New technique tracks RNAs associated with the protein responsible for Fragile X
The process of turning genes into protein makes the insides of cells terribly crowded and complicated places. Signals tell machinery to transcribe the DNA of genes into messenger RNA (mRNA) whose translation into protein has to be coordinated with everything else that is happening within the cell. Fortunately, there are RNA binding proteins to organize mRNAs. These proteins are so critical that the loss of
When developing a treatment plan for cervical cancer, it is important to be able to determine a patient’s prognosis, ideally at the time of diagnosis. Existing methods to arrive at a prognosis can be time consuming, inaccurate and may require specialized software. Therefore, doctors from the Washington University School of Medicine developed – and validated – an accurate, reproducible and quick prognostic system.
The researchers created a grading scale to use in conjunction with a simp
The experiences of millions of people have proved that antidepressants work, but only with the advent of sophisticated imaging technology have scientists begun to learn exactly how the medications affect brain structures and circuits to bring relief from depression.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW Medical School recently added important new information to the growing body of knowledge. For the first time, they used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)–tech
Dr. Tyler Jacks of MIT and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Karen Cichowski of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and their colleagues have discovered how neurofibromin, a key regulator of the ras oncogene, is, itself, regulated. This discovery has promising therapeutic implications for the treatment of neurofibromatosis type I (NF1), a common hereditary disease that results from mutations in the neurofibromin gene, as well as the ~30% of human tumors that have altered Ras a
The unique capabilities of a NASA earth-observing satellite have allowed researchers to view the effects of a major earthquake that occurred in 2001 in Northern India near the border of Pakistan.
Lead author Bernard Pinty of the Institute for Environment and Sustainability in the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Ispra, Italy, and colleagues from the U.S., France and Germany, used the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite to o
US fertility experts today (Thursday 6 February) published the first conclusive evidence that lead is linked to male infertility.
A report in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction[1] concludes that exposure to lead damages sperm function and may be a contributory cause of unexplained male infertility.[2]
The findings have led principal investigator Dr Susan Benoff to urge doctors to measure lead in seminal plasma when evaluating men from couples with unex
Diabetes is a widespread illness affecting 5 per cent of the population. In diabetics the metabolism produces an excess of glucose in the blood and, as a result, a number of sufferers need doses of insulin which allows them to regulate their glucose levels.
Currently, the method of administering insulin to diabetic patients making use of emergency services for insulin dosage depends on the experience of the qualified personnel. That is, the same patient can receive different insulin doses,
ESA engineers are proposing a technique to enable a digital satellite radio service for European drivers – without the need to launch a single new satellite into orbit.
Commercial digital satellite radio is already a reality in the United States, using a costly set of dedicated satellites. The rival American services allow subscribing drivers to choose between numerous near-CD quality radio channels without tune-out or static.
Two parallel ESA studies have examined a lower-cost method o
Consumer demand for lighter, more powerful handheld devices such as laptop computers and mobile phones is growing year on year. The EUREKA project 3D STRUCTURES has addressed one of the key requirements – cheaper and lighter batteries that last longer.
French lead partner SCPS (Societé de Conseil et de Prospective Scientifique S.A.) has developed a new kind of conductive metallic foam capable of replacing heavy metallic parts. A cylindrical block of foam is immersed in an aqueous solution t
Scientists at the John Innes Centre (JIC), Norwich have discovered the gene that gives freshly turned soil its distinctive smell. A smell, it is believed, that enables camels to find water in the desert. The ‘earthy’ smell is caused by geosmin, a chemical produced by a common bacterium, Streptomyces coelicolor, that is found in most soils. The discovery of the gene that produces geosmin is reported in the International science journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.
’We consider these cells conditionally alive’, explains Professor Vladimir Repin, leader of the research team, ’because they were fixed in formalin to preserve after extracting them from the mammoth body in the field. However, the inner structure of these cells is undamaged, so we suggest that the rest frozen tissues contain similar cell layers, which could be defrozen’. The sensational finding was made by Oleg Taranov, a member of the research team.
The story is as follows. Last su
Use of a vitamin A derivative in former smokers restored production of a crucial protein believed to protect against lung cancer development, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found.
Use of a Vitamin A derivative in former smokers restored production of a crucial protein believed to protect against lung cancer development, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found.
Although they don’t have clear
A team of network security experts in California has determined that the computer worm that attacked and hobbled the global Internet eleven days ago was the fastest computer worm ever recorded. In a technical paper released today, the experts report that the speed and nature of the Sapphire worm (also called Slammer) represent significant and worrisome milestones in the evolution of computer worms.
Computer scientists at the University of California, San Diego and its San Diego Supercompute
Researchers in the Baxter Laboratory at Stanford University Medical Center have published new evidence showing that cells from the bone marrow might help repair or maintain cells in other tissues. In a paper in this week’s online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers describe finding chromosomes from a bone marrow transplant in the brain cells of transplant recipients.
When people receive a bone marrow transplant after high-dose chemotherapy, s
Study is first link ’compensatory prefrontal network’ to better performance on memory tests
A group of Canadian researchers has found the most direct evidence to date that people with early-stage Alzheimer Disease can engage additional areas in the brain to perform successfully on memory tests.
Led by Dr. Cheryl Grady, a senior scientist with The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, the study is published in the February 1, 2003 issue of
A major computer project has been launched today to analyse millions of different chemicals in the search for drugs to combat the bioterrorist threat of smallpox.
The smallpox research project will use the ‘screensaver downtime’ donated by up to two million computer users worldwide to screen 35 million compounds and identify those most likely to be suitable for drug development.
Currently no drugs are available to combat the smallpox virus after infection, and the only prevention i
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