By injecting a therapeutic gene directly into the brain, researchers have treated a naturally occurring genetic disease in cats. This is the first genetic disease affecting the central nervous system to be successfully treated in an animal larger than mice and rats. If this approach can be successfully applied to humans, say the researchers, it might one day treat an entire class of diseases called lysosomal storage disorders, which cause severe, sometimes fatal, disabilities in about one in
A major step in the development of the vertebrate embryo – the establishment of a back that morphs into a brain, spinal cord and muscles – turns out to be so important that the body uses at least three signals to make sure it happens properly.
The discovery, reported this month in the journal Developmental Cell by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, finally explains an 80-year-old observation that revolutionized the way biologists think about embryonic and fe
A team from the chemistry and biology departments of New York University, in collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), has uncovered a conformational switch–a change in shape in a carcinogen-damaged DNA site–in tumor suppressor genes altered by a known cancer-causing chemical found in cigarette smoke. This finding may open new horizons for understanding the initiation of chemically induced cancers.
The findings appear as the cover story in the latest iss
UCLA biochemists have determined the three-dimensional structure of a major domain of telomerase, the enzyme that helps maintain telomeres – small pieces of DNA on the ends of chromosomes that act as protective caps — allowing DNA ends to be copied completely when cells are replicated.
This is the first major piece of telomerase for which the structure is known. Telomerase plays a key role in most cancers, and this work ultimately may lead to targets for drug intervention, the
Genetically engineered mice closely mimic what happens to people who have dry form of age-related macular degeneration
Researchers at the University of Utah have developed genetically engineered mice that closely mimic what happens to humans who suffer from the juvenile, or dry, form of age-related macular degeneration. The findings are reported in the March 4, 2005 Early Online Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The mice express a mutant ELOV4 gene t
Results Provide End-to-End Experimental Demonstration of Future DNA Sequencing Technology, Lay Groundwork for Human Re-sequencing
Solexa today announced the completion of its first genome sequence, that of the virus Phi-X 174. The company announced genome coverage of 100%, accuracy of at least 99.93% and the detection of at least three mutations subsequently confirmed by conventional DNA sequencing techniques. This accuracy was achieved despite a number of sub-sequences, which are
Researchers at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), in Montreal, have identified a new gene to combat cancer. In a new study, published in the on-line edition of the journal Clinical Cancer Research this week, the researchers document a reduction in the growth of both colon and lung cancer tumors with inhibition of the gene.
The new target gene is called methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, or MTHFR. Researchers were able to inhibit the function of the gene by creating a
Researchers have discovered a fascinating symbiotic relationship between a wasp species and a newly discovered bacterial species – a relationship that potentially sheds light on how bacteria can be successfully utilized by higher organisms in defensive mechanisms against other microbes. In the new work, researchers show that a solitary ground-nesting wasp, the European beewolf, harbors Streptomyces bacteria in unique structures within its antennae and that females utilize these bacterial symbio
By analyzing the relationship between the geographic location of current human populations in relation to East Africa and the genetic variability within these populations, researchers have found new evidence for an African origin of modern humans.
The origin of modern humans is a topic that is hotly debated. A leading theory, known as “Recent African Origin” (RAO), postulates that the ancestors of all modern humans originated in East Africa, and that around 100,000 years ago some modern
Studying phage, a primitive class of virus that infects bacteria by injecting its genomic DNA into host cells, researchers have gained insight into the driving force behind this poorly understood injection process, which has been proposed in the past to occur through the release of pressure accumulated within the viral particle itself.
Almost all phages (also known as bacteriophages) are formed of a capsid structure, or head, in which the viral genome is packaged during morpho
Scientists at Rice University report their findings in PNAS
The question of whether amino acids in sandwich-like proteins are there to stabilize the structure or to speed up the protein-folding process is best answered by “all of the above,” according to researchers at Rice University in Houston. This discovery, reported in today’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could benefit future research on treatments for diseases related to misfolded protei
Microscopic titanium particles weaken the bonding of hip, knee, and other joint replacements, according to research published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the Jacobs School of Engineering. The team demonstrated that titanium implants are safe in large blocks, but at the microscopic level, wear and tear can generate micrometer-sized particles.
“As replacement joints are bec
A single dose of gene-virus combination cured rats of a inherited liver disease in which lack of a gene causes the accumulation of bilirubin –which, untreated, results in jaundice and brain damage, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences.
“This is the first time this disease (Crigler-Najjar syndrome) has been completely cured long term with a single injection in an adult animal,” said Dr. Brendan Lee, assoc
A gene that, in different variants, increases or decreases the level of atherosclerosis has been identified in mice. The corresponding human gene has been shown to play a role in the development of myocardial infarction. The results of the study is published this week on Nature Genetics Online.
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with the Jackson Laboratory in the USA, AstraZeneca and a Japanese research group, have scrutinised an area on chromosome 1 that is
Findings reported in Nature Neuroscience give new understanding to how cells in auditory system organize before hearing develops
Generations of neuroscientists have been indoctrinated into believing that our senses, thoughts, feelings and movements are orchestrated by a communication network of brain cells, or neurons, each responsible for relaying one specific chemical message called a neurotransmitter. Either neurons release a neurotransmitter that excites a neighboring cell,
Women diagnosed with early stage, non–invasive breast cancer who carry the same mutations in two inherited breast/ovarian cancer genes as women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, may benefit from high risk treatment, Yale researchers report in the February 23 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
The inherited breast/ovarian cancer genes are BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are associated with an increased risk of breast and/or ovarian cancer. The results are part
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