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- Dr. Michael Ostap and Dr. Henry Shuman characterize myosin-I as a molecular tension sensor.
- PMI researchers' nanotechnology efforts are highlighted in the June issue of Nature Methods.
See article here.
- Dr. Roberto Dominguez and coworkers
have discovered that a protein called leiomodin
(Lmod) promotes the assembly of an important
heart muscle protein called actin. What’s more,
Lmod directs the assembly of actin to form
the pumping unit of the heart.
- Dr. Sandy Levine leads investigation
of causes of muscle atrophy in patients on
mechanical ventilators. Please see article in the New
England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Levine’s
study shows that the combination of mechanical ventilation
and diaphragm inactivity elicits marked atrophy of
diaphragm muscle fibers. These
prominent decreases in diaphragm muscle fiber
size would be expected to decrease the pressure generating
capacity of the diaphragm by approximately 50%. Therefore,
it may explain the difficulty in breathing
experienced by patients who have undergone
prolonged mechanical ventilation and have difficulty
breathing following removal from the ventilator.
- Dr. Erika Holzbaur and Dr.
Yale Goldman discover that proteins carrying
chemical cargo in nerve cells react
differently when exposed to the tau protein, which
plays an important role in Alzheimer’s disease.
- Dr. Tejvir Khurana leads expedition
to Mount Everest to study hypoxia.
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University of Pennsylvania
