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howard hughes medical institute

Another job discovered for a master metabolic off-switch

Researchers have discovered that an important cellular “off-switch” that desensitizes receptors on the cell surface also regulates a second deactivation mechanism that had not been suspected before. Their finding that the off-switch, known as beta-arrestin, operates in two distinct ways may hint at a broader set of regulatory roles for the molecule.

Researchers Determine How ‘Hospital Staph’ Resists Antibiotics

Drug-resistant staph infections are a major concern to health care providers. Hospitals in particular have become home to some strains of Staphylococcus aureus that resist every known antibiotic, including the last-resort vancomycin. But two researchers say they’ve discovered just how so-called “Hospital staph” develops resistance, potentially opening the door for development of new drugs that beat it to the punch.