For many years, DNA and proteins have been viewed as the real movers and shakers in genomic studies, with RNA seen as little more than a messenger that shuttles information between the two. But researchers from Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that small RNA molecules called microRNAs regulate thousands of human genes–more than one third of the genome’s protein-coding regions. In other words, a class of molecule once releg
Sequence may contain genes controlling stature and tumor development
Scientists report on Friday in the journal Genome Research that they have successfully cloned and characterized a previously intractable DNA sequence: a 554-kilobase-pair genomic segment near the centromere of the human Y chromosome. This sequence contains eight putatively active genes that could be implicated in sex-associated height differences and gonadal tumor development.
This pericentromeric ga
Tobacco smoke triggers the production of COX-2, a cellular protein linked to the development and progression of cancer, according to research published in the January 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.
Tobacco smoke also promoted rapid cellular production of two proteins that initiate an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) driven cascade leading to the production of COX-2, the report stated.
The report by Andrew J. Dannenberg, M.D., director of cancer preventi
B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) is the most common leukemia in adults and is characterized by the progressive accumulation of mature B lymphocytes in the blood, bone marrow, and lymphatic tissues. It is believed that in the early stages of disease, B-CLL is the result of an undefined defect in the programmed signals that trigger normal B cell death (apoptosis). Livio Trentin and colleagues from Padua University School of Medicine now demonstrate that high levels of expression and alter
Findings could lead to new vaccines and antibacterial strategies
A previously unknown network of immune cells has been discovered in the mammalian gastrointestinal system by a research group based in the Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The finding, reported in the January 14 issue of Science, could lead to better understanding of how the immune system recognizes and responds to dangerous bacteria and viruses and to new
Finding someday may help treat hearing loss, neurodegenerative disorders
Selectively turning off a protein that controls the growth and division of cells could allow regeneration of the inner ear’s hair cells, which convert sound vibrations into nerve impulses. The discovery by a research team based at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) runs counter to current beliefs about these cells and could eventually lead to ways of preventing or treating hearing loss. The report wil
A research team has discovered clusters of aluminum atoms that have chemical properties similar to single atoms of metallic and nonmetallic elements when they react with iodine. The discovery opens the door to using ’superatom chemistry’ based on a new periodic table of cluster elements to create unique compounds with distinctive properties never seen before. The results of the research, headed jointly by Shiv N. Khanna, professor of physics at Virginia Commonwealth University and A. Welford Ca
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered the molecular sequence of events in mice that turn a juvenile heart into an adult heart capable of responding to increased workloads.
Published as the cover story in the January 14, 2005 issue of the journal Cell, the study identifies a protein called ASF/SF2 as a regulator of a calcium enzyme responsible for heart contraction and tissue growth. Mice born with mutated or absent ASF/SF2
Cryptococcus study sheds light on how fungi cause disease in persons with impaired immunity
In a project that already has benefited an important field of biomedical research, scientists have deciphered the genomes of two closely related strains of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungus whose importance as a human pathogen has risen in parallel with the HIV/AIDS worldwide epidemic and the increased use of immunosuppressive therapies. The study, posted online January 13 in Science Express
Work should boost studies of hair-cell regeneration
Researchers have discovered that deletion of a specific gene permits the proliferation of new hair cells in the cochlea of the inner ear — a finding that offers promise for treatment of age-related hearing loss. This type of hearing loss is caused by aging, disease, certain drugs, and the cacophony of modern life. It is the most common cause of hearing loss in older people.
The research team, which included Howard Hugh
Nervous system may regulate aging processes
A class of anti-seizure medications slows the rate of aging in roundworms, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. When exposed to drugs used to treat epilepsy in humans, worms lived longer and retained youthful functions longer than normal. Because the drugs affect nerve signals, the researchers’ observations suggest that the nervous system influences aging processes. The findings are rep
SLU scientist spearheaded multi-center effort
Following a long-term collaborative effort, scientists have deciphered the genomes of two strains of a fungus that can lead to brain swelling and death in those with compromised immune systems. Results were published at 2 p.m. Jan. 13 in the online “express” version of the journal Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/sciencexpress/recent.shtml
The fungus, which causes severe inflammation of the brain, is called Cryptococcus
A scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) has published the results of an EPA-funded clam embryo study that supports her hypothesis that, when combined, the pollutants bromoform, chloroform, and tetrachloroethylene—a chemical cocktail known as BCE—can act synergistically to alter a key regulator in nerve cell development. While scientists have previously studied the effects of these pollutants individually, this is the first time anyone has demonstrated that BCE’s components can w
Finding how the fowl-borne bacteria Campylobacter jejuni makes at least a million Americans miserable for a week each year is on the plates of two Medical College of Georgia microbiologists.
Raw and undercooked poultry and meat, raw milk and untreated water are sources for Campylobacter, the most common bacterial cause of diarrhea in the United States, according the U.S. Public Health Service.
But finding how these bacteria that happily co-exist with chickens and turkeys
Researchers at Brown Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital have shed new light on the activation of a protein key to the development of cancers, particularly breast and prostate cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States.
The team of cell biologists has discovered a new chemical modification that activates STAT3. This so-called signaling protein is important for embryonic growth and development, helping cells grow, duplicate and migrate. In adulthood, S
Professor Ricardo Azevedo’s research on the simplicity of cell lineages explained in Nature magazine
Shedding light upon evolution, a University of Houston professor studying cell lineages now finds surprising simplicity in the logic of animal development. Ricardo Azevedo, an assistant professor in the department of biology and biochemistry, specializes in how evolution changes the way animals develop. His recent findings using computational biology to reveal the surprisi
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