Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have developed a new method for analyzing the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) of the human genome. This large region, found on chromosome 6, encodes more than 400 known genes. The best known of these genes are the HLA genes that govern tissue type and participate in the immune system by protecting people from infection or by governing susceptibility to autoimmune diseases or cancer.
The researchers’ new lab method is descri
Not all biological weapons are created equal. They are separated into categories A through C, category A biological agents being the scariest: They are easy to spread, kill effectively and call for special actions by the pubic health system. One of these worrisome organisms is anthrax, which has already received its fair share of media attention. But work in Vince Fischetti’s laboratory at Rockefeller University suggests that a newly discovered protein could be used to fight anthrax infections
Pinpointing cause of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) will accelerate development of treatments for FOP and common bone disorders
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have located the “skeleton key,” a gene that, when damaged, causes the body’s skeletal muscles and soft connective tissue to undergo a metamorphosis into bone, progressively locking joints in place and rendering movement impossible. Identifying the gene that causes fibrod
The Unique Protein Responsible for Werner’s Syndrome Aids Research in Cancer and Aging
Contact: Paul Preuss, (510) 486-6249, paul_preuss@lbl.gov
A team of scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Scripps Research Institute has determined the crystal structure and molecular mechanisms of a key part of WRN, a protein that protects humans from premature aging and cancer.
When the gene for WRN is defective the result is Werner’
Findings shed light on mechanism of condition associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have shown, for the first time, that blocking the action of a critical protein can improve multiple inflammatory pathways in patients with the metabolic syndrome – a cluster of symptoms associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. If supported in future studies, the findings may suggest new strategies
Daily monitoring of C-reactive protein levels could help in the prediction of infections acquired in the intensive care unit. A study published today in the journal Critical Care reveals that a daily variation of C-reactive protein (CRP) levels greater than 4.1 mg/dl is a good marker for prediction of infection. The authors of the study also identify different patterns of CRP level progression, associated with different predictions of infection, which could guide antibiotic prescription.
A rare Patagonian rodent known as the colonial tuco-tuco fascinates biologists because it seems to defy all odds. This threatened species has so little genetic diversity that the slightest whiff of climate change or disease should have wiped it off the face of the earth long ago. Yet the hearty gopher-like creature has not only managed to survive for thousands of years in the harsh climate of the Argentine highlands, it has evolved a complex social structure that’s unique among the more than
A discovery made at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute provides new insights into enhancing the function of the protein SOCS3, which regulates the response of cells to external stimuli.
SOCS3 (Suppressors of Cytokine Signalling) controls the responses of cells to cytokines (growth factors). It is important that cytokine signalling is properly regulated within the human body. If SOCS3 permits cytokine signalling to be too “loud”, then the excess of growth signals can cause crippl
Cellulose–a fibrous molecule found in all plants–is the most abundant biological material on Earth. It is also a favored target of renewable, plant-based biofuels research. Despite overwhelming interest, scientists know relatively little about how plant cells synthesize individual cellulose fibers.
However, recent work from the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Plant Biology and Stanford University describes the first real-time observations of cellulose fiber formation. The re
New research shows that a protein made by a cancer virus causes infected immune cells to cling to other immune cells, enabling the virus to spread.
The virus, the human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), is transmitted mainly when infected cells known as T lymphocytes, or T cells, touch uninfected T cells.
The finding helps explain how this cell-to-cell transmission happens. It suggests that an HTLV-1 protein known as p12 activates infected T cells and causes them to
Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have developed a new technique to speed discovery of drug targets in chemical genetics. As highlighted on the April cover of Chemistry & Biology, Fox Chase researcher Jeffrey R. Peterson, Ph.D., and his colleagues describe a new way to swiftly find the proteins targeted by small molecule inhibitors during high-throughput screening (HTS) experiments. The new work offers a critical solution to a common stumbling block in this booming field of drug discovery.
Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have created a new class of hybrid virus and demonstrated its ability to find, highlight, and deliver genes to tumors in mice.
Researchers say the advance, reported in the journal Cell, is potentially an important step in making human cancer both more visible and accessible to treatment; it may also allow prediction and monitoring of how specific anti-cancer agents are actually working.
“In tumor-bear
A research team from Uppsala University and AstraZeneca has found that the schizophrenia gene QKI affects the production of myelin, the material that insulates nerve fibers. It is hoped that these findings will lead to enhanced treatment of schizophrenia. The findings are being published in the Net edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) in mid-April.
The research group has previously shown that the QKI gene is a possible contributing cause of the disease schizoph
In the frantic world of fruitfly courtship, the difference between attracting a mate and going home alone may depend on having the right wing spots. Now, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have learned which elements of fly DNA make these spots come and go in different species. Their studies have also uncovered surprising new evidence supporting the idea that evolution is an incessant tinkerer when it comes to complex traits.
The experiments are among the first to root out “th
Researchers from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) connected to the University of Antwerp are the first to show that the quantity of amyloid protein in brain cells is a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid protein has already been known to be the primary component of the senile plaques in the brains of patients. The new discovery demonstrates that the greater the quantity of the protein that is produced, the younger the dementia patient is.
Scientists uncover signatures near crucial developmental genes; Analysis provides framework for understanding cells’ unusual plasticity
A team of scientists announced today a critical step on the path of realizing the promise of embryonic stem (ES) cells for medicine. As described in the April 21 issue of Cell, the researchers have discovered unique molecular imprints coupled to DNA in mouse ES cells that help explain the cells’ rare ability to form almost any body
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