The FANTOM Consortium for Genome Exploration Research Group and Karolinska Institutet announce the publication of “Antisense Transcription in the Mammalian Genome” in Science, September 2nd 2005.
It has been known for over half a century that our genetic material occurs as a double strand of DNA molecules. Only one of these strands – the so-called sense strand – encodes for proteins, the building blocks of our cells that in turn make up our bodies. Then what about the other DN
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Bacterial meningitis is the most common nervous system infection and a major cause of childhood death. In a new study appearing in the September 1 print issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Kelly Doran and colleagues from UCSD investigate the mechanisms responsible for the penetration of the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) by Group B Streptococcus (GBS), the bacteria that causes meningitis in newborn infants.
The authors find a novel GBS gene, called iagA
Could be target to block CNS infection
A single molecular anchor that allows bacteria to invade the nervous system may hold the key to treating many types of bacterial meningitis, a University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine study has found.
By blocking the molecule’s anchoring ability, researchers may be able to find a way to stave off the most common serious infection of the central nervous system and a major cause of childhood death and disa
Scientists at Scripps Research and GNF demonstrate power of new generalized screen to find function of noncoding RNAs
A team of investigators at The Scripps Research Institute and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) have discovered a way to screen hundreds and potentially thousands of “noncoding” RNA molecules to discover their functions within cells.
Unlike traditional RNA, which is copied from DNA to code for a protein, these noncodi
Scripps Florida professor Claes Wahlestedt describes startling results of massive project
The FANTOM Consortium for Genome Exploration Research Group, a large international collection of scientists that includes researchers at The Scripps Research Institute’s Florida campus, is reporting the results of a massive multi-year project to map the mammalian “transcriptome” in this week’s issue of the journal Science.
The transcriptome, or transcriptional landscape as it is s
Prostate cancer is a cruel disease. Left untreated, prostate cancer cells often metastasize, or spread, to bone where they form fracture-prone tumors that are extremely painful.
More than 80 percent of men who die from prostate cancer die with metastatic disease in their bones. But scientists know very little about how migrating prostate cancer cells set up housekeeping in bone tissue and produce the dense bony lesions characteristic of prostate cancer.
Now, new research
Holds promise for treating eye disease and cancer and for healing injuries
Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute have discovered that a particular immune cell contributes to the growth of new lymph vessels, which aid in healing. This cell, known as a macrophage, is called in by the body during the wound healing process. The discovery of this new role for the macrophage, published in the September 2005 Journal of Clinical Investigation, may ultimately inspire innovative t
Thanks to the doggedness of a Cornell University marine biologist, researchers have discovered that one of Maine’s most important fishing areas has been invaded by an alien tunicate, or sea squirt, that could threaten the commercial fishing industry there.
A rapid assessment survey for marine invasive species in Cobscook Bay in August found a type of sea squirt — Didemnum sp. — that can damage ocean floor habitats and commercial species that live there. The survey was conceived
Scientists from the University of Delaware have made a significant advance in the study of small ribonucleic acids (RNAs), discovering 10 times more small RNAs in the plant Arabidopsis (a weed of the mustard family) than previously had been identified. The advance is reported in the Sept. 2 issue of Science magazine.
The research was conducted over the course of the last year and a half by teams from the laboratories headed by Pamela J. Green, Crawford H. Greenewalt Endowed Chair
The immunosuppressive drug mycophenolate mofetil, used to prevent rejection of transplanted hearts, kidneys and livers, may also be effective in controlling inflammatory eye diseases, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins’ Wilmer Eye Institute.
“The drug seemed to be effective even in patients who had failed treatment from other immunosuppressive drugs,” says lead author Jennifer E. Thorne, M.D., an assistant professor of ophthalmology.
Physicians gav
How insects avoid getting diseases they can carry and spread to humans is the focus of research at Kansas State University.
Mike Kanost, university distinguished professor of biochemistry and head of the department of biochemistry, and researchers in his lab are studying how insects protect themselves against infection. They think the answer lies in insects’ blood, specifically proteins.
The researchers have made progress in understanding which molecules are present
Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh and colleagues report today in the online issue of Molecular Cell that the “Rett Syndrome protein”, MeCP2, only binds to genes with a specific sequence of nucleotide bases. This knowledge will aid in the identification of the genes that are regulated by the gene MECP2. This work was supported, in part, by the Rett Syndrome Research Foundation (RSRF).
Rett Syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurological disorder diagnosed almost exclusively in gi
Scientists from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) have again achieved a breakthrough in research on hepatitis. The researchers, connected to Ghent University, have discovered the function of one of the most important proteins involved in hepatitis. Using a mouse model, they have shown that the protein prevents inflammation of the liver as well as the death of liver cells. This discovery can form the basis for the development of a new therapy in the battle against hepat
Several neurologically based afflictions, such as Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer diseases, have been correlated to a higher than normal presence of a specific type of enzymes, called transglutaminases (TGase) in the human body. TGases, whose function is to catalyze covalent bonds among proteins, are commonly found in several different human tissues.
In the presence of unusually high levels of these enzymes, some proteins tend to form denser clusters than normal
Stealth nano particles may some day target tumor cells and deliver medication to specific body locations, according to Penn State chemical engineers.
“Mainly we have focused on chemotherapy drugs,” says Dr. Michael Pishko, professor of chemical engineering and materials science and engineering. “But others are considering using this delivery system to deliver genes in gene therapy.”
The researchers first produce nano-sized powders of the drug they wish to deliver and encap
It’s not a new material, but a new application of silver hollandite could make a big impact in diesel emissions control. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed an inexpensive method of synthesizing nano-sized silver hollandite and have found the material has unique catalytic properties that can completely oxidize nitrogens of oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
These chemical reactions caused by the silver hollandite are key to reducing pollutants i
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