Bacteria are an indiscriminate lot. While most organisms tend to pass their genes on to the next generation of their own species, bacteria often exchange genetic material with totally unrelated species – a process called lateral gene transfer.
That is why skeptics doubted that researchers could ever hope to work out the evolutionary history of bacteria. But now, thanks to the availability of sequenced genomes for groups of related bacteria, and a new analytical approach, researchers at the
Scientists have long held the prevailing view that during HIV infection the depletion of T cells is the result of direct HIV virus–mediated killing. In the September 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Marc Hellerstein and colleagues at the University of California in Berkeley report that it is the chronic activation of the host immune system in response to HIV infection that primarily contributes to T cell loss.
A series of influential studies published in the mid-1990s descr
A tailored, cage-like silica structure, developed by Penn State researchers, is easier and less expensive to make than previous materials and is tunable in size.
“Previous attempts at synthesizing materials like PSU-1 involved specially designed templates making the process expensive,” says Dr. Sridhar Komarneni, professor of clay mineralogy. “The processes also require stringent conditions for the synthesis to work.” Komarneni, working with Dr. Bharat L. Newalkar, postdoctoral fellow in Pe
That cup of coffee in the morning does more than wake you up. It can also help you feel less pain during your morning workout.
That’s what researchers at the University of Georgia have found in a recent study exploring why muscles hurt during exercise. The research group previously learned that aspirin, though commonly used to treat muscle pain, did not reduce muscle pain produced by vigorous exercise.
“Muscle contractions produce a host of biochemicals that can stimul
Ames Laboratory researchers identify non-brittle intermetallics
To material scientists the phrase “ductile intermetallic compounds” has long been considered an oxymoron. Although these compounds possess chemical, physical, electrical, magnetic, and mechanical properties that are often superior to ordinary metals, their potential has gone untapped because they are typically quite brittle at room temperature. Until now.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames
Tumor size may not be an accurate method of predicting lymph node involvement and disease progression in some breast cancers, according to investigators at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Their findings show that some types of breast tumors do not “play by the rules” and possibly, are more dangerous than previously believed.
“We have identified a group of breast cancer tumors that don’t conform to previous observations made in the general population of
Brazilian scientists may have found a new source for plastics and life saving medicines by cracking the genetic code of Chromobacterium violaceum, a free-living bacterium that commonly floats along the Rio Negro river in the Amazon rainforest.
The complete genome sequence, which will be published in a future issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was released on the journal’s Web site today. More than 100 members of the Brazil National Genome Project helped sequence t
Poor farmers in developing countries could soon be using a range of ’biofumigant’ plants to help increase tropical vegetable yields.
CSIRO is part of a research team from Australia and the Philippines which has found that brassica species such as radish, mustard or broccoli can be used to help reduce yield losses from Bacterial Wilt – the major pathogen of vegetables in tropical farming.
“Brassicas contain compounds that suppress pests and pathogens, principally isothiocyanates (ITC
Finding suggests possible treatment approach for highly lethal disease
Scientists at UCSF and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found strong evidence that a cell signaling pathway active in embryonic development plays a crucial role in pancreatic cancer. The finding provides the first model of the development and growth of pancreatic cancer and suggests a clear route for treatment of this lethal malignancy. The research is being posted online today by the journal Nature, prior
The functional development of hair cells in the inner ear that mediate hearing and balance takes place over a period of just one day in mouse embryos, according to a study by a research team at the University of Virginia Health System.
The U.Va. scientists found that three essential elements for development in the mouse inner ear appear between day 16 and day 17 of gestation, roughly equivalent to the late second trimester or early third trimester in the human fetus. The finding is importan
A research team at The Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) and the University of Toronto (U of T), led by Dr. Peter Dirks, has identified for the first time a cancer stem cell in both malignant and benign brain tumours. This discovery may change how brain tumours are studied and how this deadly condition is treated in the future. This research is reported in the September 15, 2003 issue of the scientific journal Cancer Research.
“The discovery of a cancer stem cell for brain tumours means that
Plus surprising differences in ’Normal’ DNA
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have developed one of the most sensitive, comprehensive, and robust methods that now exists for profiling the genetic basis of cancer and other diseases. The method detects chromosomal deletions and amplifications (i.e. missing or excess copies of DNA segments), and is useful for a wide variety of biomedical and other applications.
The study, led by Rob Lucito and Michael Wigler, is pub
After working at it for the past decade, gerontologist and Dean of the Decker School of Nursing Sarah Gueldner has led a team of colleagues from institutions the world over in the development of a unique research tool to quantifiably measure almost anyone’s sense of well-being. Refined across four countries and three continents, with the help of more than 3,000 study participants, the instrument looks as if it was torn from the pages of a children’s coloring book and can be completed with a crayon.
The meaning and nature of change is a question that has fascinated some of the world’s greatest minds since long before the birth of Christ. Today, legions of philosophers and hosts of cognitive scientists continue to work to resolve what may be one of the world’s greatest paradoxes: How is it that change and constancy coexist in the world and in the human mind? Binghamton University Professor Eric Dietrich is sure of at least one thing. Our creativity, and likely our very survival, depends on the f
Intervention in the process whereby genes are turned “on” or “off” has been demonstrated by scientists at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School. The work offers promise for future genetic treatment to control undesirable tissue growth, such as in cancer.
The experimental work of the group is described in a recent article in the journal, Nature Genetics. The researchers succeeded in showing how manipulation of the methylation process in animals can turn genes which are normally inacti
Using molecules resembling 60-sided soccer balls, a joint team of researchers from the University of Toronto and Carleton University has created a new material for processing information using light.
Led by U of T electrical and computer engineering professor Ted Sargent and Carleton University chemistry professor Wayne Wang, the team developed a material that combines microscopic spherical particles known as “buckyballs” with polyurethane, the polymer used as a coating on cars and furnitur
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