Bacteria and humans use a number of tools to direct perhaps the most important function in cells — the accurate copying of DNA during cell division. New research published this week in Molecular Cell from the laboratory of Rockefeller University’s Michael O’Donnell, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, now shows that one of these proteins, the beta sliding clamp, serves as a toolbelt from which the correct proteins are retrieved to enable DNA replication in the face of DNA
Salicylate causes membranes to thin, soften, rupture more easily
It’s well known that high doses of aspirin can cause ulcers and temporary deafness, but the biochemical mechanism responsible for these phenomena has never been deciphered. New research from Rice University offers clues, showing for the first time how salicylate — an active metabolite of aspirin — weakens lipid membranes. Researchers believe these mechanical changes disrupt the lining of the stomach, which functi
A large study funded by NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides, for the first time, detailed information comparing the effectiveness and side effects of five medications – both new and older medications – that are currently used to treat people with schizophrenia. Overall, the medications were comparably effective but were associated with high rates of discontinuation due to intolerable side effects or failure to adequately control symptoms. One new medication, olanzapine,
Antibiotic resistance has put humans in an escalating ’arms race’ with infectious bacteria, as scientists try to develop new antibiotics faster than the bacteria can evolve new resistance strategies. But now, researchers have a new strategy that may give them a leg up in the race—reproducing in the lab the natural evolution of the bacterial enzymes that confer resistance.
A team of scientists in Argentina and Mexico identified mutations that increased the efficiency of a bacter
University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists have identified a possible new target for treating obesity and diabetes.
The new target, a molecule called hVps34, is activated by amino acids (nutrients) entering the cell. This molecule triggers the activation of an enzyme, S6 Kinase 1 (S6K1), whose function UC researchers linked last year to obesity and insulin resistance.
“Insulin and amino acids both play a critical role in growth and development,” said lead author George
Study may help find ways to prevent recurrence
Using a recently developed mouse model of breast cancer, a team from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has shown that Snail, a molecule normally important in embryonic development, can promote breast cancer recurrence. They also found that high Snail expression predicts more rapid tumor recurrence in women who have been treated for breast cancer. These observations suggest that Snail may represent a target for can
Researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development have determined the sequence in which the malaria parasite disperses from the red blood cells it infects. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is one of the Institutes comprising the National Institutes of Health. The study appears in the September 20 Current Biology.
“This discovery provides the groundwork for possible new approaches to treating malaria, ” said Duane Alexander,
A new study has identified a molecular defect in cardiac cells that may be a fundamental cause of heart failure, a progressive weakening of the heart that leaves the organ unable to pump blood through the body.
The findings, by researchers at the Ohio State University Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, show that specialized proteins called ryanodine receptors (RyRs) malfunction in the failing heart. The RyRs form channels that become leaky, leading to calcium
Recent research suggested that ancient Neanderthals might have had an accelerated childhood compared to that of modern humans but that seems flawed, based on a new assessment by researchers from Ohio State University and the University of Newcastle .
They found that the rate of tooth growth present in the Neanderthal fossils they examined was comparable to that of three different populations of modern humans.
And since the rate of tooth growth has become a more-accepted to
Visually Provoked Seizures a National Health Problem
The Epilepsy Foundation today issued new recommendations for families on how to limit the risk of seizures triggered by flashing images and certain patterns on television, videogames, computers and other video screens. The recommendations are based upon guidelines in the UK and Japan and are the first published in the US to be based on an expert review of research on photosensitivity (the susceptibility to visual stimulation). Th
Beach management research based on the Angus, Scotland, coastline is causing ripples in California, thanks to the work of an Abertay postgraduate.
Andrew Staines, (age 26), researching beach management systems for his PhD, has forged a link with Pepperdine University in Malibu. The link could prove important not only for Scottish-Californian links, but also for bathing water quality in the North Sea and the Pacific in years to come.
Andrew’s research, currently funded by Ca
Mechanically-isolated wood fibres show several different properties in comparison to chemically-isolated fibres. This is one of the most recent results of a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna. The project yields significant findings on the structural changes in wood fibres after exposure to moisture and tension. The current results are important for both the structural analysis of wood as well as for the invest
PRONAL of France has developed new elastomer materials for use in manufacturing onboard fuel tanks for helicopters and civilian and military aircraft. The company manufactures fully vulcanised tanks, which guarantee perfect tightness. The new materials developed by PRONAL are highly resistant to hydrocarbons and additives. They have an excellent strength/weight ratio, and are lighter than anything else on the market.
PRONAL offers different versions of the tanks – anti-crash tank
Researchers trying to understand how the planets formed have uncovered a new clue by analysing meteorites that are older than the earth.
The research shows that the process which depleted planets and meteorites of so-called volatile elements such as zinc, lead and sodium, must have been one of the first things to happen in our nebula.
The implication of this clue is that ’volatile depletion’ may be an inevitable part of planet formation – a feature not just o
An ambitious EU project created new pollution sensors for the automotive industry that could enable a multibillion euro market in emission control systems by 2010. The sensors will also help Europe to meet its CO2 obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.
The IMITEC project developed an emission control system for light duty diesel vehicles. Diesel powered vehicles are increasingly becoming a major part of the European market and already occupy more than 50 per cent of the car fleet i
University of Arizona and Japanese scientists are convinced that evidence at last settles decades-long arguments about what objects bombarded the early inner solar system in a cataclysm 3.9 billion years ago.
Ancient main belt asteroids identical in size to present-day asteroids in the Mars-Jupiter belt — not comets — hammered the inner rocky planets in a unique catastrophe that lasted for a blink of geologic time, anywhere from 20 million to 150 million years, they report in
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