The complexity of the brain and, more specifically, how nerve cells form billions of contacts when there are fewer than 30,000 human genes is still a scientific mystery.
A team headed by Drs. Robin Hiesinger and Hugo J. Bellen at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston have unraveled a piece of that puzzle by finding a gene that plays a key role in brain wiring. A report on their work appears today in the journal Neuron.
“We were surprised to find an exocyst mutant h
Potentially links climate with mountain building
A Dartmouth researcher is part of a team that has discovered a new active “thrust fault” at the base of the Himalaya in Nepal. This new fault likely accommodates some of the subterranean pressure caused by the continuing collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia.
The study, titled “Active out-of-sequence thrust faulting in the central Nepalese Himalaya,” will be published in the April 21 issue of the journal Nature.
A new drug, RAD001, has been shown to stop the growth and movement of certain ovarian cancer cells, according to scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. The research was presented today at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Anaheim, Calif.
A large percentage of human cancers have high activity levels of an enzyme known as AKT. This enzyme controls a number of cell functions, including cell size, division and response to c
Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia have come a step closer to understanding selenium’s molecular role in causing prostate cancer cells to self-destruct. According to data presented today at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Anaheim, Calif., selenium helps malignant cells overcome their resistance to TRAIL-induced apopstosis (self-inflicted cell death). Previous studies had shown that TRAIL, a cytotoxic agent being investigated as
Reducing expression of a gene called BRCC36 that interacts with the breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) makes breast cancer cells more responsive to ionizing radiation, according to scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. The research was presented today at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Anaheim, Calif. BRCC36 directly interacts with the BRCA1 protein. Almost all invasive breast cancer cells have elevated BRCC36 levels compar
In laboratory mouse experiments, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have developed a way to use RNA interference (RNAi) so that it permanently hampers breast cancer development. The technique permanently silences activated STAT3, a crucial gene found in some human breast tumors, thus reducing the cancer’s ability to become invasive.
The study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), used a modifi
Scientists have identified a new gene that appears to be linked to a small but significant percentage of familial cancer cases – as well as seemingly randomly occurring malignancies.
The finding has scientists re-examining commonly held beliefs about the nature and frequency of genetic mutation as a cause of cancer. Familial cancer, in contrast to inherited cancer, is defined as multiple cases of cancer in one family that cannot be accounted for by classic rules of inheritance.
First clinical study shows 90 percent efficacy in men with pre-malignant lesions
After a year’s oral administration of green tea catechins (GTCs), only one man in a group of 32 at high risk for prostate cancer developed the disease, compared to nine out of 30 in a control, according to a team of Italian researchers from the University of Parma and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia led by Saverio Bettuzzi, Ph.D.
Their results were reported here today at the 96th Annual
Heavy consumption of hot dogs, sausages and luncheon meats, along with other forms of processed meat, was associated with the greatest risk of pancreatic cancer in a large multiethnic study reported today at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
“The results suggest that carcinogenic substances related to meat preparation, rather than their inherent fat or cholesterol content, might be responsible for the association,” said Ute Nöthlings, DrPH
Scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a new method for the study of ion channel gating kinetics. An ion channel is a protein pore that lets ions (charged atoms such as calcium) pass through a cell’s membrane. The method fits data to a new class of models, called manifest interconductance rank (MIR) models, which will give researchers a better understanding of the mechanisms by which ion channels open and close.
In research published in the cur
The strength of hurricane activity striking the United States during the main hurricane season can now be predicted with significant accuracy thanks to a new computer model developed by scientists at University College London (UCL).
The model, unveiled in a paper in the 21 April issue of the journal Nature, will enable government, public, emergency planning bodies and insurers with US interests to receive warning in early August of the likelihood of either high or low hurrica
Evolutionary biologists at the University of East Anglia have discovered a new link between biodiversity and the evolution of new species.
Studying plants and invertebrates on the Canary and Hawaiian Islands, Dr Brent Emerson and Dr Niclas Kolm found that the greater the diversity of species on an island, the higher the proportion of endemic species on that island.
The new research, published in Nature this week, underlines the importance of generating and maintaining spe
Researchers at the University of Dundee have made a significant new discovery on how cells behave and protect themselves against cancers and congenital disorders as reported in Nature tomorrow (Thursday April 21).
Dr Tomo Tanaka and his team members at the University’s School of Life Sciences, Drs Kozo Tanaka, Naomi Mukae and Hilary Dewar, in collaboration with Drs Euan James and Alan Prescott and researchers in Germany, have uncovered how cells prepare for the process of chromosome
Researchers at the University of Liverpool have developed a breakthrough technology that identifies molecular markers in early lung cancer.
The new technology, created in collaboration with SEQUENOM, developers of genetic analysis products, and Methexis Genomics, uses a DNA analysis technique called methylation profiling to detect cells in the lung that are likely to become cancerous.
There are a number of genetic mechanisms that can alter the characteristics of a normal
One of the world’s leading scientists, Nobel Prize winner, Dr Sydney Brenner, has devised a new method for obtaining sequence information from thousands of genomes simultaneously. Current technologies can only analyse one genome at a time.
This method, to be developed by a new company called Population Genetics Technologies, is expected to significantly reduce the cost of studying large populations of genomes. Such studies are important to the discovery of genetic variations that
Cracking open the vast store of geographical data locked inside Europe’s mapping agencies, is a research project that allows real time access to a wide range of mobile users.
This is a big deal. The project, called GiMoDig and funded by the European Commission’s IST programme, could ultimately put terabytes of geographical data within reach of ordinary users, business and emergency services. The potential list of users is endless.
The potential list of applications
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