An international team of researchers, led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are zeroing in on a gene that increases risk for Alzheimer’s disease. They have identified a region of chromosome 10 that appears to be involved in risk for the disease that currently affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans.
“There are a few genes that have been implicated in the development of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, but other than APOE, no g
This week, doctors at the Catholic University of Leuven, connected with the University Hospital – Gasthuisberg, the Stem Cell Institute Leuven (SCIL), and the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), are publishing a major breakthrough in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction. Their research shows that the administration of a patient’s own stem cells has a significant positive effect on the heart’s recovery: in the patients studied, the size of the infarct was
On 13 January the new Carl-Ivar Brändén Building (CIBB) will be inaugurated on the Polygone Scientifique Campus in Grenoble, France. The CIBB will be operated as a collaboration between major international and national partners based in Grenoble and is a further step in the development of the region as a European centre of excellence for structural biology.
The CIBB comprises two complementary units: the Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), whose members include the Europea
Scientists characterize large numbers of independently expressed, non-protein-coding RNA genes in the introns of protein-coding genes
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have performed a comprehensive analysis of small, non-protein-coding RNAs in the model nematode, C. elegans. They characterize 100 heretofore-undescribed transcripts, including two novel classes; they provide insights into the genomic structure and transcriptional regulation of non-coding RNAs; an
Project aims to consolidate information, coordinate efforts
E.coli is one of the most important model organisms for molecular science today and is arguably the single organism about which the most is known. The genes of higher-level plants and animals, even humans, are often understood by their similarity to E. coli genes. As such, the accuracy and completeness of E.coli genome information is of great importance to the scientific community.
In an attempt to consolidate
The thin, single-cell boundary where a tumor meets normal tissue is the most dangerous part of a cancer according to a new study by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers found that tumor cells bordering normal tissue receive signals that tell them to wander away from the tumor, allowing the cancer cells to establish deadly metastatic tumors elsewhere in the body.
The researchers say their discovery demonstrates the importance of
Discovery of memory mechanism provides clues to how humans learn speech
Researchers at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, believe they have located a place in the brain where songbirds store the memories of their parents’ songs. The discovery has implications for humans, because humans and songbirds are among the few animals that learn to vocalize by imitating their caregivers.
In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sc
While dogs keep dying from eating pet food tainted with aflatoxin, Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is announcing it has developed protein tests that accurately indicate a dog’s liver failure caused by the toxin.
In late December, some dogs from the Eastern and Southeastern United States have become either seriously ill or have died after eating dog food manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods. The dog food was tainted with aflatoxin. About 17 severe case
Vitamin A, also known as retinol, is present in milk, liver, egg yolk, butter and other foodstuffs and as carotene in vegetables that have a yellow-orange colour, such as carrots and pumpkins.
This vitamin is accumulated in the liver where it is transformed into retinoid. Given that vitamin A, as such, has no effect on our organism, it is the retinoids that are responsible for the physiological activity of the vitamin.
Retinoids take part in three processes: in cell d
Scientists from Imperial College London and the University of Surrey have developed a new technique for crystallising proteins, a discovery which could help speed up the development of new medicines and treatments.
Crystallisation is the process which converts materials, such as proteins, into three dimensional crystals, thus enabling their atomic structure to be studied. The three dimensional structure of the crystals indicates the proteins function, and from this, researchers
Hydration in the presence of borane or iodine catalysts smoothes the way for the liquefaction of semianthracite coal
The tightening of worldwide oil reserves is causing the price of oil to escalate — and makes coal, which is much more abundantly available, an interesting starting material for liquid fuels and chemical raw materials. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim on the Ruhr have developed a new process that makes it possible to liquefy high-gr
Periodontitis, an infection of the gingiva and tooth-supporting tissues, may influence the effectiveness of antibiotics used for the prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events. A three-month course of treatment with antibiotics decreased recurrence of cardiovascular events in patients without periodontitis, while the medication was found to have no effect in patients with periodontitis. This is the first time dental infections have been linked to the effectiveness of long-term treatment
For the more than 18 million Americans who suffer from depressive illnesses, the best pharmacological treatments are those that increase levels of serotonin, the brain chemical that regulates mood, sleep and memory. New research by an international team of scientists, led by Rockefeller University researchers in Paul Greengard’s laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, shows that a gene called p11 is closely related to serotonin transmission in the brain – and may play a key role in
Scientists may have found a way to keep a protein “watchdog” on high alert to stop hereditary cancers from overrunning our bodies – if they can keep it on a leash of just the right length.
In a collaborative effort, a team of scientists including Purdue University’s Susan M. Mendrysa has found that one of the proteins found naturally in cells has the ability to halt the progression of intestinal tumors that arise from genetic predisposition. When the activity of this prote
In the January issue of the journal Genome Research, two teams of scientists describe a widespread phenomenon in the human genome called transcription-induced chimerism (TIC), where two adjacent genes produce a single, fused RNA transcript. The work has implications for drug development, as well as for understanding mechanisms underlying gene evolution, transcription regulation, and genomic organization.
Dr. Roderic Guigó’s group from the Centre de Regulació Genòmica (Barcel
Researchers identify large tracks of DNA refractory to mobile element insertion
Scientists from the University of Queensland report in the journal Genome Research that large segments of the human genome are conspicuously devoid of ubiquitous mobile DNA elements called transposons. The locations of these regions are highly conserved among mammalian species and are enriched in genes crucial for the regulation of developmental processes.
Transposons, often called “jumping
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