Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that a protein they discovered three years ago in the male reproductive tract is a potent anti-bacterial agent.
In addition to protecting the male against invading bacteria, the protein may aid fertilization by protecting sperm from harmful organisms encountered in the female reproductive tract.
A report of the study, now online, will be published in the July issue of the journal Endocrinology. Designated DEFB1
Looks can be deceiving, the saying goes, and the same can be said of animals in the marine environment. To the casual observer, it would appear that the mighty great white shark and the common tuna don’t have a lot in common. In fact, just the opposite is true, according to new research led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and their colleagues in Germany.
In the first exploration of muscle dynamics in live lamnid sharks (a
If DNA can be compared to an architect who gets all the glory for designing the building, RNA can be compared to the engineer who often goes unrecognized, but is needed to turn the blueprints into a real three-dimensional, functional and safe structure. RNA has numerous functions in a cell, including translating the genetic blueprints found in DNA and catalyzing reactions in the cell to build proteins.
In order to carry out its functions, strands of RNA molecules will bind with other RNA mo
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers at Harvard University have discovered that insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas that are attacked in type 1 diabetes are replenished through duplication of existing cells rather than through differentiation of adult stem cells.
Although the experiments, which were done using mice, do not rule out the possibility that there are adult stem cells in the pancreas, the researchers say that they do suggest strongly that embryonic stem cell
Results published in May 6 Issue of Nature
It has taken more than 50 years to accumulate the current body of knowledge on Escherichia coli, a bacterium which is one of the best studied organisms in biology. Now, bioengineers at the University of California San Diego have integrated this knowledge into the first genome-scale model of the gene regulatory system in E. coli. The computational model helps to define the rules governing cell function and quickly enabled an exponential increa
Genetic testing identifies illnesses that might be linked to our genes. It can help recognise hereditary diseases, tailor cures to an individual’s genetic make-up and develop new drugs. But its use also has important ethical implications.
At a conference on “Human genetic testing: what implications?” organised by European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin in Brussels today and tomorrow, a High Level expert group will present a report and 25 recommendations on how genetic testing can be
What’s a little male fish’s secret weapon for attracting the lady fish? Something some guys but few other males in the animal kingdom have thought of: It acts like a good dad.
Sand gobies, small fish native to the European coast, are among about 20 percent of fish families worldwide that display some form of care for eggs or hatchlings. But in experiments reported in the current issue of the journal Behavioral Ecology, a team that includes a University of Florida scientist reports
Certain types of cells from fat tissue can repair skull defects in mice, say researchers at Stanford University Medical Center. Because this type of healing process does not depend on the use of embryonic stem cells or gene therapy, it may one day allow doctors to use a patient’s own unmodified cells as building blocks to heal fractures, replace joints, treat osteoporosis or correct defects in bone growth or healing.
“These cells are from you, for you and by you,” said Lucile Packard Child
Because they target and track deadly brain tumor cells – even those that migrate within the brain – neural stem cells appear to be effective “delivery systems” to transport cancer-killing gene and immune products. But not all neural stem cells take on this tracking role.
Now researchers at Cedars-Sinai’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, using mouse and human cells, have defined a subset of neural stem cells that have this tumor-tracking potential. They also have identified a bioc
Staying close to mother helps baby dolphins swim – but they can’t keep together when fleeing from fishing boats
Why has the introduction of dolphin-friendly tuna-fishing methods not led to a recovery of dolphin populations? A new study shows how chase by tuna fishermen may sever the link between mother and baby dolphins, to disastrous effect.
Young dolphins keep up with their mothers, who are more powerful swimmers, by adopting the ideal position to get a ’free ride’ in th
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) announces today the publication of a high-quality draft genome sequence of the white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium. These are the only known microbes capable of efficiently degrading the recalcitrant aromatic plant polymer lignin, one of the most abundant natural materials on earth. White rot fungi such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium play a pivotal role in the carbon cycle–the circulation of carbon from the atmospher
Findings published in current issue of Nature Cell Biology
Adult stem cell transplantation offers great therapeutic potential for a variety of diseases due to their ability to replenish diseased cells and tissue. While they are unique in this ability, it remains a challenge to effectively treat disease long-term with stem cells because of our inability to grow them in the laboratory. Defining the molecular switch in the stem cell replication process, or cell cycle, is a key step to st
In a finding that deepens our understanding of epigenetic regulation, researchers at the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology in Vienna have identified a novel protein in Arabidopsis that may help so-called short guide RNAs and silencing effector proteins target specific DNA sequences for modification.
The ’nuclear side’ of RNA interference (RNAi) is increasingly recognized as an important part of RNA-mediated gene silencing pathways. Short RNAs and proteins of the R
In a finding that broadens our understanding of how the immune system can detect infection, researchers have identified a previously unappreciated way in which bacteria can be recognized inside our cells.
Many bacteria cause disease by invading cells and creating a safe niche in which to replicate. Cells respond to the infection by activating the immune system, and a chief challenge for bacteria is to avoid immune detection. Prior research had shown that bacteria inside the cytosol (the cel
In mammals, the endogenous daily pacemaker that regulates circadian rhythms like sleep and wakefulness is localized to a defined site in the brain, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is composed of many neurons whose circadian activities are in synchrony with one another. By exposing rats to a very short day/night schedule – a regimen that effectively pushes the limits of the SCN’s ability to set the clock to day length – researchers have discovered within the SCN two sub-clocks that norma
An important aspect of human vision is the ability to attend to objects or events appearing in our peripheral vision without shifting our gaze. This way of effectively looking out of the corner of the mind’s eye is thought to be particularly important for alerting us to danger. Researchers have made the seemingly paradoxical discovery that even though eye movement itself is actually dispensable for such an attention shift, eye muscle function is nevertheless required for this ability to reflexiv
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