THURSDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- A group of researchers has described hourly changes in a protein in the brain that is thought to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease.

In a 2005 study, the protein, known as amyloid beta, was directly linked to brain cell communication in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. When brain cell communication increased, so did amyloid beta. When there was reduced communication, amyloid beta decreased.

FRIDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- A new method of identifying protein structures related to Alzheimer's disease has been developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The research team says its computer-based technique could help in the development of drugs that could prevent the formation of such structures.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by two kinds of proteins (amyloid and tau) that accumulate in the brain. In a study published in the Aug. 22 issue of PLoS Computational Biology, the MIT team focused on tau.

Women can attest to the positive effects of chocolate upon our mood. According to an MIT study,

"snacking on readily digested carbohydrates, such as those in a cookie or bagel, can raise the brain's level of the chemical serotonin, the very same target of modern antidepressant medication."

Including protein with every meal, and small snacks in between, can help lift your mood by increasing your serotonin levels.

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WEDNESDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- A protein that induces bone growth also helps promote development of "good" brown fat that helps burn calories and plays a role in fighting obesity, says researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

They said their finding about the protein, called BMP-7, may help lead to new ways to prevent and treat obesity.

The two main types of fat cells in the body are white and brown, explained study author Yu-Hua Tseng, an assistant investigator in Joslin's Section on Obesity and Hormone Action.

THURSDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they're gaining insight into how the brain rewires itself as it learns new things, potentially helping them move toward better treatments for mental illness and brain injuries.

Researchers report that a protein appears to tell the brain that it's time to start rewiring, because new information is coming in.

While the study only looked at mice, the protein "could become a great clinical tool" in humans, said study co-author Takao Hensch, a professor of neurology at Children's Hospital Boston.

By Jeffrey Perkel
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, July 24 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers report today the identification of a new cog in the machinery of the molecular clock that controls mammalian circadian rhythms.

But the protein, SIRT1, is not merely some new component. It can also sense and act on the cell's metabolic state. And it is related to genes that have been implicated in longevity. Thus, these findings link for the first time the molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythms, metabolism and longevity in a single protein.

WEDNESDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Anti-rejection drugs given after organ transplants may be the reason why 15 percent to 20 percent of individuals who receive such transplants have a higher risk of developing cancer within the next decade.

The good news is that targeted therapies could diminish the risk, said Harvard researchers reporting in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research.

FRIDAY, July 11 (HealthDay News) -- A protein that appears to suppress the growth of human cancer cells in lab cultures was, until recently, thought to promote colorectal cancer.

Previous animal studies have found that a gene called TCF7L2 is active in about 90 percent of colorectal cancers because of a biochemical malfunction in a gene. As a result, researchers suspected TCF7L2 triggered colorectal cancer in humans.

WASHINGTON - Researchers have uncovered a new clue to the cause of Alzheimer's disease.

The brains of people with the memory-robbing form of dementia are cluttered with a plaque made up of beta-amyloid, a sticky protein. But there long has been a question whether this is a cause of the disease or a side effect. Also involved are tangles of a protein called tau; some scientists suspect this is the cause.

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MONDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- The overproduction of a protein may be what starts harmless colon polyps on their journey to becoming malignant tumors, Finnish researchers report.