Embryo-implant protein exploited by tumors may help endangered species
Knowing what makes a ferret pregnancy take hold could help biologists save endangered species or understand how tumors spread.
Specifically, biologists examining early pregnancy in domestic ferrets report they have identified a protein necessary for embryos to implant successfully in the wall of the uterus, which is pregnancy’s first step in mammals.
Newly discovered as a molecular signal i
A specific group of brain proteins is essential to activate communication between neurons, and without this group of proteins all functions of the central nervous system are disrupted, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have discovered.
The disruption of this specialized group of proteins, called alpha-Neurexins, causes severe interruption of synaptic transmission, which is essential for neurons to communicate in the central nervous system. Synapses are specialized junc
By closely following nature’s blueprint, Toronto researchers have developed an innovative way to speed the healing of severe bone breaks, resulting in what may be the thickest tissue-engineered bone ever produced in the laboratory.
The new bone grows naturally without the addition of chemical growth stimulants, said Whitaker investigator Molly Shoichet, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto. The innovation is in the design of the synthetic scaffold that provides a framework for the growin
Findings that two mutated genes alter plant growth and development could result in improved plants and enhanced cancer treatments, according to Purdue University researchers.
In a paper published in Thursday’s (6/26) issue of Nature, the scientists report that these abnormal, or mutant plants are able to reorient themselves in response to light and gravity more rapidly than normal, or “wild type,” plants. Apparently plants behave differently in accordance with how a growth hormon
Today in Washington the European Commission, represented by Loyola de Palacio, Vice President in charge of Energy and Transport, signed an international charter on CO2 capture and storage (CO2/carbon sequestration).
This will create the “Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum” with Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Italy, India, Japan, Mexico, Norway, the People’s Republic of China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the US. The Forum aims to stimulate research into carbon sequestratio
Researchers have peered inside breast cancer’s toolbox and identified a set of rogue genes that accelerates the spread of cancer from its primary site in the breast to a secondary location in bone marrow. The genes identified by the scientists are distinct from those that spawn the initial tumor, which invites speculation about whether different cancers bear unique “gene expression signatures” that increase the probability that a cancer will spread in a process called metastasis.
Metast
The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was signed by 40 countries and the European Community during the first week it opened for signature. Norway became the first country to accept the treaty.
“The fact that so many countries signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in its first week demonstrates how strongly it is supported and how meaningful it is to diverse populations and situations,” said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General
The flatulent side-effects of eating beans could soon be reduced by naturally fermenting the beans, according to results to be published in the July issue of the SCI’s Journal of the Science of Food & Agriculture, now available online.
Flatulence is known to be caused when bacteria in the gut break down alpha galactosides and soluble dietary fibre, producing gases as a by-product. Untreated beans contain high levels of these compounds.
Many people are put off eating beans because th
Web users are picky and impatient, typically visiting only the first three results from a query, with one in five searchers spending 60 seconds or less on a linked Web document, according to Penn State researchers.
“People make instantaneous judgments about whether to stay on a site, and if a site doesn’t the give the right impression, users will bypass it,” said Dr. Jim Jansen, assistant professor in Penn State’s information sciences and technology (IST). “A page has to be well-d
Like all living organisms, cells ingest foreign bodies, but not always as nutrients. Ingestion is also used to eliminate pathogens such as bacteria or harmful cellular waste. This cell function, known as phagocytosis, is vital, notably to the immune and inflammatory response.
CNRS research scientists at the Institut Curie have recently clarified the function of the protein ARF6 in phagocytosis, a mechanism which is still poorly understood. When ARF6 is lacking, the cells can eliminate neith
When internal waves up to 300 feet first form they cause a mighty churning of ocean waters – something invisible to and unfelt by anyone at the surface.
Now in a novel use of mooring data, some of it three decades old, a University of Washington researcher has calculated just how much punch these waves appear to carry as they travel, or propagate, thousands of miles from where they originate.
It’s energy that appears to be crucial to the conveyor-belt-like circulation wherein m
Astronauts on extended missions go into space with a spring in their step but rarely return from the International Space Station (ISS) walking steady.
“We want to develop a training device to counter the effects while in space and help astronauts recover more quickly upon return to Earth,” said Dr. Jacob Bloomberg, a researcher on the National Space Biomedical Research Institute’s (NSBRI) neurovestibular adaptation team.
Returning astronauts walk with an unstable gait and wide sta
A light bulb isn’t very useful without a reliable on/off switch. The same holds true for quantum dots. These ultra tiny electronic nanostructures someday may serve as the ones and zeros used by a superfast quantum computer, but first physicists need to refine their ability to turn quantum dots “on” and “off.”
In the June 23, 2003, on-line issue of Applied Physics Letters, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Renewal Energy Laborato
Crystals are more than just pretty faces. Many of the useful properties associated with metal alloys or polymer blends — like strength, flexibility and clarity — stem from a material’s specific crystal microstructure. So the more scientists know about how crystal patterns grow as a material solidifies, the better they’ll be able to create new materials with specific properties.
In a recent issue of Nature Materials, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researche
Scientists bring early detection closer
Scientists at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI) in Seattle announced a new biomarker for ovarian cancer today. Their discovery promises improved diagnosis of the disease, which usually remains hidden until it is too late for effective treatment.
In the July 1 issue of Cancer Research, the researchers describe a molecule, HE4, associated with ovarian cancer cells. Because the molecule is secreted readily into the blood, it
A team of scientists from the USA in collaboration with staff at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (Schotte et al) have managed to film a protein at work in unprecedented detail. The protein is the oxygen-storing molecule myoglobin, which plays a central role in the production of energy in muscles. The motion of the protein was recorded using ultra-short flashes of X-ray light from the synchrotron. The new insight in the functionality of myoglobin has led to a deeper understanding of the m
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