Does Swiss cheese come from Swiss cows? How about blue cheese? Professor of animal science at McGill’s Macdonald campus K.F. Ng-Kwai-Hang has the answer to these questions. He has spent the last 25 years studying the genetics of cows and how this affects quality and type of cheese.
“There are more than 100 different breeds of cows. However, the best milk producers are Holsteins,” says Ng-Kwai-Hang. “Within a specific breed, the milk these cows produce is not the same – it dif
Oncologists have long thought that cancer treatments tend to be more effective at certain times of day. But they have been unable to turn this knowledge into practice, because they did not understand the phenomenon well enough. Now, researchers have discovered a molecular mechanism that explains why sensitivity to anti-cancer drugs changes with the clock. They said their findings could lead to new drug treatments that may be more effective because they harness the power and precision of the bod
Findings could point way to new treatments
Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) for the first time to examine energy production biochemistry in a beating human heart, Johns Hopkins researchers have found substantial energy deficits in failing hearts.
The findings, published in the January 18 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, confirm what many scientists have conjectured for years about heart failure, and suggest new treatments designed to
The long-held belief that older people perform slower and worse than younger people has been proven wrong. In a study published today in Neuron, psychologists from McMaster University discovered that the ageing process actually improves certain abilities: Older people appear to be better and faster at grasping the big picture than their younger counterparts.
“Going into the study, we knew that ageing changes the way people see the world,” says Allison Sekuler, one of the senior au
Proteins called coactivators control the process by which a single gene can initiate production of several proteins in a process called alternative splicing, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears in today’s issue of the journal Molecular Cell. “A major question in biology today is how human cells with 30,000 genes produce at least 120,000 proteins,” said Dr. Bert O’Malley, chair of the BCM department of molecular and cellular biology. The answer is a p
A pro-inflammatory protein activated by bacteria in the colon plays a key role in the development of experimental colitis in mice – a mouse-version of human Crohn’s disease – according to research by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.
The study, published in the February 4, 2005 issue of the journal Science, identified interleukin-1Beta (IL-1â) as a major cause of severe inflammation in the mouse model of Crohn’s disease, which is a pai
In a step toward understanding the early evolution of the cell, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that an enzyme important in the production of energy also protects the mitochondria, the energy factory itself.
The enzyme, called aconitase, is a well-known component of the pathway in cells that produces energy. But in a study using baker’s yeast, Dr. Ronald Butow, professor of molecular biology, has shown a new function for the enzyme – keeping the mitochondr
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that rheumatoid arthritis patients have twice the risk of heart failure, or a weakening of the heart’s ability to pump blood, as those without rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study to be published in the February edition of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. About one-third of the rheumatoid arthritis patients studied developed heart failure over 30 years of the disease.
“We decided to undertake this study because we knew that patien
The factor of time gives scientists insight into cellular machines
Most things that happen in the cell are the work of ’molecular machines’ – complexes of proteins that carry out important cellular functions. Until now, scientists didn’t have a clear idea of when proteins form these machines – are these complexes pre-fabricated or put together on the spot for each specific job? Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), working closely with s
Atoms at the ends of self-assembled atomic chains act like anchors with lower energy levels than the “links” in the chain, according to new measurements by physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The first-ever proof of the formation of “end states” in atomic chains may help scientists design nanostructures, such as electrical wires made “from the atoms up,” with desired electrical properties.
The NIST experiments, described in the Feb. 4
How do aquatic invertebrates such as water fleas move between isolated waterbodies so as to colonize new habitats or maintain genetic exchange between populations? Darwin and other XIX century naturalists proposed that they move via waterbirds. Dispersal was proposed to occur when birds fly between ponds with eggs attached to their feathers or legs or with eggs inside their guts.
To address this question, Jordi Figuerola, Andy J. Green, and Thomas C. Michot combined data from previo
Gastric and colorectal cancers account for more than 1 million deaths worldwide every year and several research groups have been working to identify the molecular events that result in the initiation and progression of these tumors. It has been established that interfering with the function of one gene, called Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) has a profound effect on the cells lining the innermost layer of the colon (called the epithelium) and causes them to lose control over their proliferat
In drought conditions, the capacity for retaining carbon in legume nodules is limited and this may be the reason why there is a drop in nitrogen-fixing in legumes under these conditions. This was the conclusion of María Dolores Gálvez in defending her PhD thesis at the Public University of Navarre. Her PhD was entitled, “Nodule metabolism in Pisum sativum L. in response to water stress: carbon/nitrogen interactions and the possible molecules involved in the modulation of the response”.
The single-celled organisms of the world’s oceans are immensely diverse. For the ‘International Census of Marine Microbes’ scientists are going to track down knowledge on the diversity and distribution of these micro-organisms and their viruses. The budget? 900,000 dollars of the Sloan Foundation in New York to start with. On February 7 and 8, the steering committee from America and the Netherlands will gather for the first time.
Goal of the International Census of Marine Microb
Researchers at the Public University of Navarre are designing and developing a filter that enhances the power of communications satellites for the European Space Agency. The filter enables the reduction, by a factor of a million, interference produced by what is known as the “Field Emission Effect”.
The work developed by the Navarre researchers is in its final stages and its results have been satisfactory, given that the filter devised enables the reduction of interference produced
A proposal to merge the Maastricht based United Nations University Institute for New Technologies (UNU-INTECH) with the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT) would create a major global research centre focusing on innovation and development. The combined facility would be the largest of its kind in the application of new technologies to help the developing world
Under a one-year transitional arrangement, in which the newly appointed UNU-INTEC
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