In the September 1 issue of G&D, Dr. Michael Brunner and colleagues have uncovered the molecular mechanism whereby temperature affects circadian patterns in the fungus Neurospora. The scientists investigated thermosensitive splicing of the central clockwork protein, FREQUENCY (FRQ), into both long (l) and short (s) isoforms depending upon temperature.
They found that at low temperatures, intron 6 of frq mRNA is preferentially spliced, resulting in the exclusion of the l-FRQ translation ini
Using transgenic mice specifically lacking the PTEN gene in endothelial cells, Dr. Akira Suzuki and colleagues demonstrate that PTEN is required for normal cardiovascular development and that its loss enhanced tumor angiogenesis.
To be published in the September 1 issue of G&D, this new data suggests that PTEN regulates vascular growth factor (VGF) signaling to modulate cardiovascular development and post-natal neovascularization. Loss of PTEN in murine endothelial cells results i
Biologists testing a mathematical model of the mechanism birds use to control the growth of complex feathers found that plumed feather structures involve the coordination of at least two genes that activate and that inhibit barb growth.
“Understanding these mechanisms of feather growth gives a whole new perspective on the unique beauty of feathers,” said Richard Prum, senior author on the study. Prum is the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology, and Curator of Ornitho
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have found that interferon, used for 30 years to treat blood cancers, multiple sclerosis and hepatitis, selectively kills colon cancer cells when combined with another standard chemotherapy agent. New studies in cell lines suggest that the combination tactic, which targets a common gene pathway in colon cancer cells, could be more potent than either drug alone, and has fewer side effects.
“Instead of killing a tree by chopping it down,
Markers could help track response to new therapies, protective strategies
A survey of the genome of patients with Huntington’s Disease (HD) has identified potential markers of the progression of this devastating neurological disorder. Researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (MIND) found a set of genes that are expressed at higher levels in blood samples from people with HD than in samples from controls. The expression of these genes also ro
Scientists at the MUHC have discovered a gene that controls the speed at which patients develop tuberculosis–the first time such a gene has been discovered for this disease. The new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) this week provides a new view of the mechanisms underlying the development of tuberculosis and may contribute to public health efforts aimed at containing the disease.
“About one-third of the world’s population is infect
Large-scale computer simulations have pinpointed a tiny change in molecular structure that could account for drug resistance in Streptomices pneumoniae, the organism that causes childhood pneumonia and claims 3.5 million lives a year, mainly in developing countries. Such knowledge could be invaluable in designing new drugs that are effective against the drug resistant strain.
Experiments to find out how changes at the molecular level are causing this resistance are difficult and, so far,
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined that stem cells in a certain region of the brain may be the source of a particular type of incurable brain tumor and may be implicated in other types of brain cancers as well.
The research, conducted in mice, appears in the August issue of the journal Cancer Cell. The findings support growing evidence that adult stem cells may play a role in the development of some forms of cancer, said Dr. Luis Parada, senior author o
Using mini gene and new systemic approach treated animals were significantly improved, lived longer
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh report the first study to achieve success with gene therapy for the treatment of congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) in mice, demonstrating that the formidable scientific challenges that have cast doubt on gene therapy ever being feasible for children with muscular dystrophy can be overcome. Moreover, their results, published in this we
Croton plant compound combats a second cancer: pancreatic
Rutgers researchers halted prostate cancer in laboratory animals using a compound derived from a Southeast Asian shrub whose leaves produce a poison ivy-like skin rash (ur.rutgers.edu/medrel/viewArticle.html?ArticleID=3837). Now they have achieved the same kind of success with pancreatic cancer.
The cancer-fighting compound, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate and generally known as TPA, is found in an oil drawn f
It took almost 10 years for Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D., a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Rockefeller University, to find a postdoctoral fellow who shared her curiosity for the direction of cell divisions in the skin. Then Terry Lechler, Ph.D., came along and the result is a new paper published online last week in Nature detailing how asymmetric cell divisions are essential for skin development. Their findings challenge long standing ideas of how skin forms and functions and is one of
Meat and bone meal (MBM) contains mineral elements essential for all organisms, typically 6-8% Nitrogen (N) and 5-6% Phosphorus (P). Phosphorus is essentially short lived and non renewable. It is estimated that currently the world’s naturally occurring stocks of P will only last for 50-150 years. The amount of P in MBM corresponds to less than 10% of the P-requirement of the entire needs of German agriculture, or approximately a third of the requirement of mineral P-fertilisers.
Last
Lymph circulates in our bodies through a complex network of lymphatic vessels, of which little is known. This network is, however, of major importance for the support of the immune system and the fluid in our body. Researchers from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) connected with the Catholic University of Leuven, are the first to indicate that this network can be studied with the help of tadpoles. This accelerates research of the lymphatic vessel network. With tadpoles
Pre-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) splicing is an integral step in gene expression, removing introns that would otherwise disrupt the coding potential of gene transcripts. As published in the August 15th issue of G&D, Drs. Tommaso Villa and Christine Guthrie at UCSF have identified a novel splicing fidelity factor, as well as provide additional evidence for a two-step model of pre-mRNA splicing.
The researchers found that deletion of the yeast gene ISY1 reduces the efficiency of the first step o
The same family of chemical signals that attracts developing sensory nerves up the spinal cord toward the brain serves to repel motor nerves, sending them in the opposite direction, down the cord and away from the brain, report researchers at the University of Chicago in the September 2005 issue of Nature Neuroscience (available online August 14). The finding may help physicians restore function to people with paralyzing spinal cord injuries.
Growing nerve cells send out axons, long
Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have discovered a link between a prominent developmental gene and neurovascular dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease.
The gene plays a major role in the growth and remodeling of vascular systems. But, in brain cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease, expression of the gene is low, the scientists found, revealing a new piece of the Alzheimer’s puzzle.
In laboratory studies, the scientists also showed that restorat
Feedback
