New York University chemists have employed a computer simulation whose results have enhanced scientific understanding of the DNA transcription process. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, appears in the June 7 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Previous research has indicated that chromatin–a chromosome’s substance consisting of histone proteins and DNA–exhibits salt-dependent conformations. Specifically, chains of nucleosomes
Biological assays on computer study molecular basis of cellular behavior
Scientists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory have constructed a computer simulation that allows them to study the relationship between biochemical fluctuations within a single cell and the cell’s behavior as it interacts with other cells and its environment.
The simulation, called AgentCell, has possible applications in cancer research, drug development and combating b
When gene is disabled, young flies don’t grow up
University of Utah researchers showed that a fruit fly gene is crucial for determining when juveniles begin to mature into adults, and how the transformation initially proceeds. Understanding this process in humans may help explain how adorable children become surly teenagers.
When the DHR4 gene is disabled, fruit flies prematurely begin metamorphosis – maturation from an immature larva to a sexually active adult. It is the
A male fly’s sexual courtship of a female fly is a complicated business of tapping, singing, wing vibration, and licking, but a single gene is all that is needed to produce this complex behavior, according to new research published in this week’s issue of the journal Cell.
The gene encodes the Fruitless protein. Male and female flies carry different versions of the fruitless protein, as a result of sex-specific splicing of the mRNA. The male form of Fruitless is c
Finding could have implications for Alzheimer’s disease
Abnormal prion proteins are little understood disease agents involved in causing horrific brain-wasting diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in people, mad cow disease in cattle and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk. Now, new research suggests that a variant form of abnormal prion protein–one lacking an “anchor” into the cell membrane–may be unable to signal cells to start the lethal disease process, accordi
The genomic DNA sequencing of an extinct Pleistocene cave bear species–the kind of stuff once reserved for science fiction–has been logged into scientific literature thanks to investigators from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI). This study, published in the June 2 online edition of the journal Science, has set the research community’s sights on traveling back in time through the vehicle DNA sequencing to reveal the story of other extinct species including our ne
Cells sent to fight infections in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients actually enhance the development of permanent bacterial infections, according to researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center. Infections with the bacteria Pseudomonas are a major cause of sickness and death in cystic fibrosis patients. The findings, published in the June issue of Infection and Immunity, suggest new treatment strategies for patients with cystic fibrosis.
“Pseudomonas can use the
Pain-blocking effect lasted six weeks in animals; first clinical trial in humans planned
Remember how it felt the last time you burned your finger on a hot stove? Imagine what it’s like to have that burning pain in your hands or feet all the time and know there’s virtually nothing you can do about it. It’s called neuropathic pain, and it’s a common complication of many diseases and medical conditions, especially diabetes. Drugs have little effect on this type
Early surgical removal of the spleen combined with antiangiogenic cancer therapy may halt the progression of leukemia, according to scientists at Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre.
The research, published today in Blood, is the first to show the combination of two factors secreted from the environment of the spleen is important in the promotion of leukemia.
Dr. Yaacov Ben-David, a Senior Scientist in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Sunnybro
A report by Yale scientists in the journal Cell sheds new light on how the protein Ro, a major autoantigen in patients with autoimmune disease, recognizes misfolded RNAs, creating a RNA quality control system for cells.
The quality control process in the cell has been well-studied for the DNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) components for making proteins. However, little was known about what cells do with abnormal or misfolded RNAs that are not translated into protein — such as ribos
For Tadeusz Molinski, the sea is full of riches — and he does not mean oil fields or fisheries. Molinski, a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Davis, is searching for new treatments for cancer, infectious diseases and other conditions that could be made from natural products in the soft bodies of some of the ocean’s simplest inhabitants.
“Three quarters of the world is covered by oceans, and we’ve only dipped below the surface,” Molinski said.
Researchers eager to test laboratory findings in patient trials
A novel strategy devised by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists has proved highly effective in killing drug-resistant multiple myeloma cells in the laboratory and could open a new form of attack on the deadly blood cancer, they report.
Highly encouraged by the findings, the researchers hope to move rapidly to clinical trials of the therapy, a combination of the drug Velcade and an experimental compound
Without use of antibiotics
A method for controlling bacterial activity without antibiotics by interfering with their communication process has been developed by a young Hebrew University of Jerusalem researcher.
For his work, Adel Jabbour will be presented with a Kaye Innovation Award on June 6 during the 68th meeting of the Hebrew University Board of Governors. Jabbour, a Ph.D. student, conducted his work under the supervision of Prof. Morris Srebnik of the School of
Nature abounds with examples of bacteria that can thrive in extreme situations—surviving on toxic chemicals, for instance. In a paper published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) May 25, University of Michigan researchers show how some bugs manage to do that: by harnessing other potentially harmful chemicals known as free radicals to degrade the toxins they live on.
Such insights could lead to new ways of engineering bacteria to clean up environmental
Scientists have for the first time mapped multiple complex biological interactions in a yeast cell in a simple graphical form, enhancing our understanding of how the networks of interaction by which components of a cell influence one another. New research published in the Open Access journal Journal of Biology shows that such maps can also reveal cryptic interactions and enable accurate predictions about interactions that haven’t been observed experimentally.
A living cell contains
Some century-old chemistry could have a strong impact on important issues in biosensors and other nanotech devices, according to a Purdue University research group.
A team led by Alexander Wei has shown that amines, a large and important class of organic molecules, when mixed with carbon disulfide, can bond to gold more robustly than thiols, which are commonly used materials for giving new functions to metal surfaces. Gold surfaces are often used as baseplates of sensors and in nanom
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