Molecular biologists, developmental biologists and computer scientists at the Universtity of Helsinki, Finland, came together to advance towards cracking the code for how gene expression is controlled. The results of this work were published in Cell, in January 2006.
A genome milestone was reached in 2001 when sequencing of the human genome was completed. This has been followed by complete chemical read-outs of DNA sequence for several species, for example mouse, dog, cow and chi
Scientists in Sheffield working on the fundamental biological processes of plants could make significant difference to the lives of farmers in many parts of the world. Using model plant species, such as the tiny weed Arabidopsis, the researchers have uncovered one of the processes used by the plants to protect themselves from potentially lethal environmental conditions. Their discoveries are now being applied to improve the productivity of bean farmers in South America and rice producers in Asi
Healthy individuals who are at risk of Alzheimer’s disease show reduced activity in the hippocampal region of the brain when performing tasks related to forming new memories. In a study published today in the open access journal BMC Medicine, individuals carrying the apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon4 allele, which has previously been associated with high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), showed altered brain activity compared to APOE epsilon3 homozygotes. According to the authors of the s
Astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting a very young star nearly 100 light years away using a relatively small, publicly accessible telescope turbocharged with a new planet-finding instrument.
The feat suggests that astronomers have found a way to dramatically accelerate the pace of the hunt for planets outside our solar system.
“In the last two decades, astronomers have searched about 3,000 stars for new planets,” said Jian Ge, a professor of astronomy at the Uni
Trees, particularly those with deep roots, contribute to the Earth’s climate much more than scientists thought, according to a new study by biologists and climatologists from the University of California, Berkeley.
While scientists studying global climate change recognize the importance of vegetation in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and in local cooling through transpiration, they have assumed a simple model of plants sucking water out of the soil and spewi
By borrowing mathematical tools from theoretical physics, scientists have recently developed a theory that explains why the brain tissue of humans and other vertebrates is segregated into the familiar “gray matter” and “white matter.”
The theory is based on the idea that maximum brain function requires a high level of interconnectivity among brain neurons but a low level of delays in the time it takes for signals to move through the brain (“conduction delays”).
Based on no fewer than
Magnetic resonance imaging is a better diagnostic tool for cochlear ear implants than the more commonly used high-resolution computed tomography, a UT Southwestern study shows.
A cochlear implant, sometimes called a “bionic ear,” allows patients with congenital hearing loss to bypass the problem and again perceive sound. Surgeons conduct radiologic studies using either an MRI or CT scan prior to implantation to determine abnormalities in the inner ear, conditions of related nerve
Can becoming an adult be hazardous to your health? A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Carolina Population Center indicates that may be the case, with leading health indicators showing serious declines as adolescents become adults.
A survey involving an ethnically diverse and nationally representative sample of 14,000 young people found diet, inactivity, obesity, health-care access, substance use and reproductive health to worsen with age. Only self-p
“Play” or back-and-forth dialogue between users and designers can lead to IT systems that are more responsive to the subtleties and ambiguities of users’ different perspectives, say Penn State researchers.
And because it makes users and designers teammates during the development process, the “play” model also can reduce the multiple upgrades and updates that plague enterprise-wide or “Newspeak” solutions, says Frederico Fonseca, assistant professor in the School of Informati
Environmental and genetic factors lead to neural tube defects in 1 in every 1,000 births and cause 1 in 20 of every spontaneous abortion. One cause of these defects is the failure of cells within the neural tube to migrate to the middle of the developing neural tube.
A study in this week’s issue of Nature is the first to report on the molecular mechanism that directs cells to migrate to the correct local within the developing neural tube of vertebrates.
Marek Mlodz
Penn State engineers have shown that a white-LED system for lighting and high data-rate indoor wireless communications, coupled with broadband over either medium- or low-voltage power line grids (BPL), can offer transmission capacities that exceed DSL or cable and are more secure than RF.
Colored LEDs or light emitting diodes are currently found in the numbers on digital clocks, remote controls, traffic lights and other applications. Recently, white LEDs have emerged in the mark
An international team of astronomers today announced the first results from the Radial Velocity Experiment, an ambitious all-sky spectroscopic survey aimed at measuring the speed, temperature, surface gravity and composition of up to a million stars passing near the sun.
Those first results from the project, known for short as RAVE, confirm that dark matter dominates the total mass of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, team members at The Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere sa
Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have discovered that a protein called cryopyrin responds to invading bacteria by triggering the activation of a powerful inflammatory molecule called IL-1beta, which signals the immune system to attack pathogens and induces fever to protect the body against infection.
The discovery could help scientists understand what causes autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis where the immune system attacks and destroys tissue i
A quarter century after they discovered it, researchers have identified the job of one of the most common DNA-damage response proteins. The enzyme has puzzled scientists because it is present in nearly every organism, which suggests that it is crucial to life, and yet, in laboratory experiments, its function has remained a mystery.
The discovery suggests that the enigmatic enzyme known as DinB DNA polymerase is specialized for proficient and accurate replication of a particular
Ants teach by running in tandem
Certain species of ant use a technique known as ’tandem running’ to lead another ant from the nest to a food source. Signals between the two ants control both the speed and course of the run. It is believed to be the first time a demonstration of ’formal’ teaching has been recognised in any non-human animal.
This behaviour indicates that it could be the value of information, rather than the constraint of brain size
An inhaled anti-rejection drug can dramatically improve survival after a lung transplant, according to a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and led by lung disease specialists who are now at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. The results of the study are published in the January 12, 2006 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study, which was the first double-blind, placebo-controlled trial ever conducted in lung transplant patients, tested an in
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