Common factor behind myocardial infarction, rheumatism and MS
A common gene variant has been identified as the risk factor behind a number of common diseases by research scientists at Karolinska Institutet and the Centre for Molecular Medicine (CMM), Stockholm, Sweden. Up to a quarter of the population could be affected.
Researchers in the fields of cardiovascular disease, rheumatism and MS have together shown that there is a common risk factor for these conditions. It is
Microarrays provide a method of quantifying the expression and order of genes in a particular genome — acting as a surrogate measure of cell physiology, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Genetics.
“Microarray data are good phenotypes to determine the order of genes and are a good surrogate measure of cell status,” said Dr. Gad Shaulsky, associate professor of molecular and human genetics at BCM.
M
Ephrins may influence learning
A Burnham Institute study has found that one of the cell’s largest families of signaling molecules, called ephrins, which are known to regulate the development of nerve cells, also controls nerve cells’ ability to engulf critical chemicals and proteins for learning and memory. These findings, the first to link these molecular semaphores to this important nerve cell function, appear in the May issue of Nature Cell Biology, published in adva
Today sees the launch of BioModels, the world’s first database of annotated biological models. BioModels is the result of a collaboration led by the European Bioinformatics Institute (UK) and the SBML Team, an international group that develops open-source standards to describe biological systems. Other contributors include the Keck Graduate Institute (USA), the Systems Biology Institute (Japan) and Stellenbosch University (South Africa).
Even the simplest living organisms
Yale University School of Medicine researchers have found a way to exercise a little mind control over fruit flies, making the flies jump, beat their wings, and fly on command by triggering genetic “remote controls” that the scientists designed and installed in the insects’ central nervous systems, according to a new report in the 8 April issue of the journal Cell.
Susana Lima and Gero Miesenböck hope that the remote control system will provide a valuable way to study how nerve-cell
Newly recognized process solves 50-year-old mystery
Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that a recently discovered biological process known as sumoylation — until now thought to be active only in the nucleus — also occurs near the cell’s surface where it regulates at least one and possibly many kinds of proteins, providing a novel target for the development of new drugs.
The discovery, published in the 8 April 2005 issue of the journal Cell, answers a que
The kidney is important for regulating fluid and electrolyte balance, and it also secretes proteins that have important biological roles. In a study appearing online on April 7 in advance of the print publication of the May 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Jianchao Xu and colleagues from Yale University searched for novel proteins secreted by the kidney.
The researchers have identified a new protein, called renalase. Renalase is secreted by the kidney into the blood and re
Scientists are making strides in understanding how the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum disguises itself to avoid detection by the immune system. The findings could lead to the development of new drugs for a disease that causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least one million deaths each year, most of them in developing countries.
Individuals infected with malaria cannot develop an effective immune response because the parasite that causes the disease is a mast
The scientists have been able to lure tropical fish – similar to clownfish like film star Nemo – on to artificial reefs by playing recordings of fish and shrimp noises through underwater speakers. A paper in Science journal suggests the technique could be used to restock depleted fishing grounds near reefs, or to populate newly established conservation areas. The study, which focuses on damselfish and cardinalfish in the Pacific Ocean, also warns that ’unnatural’ noises created by shipping and d
Researchers using an extremely fast and accurate imaging technique have shed light on the tiny movements of molecular motors that shuttle material within living cells. The motors cooperate in a delicate choreography of steps, rather than engaging in the brute-force tug of war many scientists had imagined.
“We discovered that two molecular motors — dynein and kinesin — do not compete for control, even though they want to move the same cargo in opposite directions,” said Paul Sel
Part of the answer lies in the secretory aptitude of these tissues, say Scripps research scientists
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting the results of a recent study that addresses why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to “amyloid” diseases, which include Alzheimer’s disease and a cluster of ailments called the familial amyloidoses.
The familial amyloidoses, on which the researchers focused their study, are caused
New research shows that a virus designed to kill cancer cells can significantly increase the survival of mice with an incurable human brain tumor, even in some animals with advanced disease.
The study used a genetically altered herpes simplex virus that infects and reproduces only in malignant glioma cells and kills them. The altered virus leaves normal tissues unharmed. Viruses that kill cancer cells are known as oncolytic viruses.
The findings are published in the April
A gene that is changed in many forms of cancer has also been found to show similar changes in some forms of autism, according to preliminary research.
The gene, known as PTEN, was found to be changed, or mutated, in three of 18 people with larger than normal heads and autism spectrum disorder. Autism spectrum disorder includes classical autism, Rett syndrome and other conditions. The study was led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. J
Bacteria acquired up to 90 percent of their genetic material from distantly related bacteria species, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson.
The finding has important biomedical implications because such gene-swapping, or lateral gene transfer, is the way many pathogenic bacteria pick up antibiotic resistance or become more virulent. “To maintain effective treatments and develop new antibiotics, it’s important to monitor the rates and patterns of la
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have set a new standard in the design and engineering of nuclear hormone receptor-based genetic on-off switches, without causing new problems or aggravating existing ones.
The new technique, published online ahead of regular publication by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, combines the advantages of directed evolution and computationally driven rational design, said Huimin Zhao, a professor in the depa
An evolutionary arms race between predatory garter snakes and their newt quarry is turning out to be something of an illusion. At the molecular level, another battle rages. And in this second, miniature realm, it’s the newt who’s the aggressor.
Biologists at Indiana University Bloomington, Utah State University and the University of Utah present evidence in this week’s Nature that a toxin produced by the rough skinned newt, Taricha granulosa, has forced several e
Feedback
