Researchers from Havard University have discovered the presence of a previously unidentified microbial community inside the porous stone of the Maya ruins in Mexico that may be capable of causing rapid deterioration of these sites. They present their findings at the 104th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
“The presence of a previously undescribed endolithic microbial community that is different than the surface community has important implications for the conservation
Experiments by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have revealed it might be possible for randomness in gene expression to lead to differences in cells — or people, for that matter — that are genetically identical.
The researchers, HHMI investigator Erin K. O’Shea and colleague Jonathan M. Raser, both at the University of California, San Francisco, published their findings May 27, 2004, in Science Express, the online edition of the journal Science.
According to O
Discovery may lead to insights into cancer, birth defects, fertility and neurological disorders
A cellular structure discovered 125 years ago and dismissed by many biologists as “cellular garbage” has been found to play a key role in the process of cytokinesis, or cell division, one of the most ancient and important of all biological phenomena.
The discovery of the function of the dozens of proteins harbored within this structure – which are necessary for normal cell division – by
Raindrops and proteins seem to have a lot in common. This has been shown in a new study by scientists at Umeå University in Sweden. The principle behind the formation of raindrops is very similar to how proteins fold. This knowledge is vital to our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases like ALS.
These findings have been published in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and have caught the attention of the international research community. The
The three-dimensional structure of a DNA-damaging, bacterial toxin has been visualized by scientists at Rockefeller University. The molecular image of the toxin, published in the May 27 issue of the journal Nature, shows exactly how the toxin is put together at the molecular level and damages human DNA. The structure also could help scientists to design new drugs to fight the wide variety of bacteria that use this toxin.
The toxin, called cytolethal distending toxin, or CDT, is used by bact
A study by scientists with the Veterans Affairs’ Neurobiology Research Laboratory and UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute shows that brain cells containing the chemical histamine are critical for waking.
Detailed in the May 27 edition of the journal Neuron, the findings show that the cessation of activity in histamine cells causes loss of consciousness during sleep, while cessation of activity in other brain cells–those containing the brain chemicals norepinephrine or serotonin–causes lo
The discovery of millions of micro-microbes surviving in a 120,000-year-old ice sample taken from 3,000 meters below the surface of the Greenland glacier will be announced by Penn State University scientists on 26 May 2004 at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans, Louisiana. The discovery is significant because it may help to define the limits for life on Earth as well as elsewhere in the universe, such as on cold planets like Mars.
According to Penn S
Scientists have identified what may be a completely new way in which bacteria defend themselves against their hosts. The bacteria have stolen a key defensive gene from the very animals that they are invading – and are now using it against them. This research from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is featured in today’s issue of the open access journal Genome Biology.
EMBL Team Leader Toby Gibson points out that such a discovery has clear medical implications. “This study give
Alcoholism tends to run in families, suggesting that addiction, at least in part, has an underlying genetic cause. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a gene linked to alcohol dependency.
Laboratory mice deficient in the gene were found to consume excessive amounts of alcohol, preferring ethanol to water and evincing highly anxious behavior in a maze test.
Results of the study are published in the May 26 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
Good news for red wine drinkers
It’s well known that drinking red wine in moderation can have some health benefits, mainly attributed to a compound called resveratrol. Now, scientists at the University of Virginia Health System have discovered how.
They found how resveratrol helps to starve cancer cells by inhibiting the action of a key protein that feeds them. The protein, called nuclear factor- kappa B (NF-kB), is found in the nucleus of all cells and activates genes respo
New studies conducted at Pace University have indicated that White Tea Extract (WTE) may have prophylactic applications in retarding growth of bacteria that cause Staphylococcus infections, Streptococcus infections, pneumonia and dental caries. Researchers present their findings today at the 104th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
“Past studies have shown that green tea stimulates the immune system to fight disease,” says Milton Schiffenbauer, Ph.D., a microbiologist
Evidence could indicate bacteria-like etiology of vascular calcification
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found they could isolate and culture nanoparticles from filtered homogenates of diseased calcified human cardiovascular tissue. These cultured nano-sized particles were recognized by a DNA-specific dye, incorporated radiolabeled uridine, and after decalcification, appeared via electron microscopy to contain cell walls.
The research paper, entitled “Evidence of Nanobacteria
By employing experimental evolution to study the effects of mating within and between different insect populations, researchers have gained insight into the ways in which sexual selection can affect fitness and influence various aspects of evolutionary change.
As a consequence of investigating the short-term fitness consequences of mate choice, researchers had largely come to believe that sexual selection is beneficial. However, conflicts between the sexes are ubiquitous and could erode fitn
A pair of scientists has proposed a new model for behavioral development among social insects, suggesting that a higher male susceptibility to disease has helped shape the evolution of the insects’ behavior.
What might be called the “sick-male” theory has been proposed by animal behaviorists Sean O’Donnell of the University of Washington and Samuel Beshers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and appears in the current issue of Proceedings Biological Sciences, publish
Researchers have identified the first gene linked to the productivity of the stem cells that produce sperm in mammals. The discovery was made by applying the latest laboratory methods to a strain of mice restored from embryos frozen since the early 70s. The findings, which could someday have implications for infertility, contraception, and stem cell transplantation therapy, will be published in the June issue of Nature Genetics.
What researchers are trying to do is unravel the mystery of the
Researchers at Georgetown University have developed a novel technology to precisely measure the sensitivity of nerve fibers that wire up the brain during development. Through use of this technology, they discovered that these fibers, or axons, possess an incredible sensitivity to molecular guidance cues that direct the axon’s route to its desired destination in the brain. Their findings are described in the June issue of Nature Neuroscience.
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