Media Coverage

A research team led by Jian Feng, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, has grown human serotonin cells from lung fibroblasts in a petri dish. "With this new technology, scientists can generate serotonin neurons from patients who suffer from serotonin-related mental illnesses," says Feng. 

Cytocybernetics, a company founded by Glenna C. Bett, PhD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and Randall L. Rasmusson, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, has created new technology that could cut the amount of money and time needed for preclinical drug trials in half. The company has attracted approximately $291,000 in funding.

A research team led by Zhen Yan, PhD, was able to recognize mechanisms behind a genetic mutation that produces certain autistic behaviors in mice and then reverse them. 

Zhen Yan, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, has identified the mechanisms behind a genetic mutation that produces certain autistic behaviors in mice, as well as therapeutic strategies to restore normal behaviors.

Frederick Sachs, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of physiology and biophysics, hopes to develop a therapy for muscular dystrophy from a compound found in the venom of a South American spider. His research is just one example of a quest to transform posions from animals into medicines for humans.

New research from University at Buffalo scientists will help pharmacologists better understand how drugs work and how to make them more effective. “This research represents a significant advance in our understanding of how drugs activate receptors,” explains Anthony L. Auerbach, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics.

Along with his colleagues, Frederick Sachs, PhD, distinguished professor of physiology and biophysics, reprogrammed somatic cells toward a stem-like state by manipulating mechanical forces. The group demonstrated a link between increased actin forces within cells and transition to a stem-like cell state.

Three years ago, Frederick Sachs, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of physiology and biophysics, and his team discovered that a small peptide found in tarantula venom blocks the mechanically-sensing ion channel Piezo1. Now, lab experiments at Duke University found that the same GsMTx4 compound protects joint tissue from cell death following compressive injury.

A firm spun off from the research led by Frederick Sachs, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of physiology and biophysics, has sold the rights to a potential therapy for muscular dystrophy.

In one example of the beneficial contributions of arachnids, Frederick Sachs, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of physiology and biophysics, hopes to develop a therapy for muscular dystrophy from a compound in the venom of a South American spider.

Drugs called dopamine agonists help Parkinson’s patients gain more movement control, but they can have unwanted side effects on personality and lead to gambling addiction, explains Jian Feng, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics.

Jian Feng, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, explains that drugs called dopamine agonists help Parkinson’s symptoms, but can have unwanted side effects on personality and can lead to gambling addictions in Parkinson’s patients.

An article reporting that cats may help in the production of an HIV vaccine refers to UB research by Frederick Sachs, PhD, of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, who has studied tarantulas for the treatment of muscular dystrophy.

Feng Qin, PhD, associate professor of physiology and biophysics, will use a new $1.2 million grant to study the gating mechanism of a protein in peripheral nerve endings.

An animal study by Zhen Yan, PhD, professor of physiology and biophysics, suggests that brain-produced estrogen makes females more resilient to stress than males.