In a step that advances our ability to discern the ancient evolutionary relationships between different genes and their biological functions, researchers have provided insight into the present-day outcome of a single gene duplication that occurred over a hundred million years ago in an ancestor of modern plants. The work is reported in Current Biology by a team led by Brendan Davies of the University of Leeds, England.
Gene duplication–a relatively uncommon event in which a single co
A forthcoming paper in the international, open-access journal PLoS Medicine makes the strongest association yet between a newly identified virus and the pediatric respiratory disease commonly known as croup. Following their recent description of the coronavirus HCoV-NL63, Lia van der Hoek and colleagues suggest this is one of the most frequently detected viruses in children with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). These infections are estimated by the World Health Organization to be re
Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report they have discovered a potential oncogene in ovarian cancer, which is the leading cause of gynecological cancer death in U.S. women.
They say that levels of the protein produced by this suspected oncogene, known as atypical protein kinase C iota (PKCi), in combination with a second protein, Cyclin E, strongly predict outcome in non-serous ovarian cancer, which accounts for 40 percent of ovarian cancer
Protein thought to promote lymphoma by merely preventing cancer cells from dying appears to actively promote cancer cell growth
A protein previously thought to merely hinder the activity of a key cellular protein linked to cancer cell death, now appears to mimic the cellular signaling of that protein; potentially leading to the development of lymphoma. The findings, published in the Aug. 22 online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), demonstrate that
Warm-blooded creatures maintain a relatively stable body temperature that cannot tolerate the stress of intense heat (or cold). When it’s too hot proteins destabilize and degrade–in some cases, with fatal results. But some bacterial and archaeal organisms appear to defy nature (as we think of it) by flourishing in extremely high temperatures. The archaeal microbe Pyrobaculum aerophilum, for example–originally found in a boiling marine water hole in Italy–thrives at ~100 °C (212 °F).
Because of the very high costs in developing drugs for rare genetic diseases, and the low return on investment, the pharmaceutical industry has rarely developed specific treatments for many of these diseases. But a new public-private partnership, called the European Rare Diseases Therapeutic Initiative (ERDITI), could provide an important new mechanism for developing new drugs.
In an article in this month’s open access international medical journal PLoS Medicine, Ala
Research in monkeys suggests that a new drug can temporarily improve performance and reverse the effects of sleep deprivation on the brain, which would be a breakthrough in helping shift workers, health professionals, military personnel and others who must function at top performance in spite of sleep deficits.
“In addition to improving performance under normal conditions, the drug restored performance that was impaired after sleep loss,” said Samuel Deadwyler, Ph.D., senior rese
Adult patients taking the antidepressant drug paroxetine are at higher risk of attempting to commit suicide than those not taking medication. A new analysis, published in BMC Medicine, of previous clinical data on paroxetine use adds the antidepressant to the list of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) that have been shown to increase suicidal tendencies in adult patients with depression.
Ivar Aursnes and colleagues from the University of Oslo, Norway, reanalysed data from 16
Researchers have developed a new technique for creating human embryonic stem cells by fusing adult somatic cells with embryonic stem cells. The fusion causes the adult cells to undergo genetic reprogramming, which results in cells that have the developmental characteristics of human embryonic stem cells.
This approach could become an alternative to somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a method that is currently used to produce human stem cells. SCNT involves transferring the nu
Increased publishing in peer-reviewed journals could impact patient care, outcome; researchers need commitment, set time devoted to effort
Phase I cancer studies, trials that are conducted to determine the safety and maximum dose of a new agent, are under-reported in peer-reviewed journals – a trend that could ultimately delay scientific progress and negatively affect patient care, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in a new study out on Mon.,
Yerkes-based experiment confirms cultural transmission and conformity in chimpanzee communities
Humans are not alone in their desire to conform to cultural norms, according to new study findings that confirm, for the first time, chimpanzees share the same conformist tendencies. Researchers, in determining how chimpanzee communities share and maintain traditions, discovered they possess a natural motivation to copy their peers well into adulthood and say that although other speci
French scientists have learned how Listeria monocytogenes, which causes a major food-borne illness, commandeers cellular transport machinery to invade cells and hide from the body’s immune system. They believe that other infectious organisms may use the same mechanism.
The Listeria bacterium, found in soil and water, can be transmitted to humans via undercooked and unpasteurized food, causing flu-like symptoms or gastrointestinal distress. For individuals with weakened immune sy
National Institute on Aging (NIA) researchers have discovered a new gene, FANCM, which sheds light on an important pathway involved in the repair of damaged DNA. Specifically, mutation in this gene is responsible for one of the forms of Fanconi anemia (FA), a rare genetic disorder that primarily affects children. Like many rare, inherited diseases, understanding this gene’s role in the development of FA provides insights into other medical problems — in this case, age-related conditions includi
Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute have found that an experimental vaccine can prime the immune system to help fight an aggressive form of lymphoma, even though prior therapy had eliminated virtually all of the B cells thought necessary to mount such a defense.
Their study, published in the September issue of Nature Medicine, has both important basic science and clinical implications, researchers say. It demon
Surprising findings from just five patients has led to the first proof of how the rare disorder Fanconi anemia causes chromosomal instability. A team of international researchers, led by scientists at Rockefeller University, reports the findings in the September issue of Nature Genetics.
The scientists found a gene mutation not previously known to be related to Fanconi anemia, and they say that BRIP1 is the first gene associated with the disease whose protein has a known functio
Signs of heart failure may be in the blood. Cardiac researchers at Jefferson Medical College have found an enzyme in the blood that could be a potential marker for heart failure.
A team of scientists led by Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine in the Department of Medicine in Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, previously showed that an enzyme called GRK2 or beta-adrenergic kinase (ßARK1) is critically impo
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