A pair of leading scientists who study songbirds as models for understanding the human brain and how humans acquire language say it’s time for the burgeoning field to begin singing a different tune and study a wider variety of species.
Michael Beecher and Eliot Brenowitz, University of Washington professors of psychology and biology, say that while a great deal of knowledge has been gleaned by studying songbirds over the past three decades, a narrow focus on just a few spe
A new reference standard from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may help genetics labs develop improved methods of searching for a mutant needle in a DNA haystack.
A single DNA molecule carrying part of a person’s genetic code is a chain of basic chemical units called nucleotides. The number of nucleotides can range from about 16,500 in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to several million in nuclear DNA. A key mutation in a DNA strand may involve only a singl
Scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine have discovered the cause of a deadly type of secondary stroke known as cerebral vasospasm.
A constriction of the blood vessels in the brain, cerebral vasospasm usually occurs three to 10 days following a massive brain bleed known as hemorrhagic stroke. Sixty percent of patients who survive the initial stroke develop vasospasm, and 40 percent of them die from it.
Vasospasm, says neurology department
The growth and maintenance of human embryonic stem cells in the absence of contaminated animal products has been demonstrated by University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine researchers in the Whittier Institute*, La Jolla, California.
Published in the April 2005 issue of the journal Stem Cells, the study shows that laboratory culture media enriched by a human protein called activin A are capable of maintaining human embryonic stem cells in a continuous undiffe
Every protein–from albumin to testosterone–is folded into a unique, three-dimensional shape that allows it to function properly. Now Stanford University scientists have developed a simple test that instantly changes color when a protein molecule attached to a gold nanoparticle folds or unfolds. The new technique, which works on the same principle as ordinary pH tests that measure the acidity of water, is described in the March 2005 issue of the journal Chemistry and Biology.
A vital molecular step in cell migration, the movement of cells within the body during growth, tissue repair and the body’s immune response to invading pathogens, has been demonstrated by researchers in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Published in the March 27 online edition of Nature Cell Biology and the journal’s upcoming April print edition, the study describes how a the interaction of alpha4 integrin adhesion receptor with a protein called paxillin creates d
Determining which variants of particular genes patients with epilepsy carry might enable doctors to better predict the dose of drugs necessary to control their seizures, suggest basic findings by researchers at the Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP) and the University College London. Patients often undergo a lengthy process of trial and error to find the dose of anti-epilepsy drugs appropriate for them.
The researchers found that variants of two gen
A particular gene variant that could serve as a predictor for type 2 diabetes has been identified by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Their findings indicated that a variation in the gene ENPP1 was as much as 13 percent more common in people with type 2 diabetes and those at greater risk for the disease. While further studies are needed, researchers said these results suggest that the variant may serve as an important genetic marker in identifying people at risk for
A gene named ATBF1 may contribute to the development of prostate cancer through acquired mutations and/or loss of expression, according to research at Emory University School of Medicine and its Winship Cancer Institute. The findings were published in the online edition of Nature Genetics on March 6. The Emory research team was led by Jin-Tang Dong, PhD, associate professor in the Winship Cancer Institute. Lead author was postdoctoral fellow Xiaodong Sun, PhD.
Although previous research h
Defects give the immune system the green light to attack the pancreas
Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have found genetic regions that, when defective, allow the immune system to attack the pancreas – the first in a series of mis-steps that lead to type 1 diabetes. Armed with these findings, published today, March 22, in the journal Immunity, the researchers are now trying to hone in on the exact genes involved, in mice and in human patients.
“The significance of this s
Chemical compounds consisting of noble gases combined with hydrocarbon molecules – a feat previously thought to be unattainable – have been created as the result of the work of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
This achievement by Benny Gerber, Saerree K. and Louis P. Fiedler Professor of Chemistry, and his associates at the Hebrew University Institute of Chemistry opens the way for further research to produce new chemical compounds in such areas as anesthesiology
Nisin, a commonly used food preservative effectively neutralizes anthrax spores and could be used to decontaminate skin in the event of exposure. Researchers from Biosynexus, Inccorporated report their findings today at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.
“Contamination of human skin with even a few spores may potentially disseminate disease beyond the initial area of attack,” says John Kokai-Kun, a researcher on the study. “There is currently
Using a strategy involving a genetically modified baculovirus and caterpillar cells scientists from Protein Sciences Corporation have been able to speed up a key step in the development of an experimental cell-based influenza vaccine. They report their findings today at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting.
“The bird flu may become the next flu pandemic strain. It could happen at any time,” says Keyang Wang, a scientist at Protein Sciences Corp.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University are developing a novel method of testing exhaled breath to detect infection rapidly after potential exposure to a biological warfare agent. They report their findings today at the 2005 ASM Biodefense Research Meeting.
“We want to have a tool that can help in the emergency room or first responders to triage on site so that people who are infected can get treatment first,” says Joany Jackman, a researcher on the project. “It’s not so har
When bacteria invade the body, a molecule called CD14 binds to substances liberated from the bacteria and initiates the cellular defense mechanisms. In a report published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists in Korea announced their elucidation of three-dimensional structure of CD14 and showed how it is perfectly suited to bind to certain bacterial products.
The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the March 25 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry,
Research in the laboratory of Assistant Professor Frank J. Slack at Yale University has identified a new way that a familiar gene is regulated in lung cancer, presenting new possibilities for diagnosis and treatment. The work is reported in March issues of the journals Cell and Developmental Cell.
The oncogene Ras is out of control in about 20 percent of cancers where it is over-expressed or activated by mutation. According to Slack, a member of the Yale Cancer Center, it is one
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