Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have designed a potential roadmap to use a biosynthetic pathway taken from a common microorganism to produce compounds that could serve as precursors to explosives or components in everyday devices such as liquid crystal displays or anti-cancer agents.
In a presentation at the 227th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Illinois doctoral student Wenjuan Zha reported how the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway of Brevibact
The psychoactive ingredient of the drug cannabis exerts its effects on the human brain by activating proteins known as cannabinoid receptors. Dr. Maurice Elphick of Queen Mary, University of London has uncovered the first evidence that cannabinoid receptors may not be unique to humans and other vertebrates.
The genome of the sea- squirt was recently sequenced, revealing a cannabinoid receptor gene in an invertebrate for the first time. This means that these receptors were present in the com
Researchers identify first gene variant that appears to increase risk of autism in significant portion of the population
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine are first to strongly link a specific gene with autism. While earlier studies have found rare genetic mutations in single families, a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry is the first to identify a gene that increases susceptibility to autism in a broad population.
Approximat
A first-of-its-kind x-ray microscope being built for the Advanced Light Source (ALS) of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) holds forth the promise of “cat scans” for biological cells, and other unprecedented capabilities for cell and molecular biology studies. The new microscopy resource also promises a better understanding of human diseases at the molecular level and possibly new discoveries for treating those diseases. Now, researchers with Berkeley Lab and the University of
Research in mice examines how embryo protects itself from oxidative stress
Mouse embryos missing a gene that aids in the repair of DNA damage are at greater risk of developing birth defects, say U of T scientists. The finding has implications for research into the cause of birth defects in humans.
The gene, also found in humans, produces an important protein called ATM which senses DNA damage caused by reactive oxygen species and directs other proteins to repair it. Reactive
Adding a small molecule, dubbed a “molecular midwife,” researchers increased the rate of DNA formation in a chemical reaction 1,000 fold over a similar reaction lacking a midwife. The discovery is an important step in the effort to trace the evolution of life back to the earliest self-replicating molecules. The results are reported in the April 2 edition of the German chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie.
“We are working to uncover how molecules similar to RNA and DNA first appeared on Earth
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and Stanford University report today the completion of the sequencing of human chromosome 19, the most gene-rich of all the human chromosomes. This achievement is described in the April 1, 2004 edition of the journal Nature.
“Culminating 18 years of research, this partnership exemplifies DOE’s commitment to advancing our understanding of the complex interplay between our human health and the environment,” said Energy S
Researchers at Northwestern University have devised a method to induce embryonic stem cells to develop into bone marrow and blood cells. Injecting the stem cells into the bone marrow cavity of mice whose bone marrow cells had been depleted restored production of blood cells, including cells of the immune system, which normally are created in the bone marrow.
As reported by Richard K. Burt, M.D., and colleagues in April issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine, the method was effective e
Chemists at Ohio State University and their colleagues may have settled a 70-year-old scientific debate on the fundamental nature of ice.
A new statistical analysis mechanical theory has confirmed what some scientists only suspected before: that under the right conditions, molecules of water can freeze together in just the right way to form a perfect crystal. And once frozen, that ice can be manipulated by electric fields in the same way that magnets respond to magnetic fields.
Are longer sperm more successful than shorter sperm in the race for life? This is one of the questions Dr. Matthew Gage (University of East Anglia) will be addressing on Wednesday 31st March 2004 at the annual SEB meeting in Edinburgh (29th March – 2nd April 2004). Dr. Gage will present evidence that sperm speed, size and shape all matter when it comes to male success in sperm competition.
Sperm competition is a widespread phenomenon that occurs when sperm of more than one male compete to fe
A single strand of plant or animal DNA may contain tens of thousands of genes, each programmed to produce a specific protein essential for the growth or survival of the organism. The challenge for geneticists is to isolate individual genes and determine their function – a painstaking process often requiring years of laboratory trial and error.
Now an international research team has discovered a technique that dramatically streamlines this process for certain kinds of genes. Developed by sc
Biochemists have performed detailed structural studies that reveal for the first time how an enzyme key to DNA replication stalls when an error occurs, to allow it to be corrected. Without such instantaneous braking, such mistakes in DNA replication would wreak havoc on DNA replication, killing the cell.
To their surprise, the scientists observed how the enzyme, DNA polymerase, retains a “short-term memory” of mismatches, in some cases halting itself past the point of the mismatch, so that
First comprehensive proteomic analysis of how proteins change as an animal develops
Carnegie Mellon University scientists have performed the first comprehensive proteome analysis of protein changes that occur in a developing animal, making surprising findings that could require scientists to revise standard thinking about how proteins orchestrate critical steps in embryonic development.
Their findings could one day provide a sensitive way to measure how drugs or environmental
The findings could potentially lead to a better understanding of the role of stem cells in the development of colon cancer
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have uncovered a novel pattern of gene expression in the stem cell-rich bottom of tiny “crypts” in the tissue lining the colon. By identifying these patterns, the scientists hope to be able to identify mechanisms through which stem cells contribute to the development of colon cancer.
“Having a genetic signature f
High quality outcomes allow researchers to identify cancer-related genetic changes that span years
For the first time, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have demonstrated the ability to extract RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples archived for up to five years. What’s more, the technology used retrieves high-quality samples, allowing researchers to identify cancer-related genetic changes. Accepted as a “late-breaking” abstract, the research was presented to
Ordinarily, the cell membrane prevents invasion by foreign genetic material, which is why genetic engineers often have to use a pipette and forced air to jab a new piece of a gene through the cell wall into the genome in order to carry out gene therapy or introduce particular attributes into a crop or organism.
But an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech has figured out how to chaperone DNA across cell membranes. Amanda Rudisin of Lucinda, Pa., a senior in biology, will present her team&#
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