ABSTRACT Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disease that causes painful inflammation within joint tissue. Despite the success of modern therapeutics in treating detectable inflammation, patients with RA often experience lingering neuropathic pain. Neuropathic... Read More
ABSTRACT Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) is a serine protease responsible for cleaving and activating inactive plasminogen to its active form, plasmin, which is involved in fibrinolysis, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix degradation. Plasmin, in turn, is... Read More
INTRODUCTION Oysters are an integral part of many marine ecosystems. They provide food for several species of snails and crabs and act as natural water filters, preventing algal blooms and nutrient-induced oxygen depletion in aquatic... Read More
The structure and function of proteins in the human body is largely limited by the number of amino acids that are naturally generated by the genetic code. Out of 64 codons, 61 of them code... Read More
Antibiotics are crucial in protecting humans from a large range of bacterial diseases. Scientists have created several types of antibiotics that are now prescribed regularly to treat many infections. Unfortunately, the misapplication of antibiotics for... Read More
INTRODUCTION Despite many prevention efforts, foodborne illnesses remain a serious global health threat.¹ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that approximately 48 million people in the United States become ill with... Read More
INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis (TB), a disease which primarily targets the lungs, is caused by the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). TB spreads when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks, passing the bacteria onto someone else.... Read More
EXTRACELLULAR ELECTRON TRANSFER AND MICROBIAL NATURAL PRODUCTS Oxygen is an essential part of the electron transport chain, functioning as the terminal electron acceptor in aerobic respiration.¹ Without oxygen, an aerobic cell is unable to complete... Read More
INTRODUCTION Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric illness characterized by intrusive thoughts, designated as obsessions, and repetitive compulsions, such as motor-related fixations.¹ Symptoms of OCD include checking behavior–compulsive interactions with switches or locks–and fixation on... Read More