The largest-ever experimental analysis of duplicated genes provides insight into mechanisms of evolution
When Mother Nature creates an identical copy of a gene in an organism’s genome, the duplicated copy is usually deleted, inactivated, or otherwise rendered nonfunctional in order to prevent genetic redundancy and to preserve biological homeostasis. In some cases, however, gene duplicates are maintained in a functional state. Until now, the biological and evolutionary force
For the rats of Hamelin, it was the Pied Piper’s tune. For the destructive sea lamprey of the Great Lakes, it’s a chemical attractant, or pheromone, released by lamprey larvae living in streambeds. Following the pheromone trail, adults are drawn to streams favorable for spawning. Researchers have long wanted to identify the pheromone so it could be synthesized and used to control the sea lamprey, which laid waste to Great Lakes fisheries of lake trout and other species in the mid-20th century. Now
The molecular roots of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as asthma, arthritis, and multiple sclerosis (MS) have been discovered by a team of researchers led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. They say their findings may point to ways to effectively treat these diseases – if not stop them before they start.
In a lead article in the November issue of Nature Immunology (released online on Oct. 2), the scientists report finding a novel type of “T helper”
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and at the Wadsworth Center in New York have identified a gene defect in mice resulting in a range of abnormalities, from cyclical hair loss and skin cancer to severe problems in normal skin development. The work may lead to improved treatments for skin injuries, including burns, and might have implications for diseases such as eczema and psoriasis, as well as certain cancers.
Linda Siracusa, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology an
A scientist from the University of Manchester has discovered the first identified droplets of spider blood in a piece of amber up to 20 million years old.
Two droplets of blood, technically known as haemolymph, have been preserved in the amber which also contains the spider – Filistatidae – a family commonly found in South America and the Caribbean.
The droplets are the first identified examples of spider blood ever found in an amber fossil. It is possible the blood cou
Marty Holmes, a landscaper from Stockton, Calif., had never heard of a regulatory T cell before his doctor suggested that it could be the key to helping him survive his cancer.
Holmes recalled that he didn’t bat an eye when the doctors proposed an experimental radiation and drug procedure to help boost these cells, even though it had been tested almost solely in mice. “As long as there was any percentage of hope, I just shot for that,” he said of the decision he made last ye
Even after they have paired with a male, the female North American barn swallow still comparison-shops for sexual partners. And forget personality; the females judge males by their looks — the reddish color of the males’ breast and belly feathers.
If the male’s red breast is not as dark as other males in the population, the female is more likely to leave him and then secretly copulate with another male, according to a Cornell University study featured on the cover of th
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers first to discover that a protein can provide the coding information for DNA replication
Since the discovery of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, the paradigm for DNA replication has stated that the DNA itself codes for the appropriate pairings for replication. In other words, if a guanine base is on the original strand of DNA then its partner, a cytosine base, will pair to it on the replicated strand. In a
Getting out of the pond is the problem
A “meniscus”–the crescent-shaped and barely visible slope literally at water’s edge–can mean life or death to an insect the size of a speck of dust. Water bugs that tiny must summon the energy to “surf” themselves up the problematic interface between liquid and solid in ponds and other wet places to escape predators or reproduce.
Menisci are all around us, “but we don’t notice them because they’re so small, only a
While a chattering crowd of various species of bacteria is essentially a microbial tower of Babel, certain snippets of their chemical conversation are almost universally understood. HHMI researchers have found that bacteria of different species can talk to each other using a common language – and also that some species can manipulate the conversation to confuse other bacteria.
The interspecies crosstalk and misdirection could have important consequences for human health, said
Dr. Maki Asano and colleagues have discovered a novel protein motif that regulates Drosophila cell cycle progression by targeting the origin recognition complex (ORC1) for degradation by the ubiquitin ligase, APC. The ORC destruction box, or the “O-box” as is it called, may serve a more widespread role in the proteosomal degradation of various cell cycle factors in other eukaryotes, as well.
This work reveals a heretofore unknown mechanism for the degradation of Drosophila ORC1 by the APC
New genes tied to lifespan extension in yeast have been identified by researchers from UC Davis and Harvard Medical School.
Drastically reducing calorie intake, or caloric restriction, is known to extend the lifespan of species including yeast, worms and rodents. Previous research linked a gene called Sir2 with lifespan extension due to caloric restriction, but worms and yeast that lack Sir2 also live longer when put on a tough diet, showing that some other genes must be at work
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have linked alterations in a gene, called Rsf-1, to the most deadly ovarian cancers. The scientists say the discovery is the first to establish a role for the gene in ovarian cancer and may lead to a test that can predict, early on, which patients will develop aggressive disease.
“We hope new therapies can be tailored to target Rsf-1, in the same way that Herceptin for breast cancer attacks the Her2/neu gene pathway,” says Tian-Li
3-Dimensional Imaging of Motor Proteins Provides New Insights to Molecular Mechanics of Cell Motility, Muscle Contraction
Scientists from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the University of Vermont have captured the first 3-dimensional (3D) atomic-resolution images of the motor protein myosin V as it “walks” along other proteins, revealing new structural insights that advance the current model of protein motility and muscle contraction. The culmination of four years o
Interferon — a critical protein that mediates the body’s defense against a wide variety of infectious agents and tumors — may soon have greater therapeutic value as the result of a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
“Essentially, we found a way to grease the gears that drive the interferon signal,” says Michael J. Holtzman, M.D., the Selma and Herman Seldin Professor of Medicine and director of the Division of Pulmonary and
Adult stem cell therapy quickly and significantly improves recovery of motor function in an animal model for the ischemic brain injury that occurs in about 10 percent of babies with cerebral palsy, researchers report.
Within two weeks, treated animals were about 20 percent less likely to favor the unaffected side of their bodies and experienced about a 25 percent improvement in balance, compared to untreated controls, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.
Their fi
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