UCSF scientists have determined that the quality of bone matrix, a key component of bone, is regulated by a molecule known as transforming growth factor beta. The finding, they say, suggests a possible target for preventing and treating bone fractures associated with aging and genetic diseases.
The study will be reported later this week in the Online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The ability of bone to resist damage depends on the mass,
Researchers have discovered a new drug that raises the level of endocannabinoids–the ’brain’s own cannabis’–providing anti-depressant effects. The new research published in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), suggests the new drug, called URB597, could represent a safer alternative to cannabis for the treatment of pain and depression, and open the door to new and improved treatments for clinical depression–a condition that affects around 20
Bioscience news from the cell biology meeting in San Francisco
Looking through his handmade microscope in 1702, it was Anton van Leeuwenhoek who first described the workings of a nano machine. He observed the rapid contraction of a stalk tethering the cell body of a tiny protozoan, Vorticella convallaria, to the surface of a leaf. Little did van Leeuwenhoek imagine that more than 300 years later, the biological spring that drives Vorticella would set records for speed and power
News from the Cell Biology Meeting in San Francisco
Invasive bacterial pathogens, the Chlamydiae know us very, very well. The Chlamydiae learned to parasitize eukaryotic cells half a billion years ago by reprogramming cellular functions from within. In humans today, chlamydial infections are responsible for a range of ailments from sexually transmitted infections to atypical pneumonias to chronic severe disorders such as pelvic inflammatory disease and atherosclerosis. The Cent
News from the Cell Biology Meeting in San Francisco
Bushwhacking through the cellular jungle, researchers are always relieved to stumble across a known molecular pathway. Imagine their excitement at finding a major intersection in unmapped territory. Antoine Muchir and Howard Worman at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York and their colleagues in France, have discovered a cellular “crossroads” that links the function of the MAP kinase pathway, lo
University and biotech company collaboration prepares MetaChip for technology transfer
Recalls of popular prescription drugs are raising public concern about the general safety of new pharmaceuticals. A collaborative group of researchers says that identifying which drug candidates are toxic early in the discovery process can help prevent harmful pharmaceuticals from being placed on the market in the first place, and they have developed a tool to do it.
Researchers at
Unfortunately, reactions going with extensive calorification and/or participation of unstable components and reaction products are not infrequent in chemistry. Here lies potential hazard of chemical manufacturing. Even minor deviations from technology and simply changes in reagents’ storage or transportation conditions, to say nothing about hazard situations, for instance, sudden power outages, may result in unexpected consequences. Therefore, emergency events evolution in the most inconceivable si
When fighting cancerous growths, it is very important to use internal cellular mechanisms on top of various external impacts on the tumor. Among internal mechanisms is cells’ ability for “suicide” – programmed cell death, which is called apoptosis. The cells resort to apoptosis when something is irreparably broken in them and the cells need to perform self-destruction to avoid causing damage to the entire organism. Apoptosis is executed by intracellular protease enzymes (they are called caspa
Two field-vole species, which are outwardly indistinguishable, behave differently towards human beings. Results of experiments carried out by the specialists of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Lomonosov Moscow State University connect these differences with the exploratory behavior of field-voles. Timorous and incurious common voles (Microtus arvalis) prefers country life, and inquisitive European ground voles (Arvicola terrestris) readily move
Neurobiologists have gained new insights into how neurons control growth of the intricate tracery of branches called dendrites that enable them to connect with their neighbors. Dendritic connections are the basic receiving stations by which neurons form the signaling networks that constitute the brain’s circuitry.
Such basic insights into neuronal growth will help researchers better understand brain development in children, as well as aid efforts to restore neuronal connections
Highly complex biochemical signaling systems tell body cells to divide, to stop growing or to specialize on specific tasks. Among the key cellular communication systems is the Wnt signaling pathway which controls embryonic development and also plays a role in the development of tumors. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszen¬trum, DKFZ) have now been able to close a critical gap in our knowledge of this well-explored sequence of biochemical signals.
Ab
Strictly speaking, the ‘choked’, i.e., inactivated three viruses (A1, A2, B) in the new vaccine will be the same as before. They are included in the vaccine composition on the recommendation of the World Health Organisation. But the additional substances, however, proposed by the researchers, are what make it possible to make this vaccine in tablet form. What is more, believe the authors, this vaccine will be more efficient than all known equivalents. Not because an injection is replaced with a tabl
A major mystery in epilepsy research has been why infants are more prone to seizures than adults and how those seizures progress to chronic epilepsy. Now, researchers have discovered that central to those seizures in the developing brain are neurons triggered by the neurotransmitter GABA. They say their findings could lead to new ways to treat seizures in newborns. Also, they say, their findings suggest that the use of drugs that enhance GABA action may be particularly harmful to the newborn brain.
A new study finds that a gene which plays an important role in immune function, known as toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), may also play a critical role in suppressing chronic lung inflammation and tumor development in mice.
“We know that chronic inflammation predisposes people to many types of cancer,” says NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D. “By using this new information we may be able to suppress chronic inflammation and reduce our Nation’s cancer burden.”
In the Decem
Researchers have known for some time that nuts and seeds are rich sources of phytosterols, a class of plant chemicals that have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels and improve heart health. In what is believed to be the most comprehensive analysis to date of the phytosterol content of nuts and seeds, chemists at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va., analyzed some 27 nut and seed products and found that pistachios and sunflower kernels had the highest levels
Life on Earth may owe its existence to tiny microorganisms living in the oceans, but the effect of human-induced change on the vital services these microbes perform for the planet remains largely unstudied, says a report released today by the American Academy of Microbiology, entitled Marine Microbial Diversity: The Key to Earth’s Habitability.
“Since life most likely began in the oceans, marine microorganisms are the closest living descendants of the original forms of life,” says Jenni
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