Findings may help elucidate mechanisms of wake-sleep transitions and epileptic seizures
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that star-shaped glial cells in the brain called astrocytes are directly involved in regulating communication between neurons. A central finding of the study is that astrocytes modulate the level of a signaling molecule called adenosine, which is thought to be important in controlling wake-to-sleep transitions an
Scientists have genetically modified male mosquitoes to express a glowing protein in their gonads, in an advance that allows them to separate the different sexes quickly.
By providing a way to quickly sex mosquitoes, the advance paves the way for pooling large numbers of sterile males which could be used to control the mosquito population.
Research published online today in Nature Biotechnology, shows how a team from Imperial College London have altered male mosquit
Two New Jersey research teams are reporting discoveries about the biological nature of psychiatric disorders that may bring them closer to the ultimate goal of finding cures for complex diseases, such as autism and schizophrenia.
Scientists at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) have unveiled new information regarding the genetic, cellular and neurological bases of suscep
New research shows that a small gene variation that increases the risk of inherited cancer can also arise during the development of spontaneous, or non-inherited, tumors.
The findings, published in the Oct. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggest that the variation might play a fundamental role in the development and spread of cancer in the body, and that the variant could be an important target for anticancer drugs.
The research focused on the
Alzheimer’s disease, a complex neurological disorder, has as one of its hallmarks the presence of senile plaques in the brains of affected individuals. These senile plaques are rich in a toxic amyloid peptide termed Aâ. The mechanisms underlying the production of Aâ are complex, but it is known that this peptide is derived from a larger precursor known as the amyloid precursor protein (AâPP). Interestingly, and of potential therapeutic significance, AâPP can be processed within the cell
Production of p53 in response to DNA damage depends on proteins that bind to a control region of the messenger RNA that codes for this protein, according to St. Jude researchers
Investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered a previously unrecognized mechanism that controls a key protein linked to the cell’s response to stress – a finding that holds promise for new ways to enhance cancer therapies or protect cells from dying after exposure to dam
A University of Colorado at Boulder team has developed the first computer-generated model of a tiny, waterwheel-like molecular rotor that has been harnessed to rotate in one direction at different speeds in response to changes in the strength of an electrical field applied from the outside.
The synthetic molecule features a chemical axle with two attached “paddles” carrying opposite electrical charges, which is mounted parallel to a gold substrate surface, said Professor Josef M
Researchers know that the many different roads to cell suicide all run through mitochondria, but do not know which roads are the ones most traveled by the signals that signify death
The story of how mitochondria are recruited during times of stress to choreograph apoptosis–the cell’s dance of death–is a story that fails to tell which particular set of steps the cells use most often, according to investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the La Jolla In
Ensemble of usual sugars offers clues to controlling inflammation
A collaboration led by the Burnham Institute for Medical Research has found that an antibody which binds to an unusual sugar molecule residing in the gut halts the inflammation seen in Crohn’s disease and other intestinal inflammations. The antibody could prove to be a promising drug target for these common chronic intestinal disorders.
Professor Hudson Freeze, Ph.D., director of Burnham’s glycobio
’Osmolytes’ critical to survival of kidney cells and organisms in extreme environments
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have developed a new way to predict the ability of certain small molecules to protect proteins in the cells of a wide variety of organisms living in extreme environments. The technique, described in a paper published online Oct. 7 in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is a method of calcu
Pediatric surgeon looks to fetal cells to repair birth defects
Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston report using tissue engineering to reconstruct defective tracheas (windpipes) in fetal lambs, first using cells from the amniotic fluid to grow sections of cartilage tube, and then implanting these living grafts into the lambs while still in the womb.
The tracheal repair technique is one of several tissue-engineering approaches pioneered at Children’s that use the
Discovery has implications for wide range of diseases
A team of international researchers has discovered that a specific gene on chromosome 15 regulates inflammation, a finding with implications for a wide range of disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s, and infections. The findings are published in the October 9 online issue of Nature Genetics.
Investigators believe this discovery will be of great interest to biomedical
Enlisted to help fight viral infections, immune cells called macrophages consume virus-infected cells to stop the spread of the disease in the body. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered how macrophages keep from succumbing to the infection themselves. Boosting this mechanism may be a way to speed recovery from respiratory infections.
The researchers found that a specific protein produced in the course of respiratory viral infecti
The scoop on when worms poop, ovulate and swallow
University of Utah biologists found a gene that controls rhythmic events in a worm’s life: swallowing food, laying eggs and pooping.
If the gene is disabled, the worms can’t swallow, so they die. If the gene is partly restored so the worms can swallow, they have trouble reproducing and get constipated.
“We have found a gene that is important for the control of fundamental rhythms in nematode worms,” says
Findings, to be published in Oct. 7 Science, may prompt textbook changes
A team of scientists led by University of Connecticut plant biologist Roberto Gaxiola has discovered an overlooked genetic key to generating plants that are more productive, more drought resistant and can grow in soils low in nutrients. Their work is the first to successfully test in cells a 30-year-old hypothesis that explains the movement of a primary growth and development hormone through plants and is
Scientists have developed a new technique that makes pesticides more effective by removing insects’ ability to exhibit resistance. Their research will extend the effective life of current pesticides, significantly reduce the amount that needs to be sprayed and remove the need for farmers to move to stronger and more harmful chemicals.
Researchers at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire, working with researchers in New South Wales, Australia have developed a way to counter the
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