatic Cancer

Author: Sean Krivitsky ‘26 Pancreatic cancer stands out as one of the most severe forms of cancer, accounting for the third most cancer-related deaths. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a form of pancreatic cancer that involves a high degree of metastasis, which refers to the ability of the cancer to spread. This cancer develops as a result of mutations that result in the activation of … Continue reading EN1 Protein Has Been Recognized as Playing a Key Role in Pancreatic Cancer

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Biology, Cellular and Molecular Science, Molecular Biology, Synthetic Biology

Promoters of Neurodegeneration in ALS

 Sean Krivitsky ‘27 Figure 1. Drosophila melanogaster was used by the Dubnau lab as a model organism to characterize TDP-43 pathology in ALS. TAR-DNA-Binding protein (TDP-43) is an alternative splicing factor that, upon abnormal phosphorylation, can become mislocalized and aggregate in cells. This has been identified as a potential mechanism for the development of impactful neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia … Continue reading Promoters of Neurodegeneration in ALS

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Biology, Cellular and Molecular Science, Molecular Biology, Synthetic Biology

Developing Antibodies to Combat Cancer

Sean Krivitsky ‘27 Figure 1. Antibodies traveling through the bloodstream. Protein tyrosine phosphorylation is a reversible process in which a phosphate group can be added or removed from tyrosine residues of various proteins by protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), respectively. This type of post-translational modification is responsible for regulating many signal transduction pathways in the cell. The activity of a specific … Continue reading Developing Antibodies to Combat Cancer

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Biology, Cancer, Cellular and Molecular Science, Health and Medicine

Breast Cancer Insights and Potential Treatments

Sean Krivitsky ‘27 Figure 1. HER2 is a protein that has been strongly implicated in many human cancers, particularly breast cancer, and has been demonstrated to induce carcinogenesis through a variety of different mechanisms. This breast cancer tissue has been stained for HER2. Some of the latest research by Stephen J. Collins of the Miller lab, a part of Stony Brook University’s Department of Physiology … Continue reading Breast Cancer Insights and Potential Treatments

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Biology, Cellular and Molecular Science, Molecular Biology

How Romantic Relationships May Reduce Inflammation

Sean Krivitsky ‘27 Figure 1. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein, which means that its expression increases when inflammation occurs, making it a useful inflammatory marker. Social relationships have long been recognized as playing an important role in both mental and physical health, and a groundbreaking study has demonstrated that they may influence inflammation. Recent research published in January of 2023 by Tatum … Continue reading How Romantic Relationships May Reduce Inflammation

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Biology, Cellular and Molecular Science, Molecular Biology, Synthetic Biology

Urea-Resistability of Shark Myosin: Insights into Protein Stability and Potential Therapeutic Implications

Justin Lim ’26 Figure 1: White shark.jpg Urea, a common byproduct of protein metabolism, is excreted through urine in most urea-producing organisms due to its toxic properties in high concentrations. Specifically, urea’s nitrogen content can destabilize the structure of proteins by weakening their folded structure. Sharks have chemical countermeasures to halt the progression of protein denaturation through the use of trymethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO), a molecule … Continue reading Urea-Resistability of Shark Myosin: Insights into Protein Stability and Potential Therapeutic Implications

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Biology, Cell Cycle, Cellular and Molecular Science, Molecular Biology

Understanding how the Aging of Germline Cells “Resets” in Offspring

Sean Krivitsky ‘27 Figure 1. Section of a DNA double helix People have long been fascinated by the process of aging as well as the potential to reverse or prevent it. In particular, ribosomal DNA (rDNA) has been found to potentially play a role in aging. As aging occurs, rDNA repeats in the germline are gradually lost over time, as evidenced by the lab’s work … Continue reading Understanding how the Aging of Germline Cells “Resets” in Offspring

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Biology, Cancer, Health and Medicine, Molecular Biology

Exciting New Approach to Targeting the Mitochondria to Fight Cancer

Sean Krivitsky ‘27 Figure 1. Visualization of the mitochondria Unbeknownst to many, the mitochondria plays a significant role in carcinogenesis given the importance of metabolic processes in the formation and maintenance of tumors. CPI-613, more commonly known as devimistat, is a recently developed drug that targets a key metabolic cycle that takes place in the mitochondria of cancer cells, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The … Continue reading Exciting New Approach to Targeting the Mitochondria to Fight Cancer

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Biology, Health and Medicine, Molecular Biology

Improved initial assessments of severe skin burns allow for more accurate assertion of whether or not surgical intervention is required for healing

Maria Sazonova ’26  Burn injuries can result in significant skin necrosis and deep tissue damage. Severe skin burn injuries are dynamic and hard to predict; therefore, initial assessment is paramount because it forms the basis for a subsequent treatment plan. A group of Stony Brook University scientists led by M. Hassan Arbab, funded by The National Institute of General Medical Sciences, created a neural network … Continue reading Improved initial assessments of severe skin burns allow for more accurate assertion of whether or not surgical intervention is required for healing

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Cognition, General Neuroscience, Genetics

The Influence of Epigenetic Age on Cognitive Decline

 Julia Chivu ’23 As people age, their cognitive abilities tend to decline. While chronological age is commonly cited as a reason for this decline, it often fails to explain why some individuals have higher cognitive performance than others of the same age. To address this, epigenetic clocks, which analyze DNA methylation at specific genomic sites correlated with aging, are emerging as useful tools for predicting … Continue reading The Influence of Epigenetic Age on Cognitive Decline

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Cell Cycle, Physics

Careful, It’s Hot! How Particle Collisions Help us Understand Quark-Gluon Soup

Sidney Padmanaban ‘ 26 Figure 1 Quarks are building blocks of matter, and by studying them, we can understand larger concepts of physics. Large aspects of life cannot be studied without understanding the small building blocks that contribute to every part of the universe. Entire fields of physics and chemistry are dedicated towards the study of particles. Recently, two professors at Stony Brook University, Roy … Continue reading Careful, It’s Hot! How Particle Collisions Help us Understand Quark-Gluon Soup

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Cellular and Molecular Science, Genetics

Investigating the Unexpected Results of Ape1 Inhibitors

Julia Chivu ’23 Figure 1  DNA strand unwinding causing the formation of the replication fork followed by DNA replication. Genomic DNA is constantly at risk of molecular decay. To address this issue, base excision DNA repair (BER) plays a critical role in fixing the minor DNA damage. In particular, Ape1 (or apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease) is a multifunctional protein that is a key component in BER. Ape1 … Continue reading Investigating the Unexpected Results of Ape1 Inhibitors

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