’Reaper’ genes essential for cell death
In what may be the cellular equivalent of watching the Grim Reaper in action, University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have shown that two “death activator” genes are essential for cell death when Drosophila (fruit flies) metamorphose from larvae to adults. Death of obsolete larval tissue is critical in insect metamorphosis.
The two genes–reaper (rpr) and hid (head involution defective)–act by overcoming the protec
Scientists have uncovered new evidence about a critical cellular pathway that makes tumor blood vessels resistant to radiation therapy. The research, published in the May issue of Cancer Cell, may have significant clinical applications, as a better understanding of this mechanism may open new avenues for enhancing the effectiveness of radiation therapy.
Tumor growth and survival is completely dependant upon having an adequate blood supply. In fact, the sensitivity of a tumor’s blood ve
Using genetically engineered mice, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center have identified a gene that functions as a cancer-causing gene (or oncogene) and may play a key role in the development of leukemia and other cancers in children and adults.
Their study, published in the May 15 issue of Cancer Research, focused on the HMG-I gene, whose protein product is overexpressed in several human cancers, but whose exact role in the formation and development of these diseases had
Current achievements in molecular genetics allow scientists to look not only in the depths of genomes but also back to ancient times. By analysing fossil DNA, Russian biologists have reconstructed the picture of colonisation of the Russian Northern lands. The research was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the RF Ministry of Industry and Sciences.
Today’s molecular biology is capable of analysing DNAs extracted from an ancient material up to 100,000 years old. Ev
An essential switch in the life cycle of the malaria parasite has been uncovered by researchers in England, Germany and Holland.
They have established that to infect mosquitoes that transmit malaria, the parasites depend on a type of molecule normally found in plants, which they have named Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase 4 (CDPK4).
The finding, based on studies of the malaria parasite of rodents, Plasmodium berghei, is described as basic science, but the authors suggest it m
Nature article reports photoreceptors involved in sensing the earth’s magnetic field
Migratory birds, as well as many other animals, are able to sense the magnetic field of the earth, but how do they do it? “A fascinating possibility is that they may actually see the earth’s magnetic lines as patterns of color or light intensity superimposed on their visual surroundings,” said John B. Phillips of Blacksburg, associate professor of biology at Virginia Tech. The results of mor
In an experiment that demonstrates how maps of the genetic codes of simpler organisms can shed light on human disease, a computerized comparison of the complete genetic codes of a type of algae, a weed and humans has led medical researchers to a gene linked to a human illness.
The comparison allowed researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to locate human genes that code for proteins likely to become part of hair-like structures on cells known as cilia or flagel
NYU neuroscientists provide direct evidence that the hippocampus is involved in the representation and retrieval of long-term memories
The formation of new memories and the retrieval of older memories are both evidenced in the hippocampus region of the brain, according to recent research by NYU neuroscientists.
The role of the hippocampus in the formation of new memories has been well-documented, but the contribution of this structure to the representation and retrieval of l
Study could help identify mechanism of magnetoreception in animals and humans
Migrating birds stay on track because of chemical reactions in their bodies that are influenced by the Earth’s magnetic field, a UC Irvine-led team of researchers has found.
The birds are sensitive even to rapidly fluctuating artificial magnetic fields. These fields had no effect on magnetic materials such as magnetite, indicating that the birds do not rely on simple chunks of magnetic material in t
A systematic program of research into the reproductive physiology of killer whales by a team of scientists from SeaWorld, the National Zoological Park, and the Zoological Society of San Diego has culminated in the first live births of any cetacean–the group of marine mammals that includes whales and dolphins–by means of artificial insemination.
In a report set for publication in the journal Biology of Reproduction, the team, headed by Dr. Todd R. Robeck, based at SeaWorld San Antonio, not
’Hyperactive’ antifreeze protein has eluded researchers for more than 30 years
A surprising discovery by Queen’s researchers helps explain why fish swimming in icy sea water don’t freeze.
The team, led by Biochemistry Professor Peter Davies, has identified a new “antifreeze” protein found in the blood of winter flounder enabling the fish to withstand temperatures as low as -1.9 degrees Celsius: the freezing point of sea water. The antifreeze plasma protei
Such research could offer important evolutionary insights into the nature of intelligence in primates
Until now, primatologists believed lemurs to be primitive, ancient offshoots of the primate family tree, with far less intelligence than their more sophisticated cousins, monkeys, apes and humans. But at the Duke University Primate Center, with the gentle touch of his nose to a computer screen, the ringtail lemur called Aristides is teaching psychologist Elizabeth Brannon a startling
Animals often house substantial microbial populations within their bodies. While in some cases the microorganisms are necessary for host survival or reproduction, in the preponderance of cases they are not. It is of great interest to understand whether facultative associations with microorganisms ever benefit the host in lesser ways. Previously, a facultative symbiont was identified in pea aphid which was associated with host plant specialization – there was a dramatic increase in fecundity on clover
At a microscopic level, water molecules behave rather like the needle of a compass. Just as the needle moves when surrounded by a magnetic field (such as that of the Earth), water molecules move slightly in one direction when there is an electric field. Or at least that is what physicists thought till now. Research at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona has shown that, in water trapped in the bubbles of a detergent, it is not quite like that: water molecules have a surprising ability to organize th
A team of investigators at The Scripps Research Institute and its Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology in La Jolla, California has modified a form of the bacterium Escherichia coli to use a 22-amino acid genetic code.
“We have demonstrated the simultaneous incorporation of two unnatural amino acids into the same polypeptide,” says Professor Peter G. Schultz, Ph.D., who holds the Scripps Family Chair in Chemistry at Scripps Research. “Now that we know the genetic code is amenable to expans
Scientists discover a whole new dimension to platelets
Until recently, the story on platelets was pretty simple: tiny blood cells, with limited sophistication because they had no nucleus, and their claim to fame was to be a first-responder to a wound site, to promote healthy clotting and prevent infection. Later scientists theorized platelets might be connected to harmful chronic inflammation, but the links were unclear.
In a paper published in the prestigious scientific jou
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