Major differences found between genomes of oral pathogen and related spiral-shaped bacteria that cause syphilis and lyme disease
Three centuries after a pioneering Dutch microbiologist first observed the spiral-shaped oral pathogen Treponema denticola, scientists have deciphered the bacterium’s entire DNA sequence and used comparative genomics to cast new light on other spirochete microbes.
The study by scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and collabo
Researchers at EMBL publish breakthrough studies that could lead to a new means of combating the deadly disease
EMBL scientists have identified four mosquito proteins that affect the ability of the malaria parasite (Plasmodium) to survive and develop in the malaria-carrier mosquito (Anopheles). This breakthrough, featured in recent issues of Cell (March 5, 2004) and Science (March 26, 2004), could be used to block the transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans.
“Many r
Yiping Han verifies presence of bacterium in as many as 30 percent of women
A team of researchers, led by microbiologist Yiping Han from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, have discovered that a bacterium (Fusobacterium nucleatum) found in periodontal disease enters the blood, specifically targets placentas and amniotic fluid of pregnant mice and triggers preterm or term stillbirths as well as early death for live-born mice.
The researchers reported t
Discovery of GPR56 sheds light on evolution of frontal lobes
With the identification of the gene responsible for a newly recognized type of mental retardation, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have also discovered what appears to be the key target in the evolution of the frontal lobes of the brain’s cerebral cortex. The findings, reported in the March 26, 2004, issue of the journal Science, offer a key insight into the complex puzzle of human brain deve
Global health threat Cryptosporidium parvum affects humans and animals
University of Minnesota researchers have completed sequencing the genome of an intestinal parasite that affects healthy humans and animals and that can be fatal to those with compromised immune systems, such as AIDS patients. The results will be published in the journal Science on March 25.
The parasite, Cryptosporidium parvum, is considered a major public health threat for which there is currently no know
Texas A&M University researchers are studying the genes of the mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, the carrier for both dengue and yellow fever, hoping to keep deadly mosquito-borne diseases at bay.
Dr. Patricia Pietrantonio, associate professor of entomology with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, is leading a team of researchers studying the hormone-controlled mechanism by which mosquitoes excrete waste.
“This research has far-reaching implications for the discovery of new
Resource should greatly speed gene analysis and discovery
Researchers have produced vast libraries of short segments of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that can be used to turn off individual human and mouse genes to study their function.
The libraries will be made widely available to laboratories studying human biology and disease. The researchers are optimistic that the libraries will become a powerful research tool for gene analysis and discovery.
Two independent research gro
First protein difference between humans and primates that correlates to anatomical changes in early hominid fossil record
In an effort to find the remaining genes that govern myosin–the major contractile protein that makes up muscle tissue–researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have made a discovery that may be central to answering key questions about human evolution.
Published in the March 25 issue of Nature, Penn researchers have found one small
A new study finds that the olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) exhibit activity-dependent survival, a property that may be critical for an animal’s ability to maximize and retain responsiveness to crucial odorants in its environment. The research, published in the March 25 issue of Neuron, finds that a molecular signaling pathway linked to neuronal survival in the central nervous system plays a significant role in odor-induced enhancement of olfactory cell survival.
It is well known that
Dr. Tracey Sutton, a fish ecologist at the HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution in Ft. Pierce, Fla., has discovered a new species in a bizarre and elusive family of deep-sea predatory fish known collectively as dragonfish. The find, reported in the current issue of the journal Copeia, is the first new dragonfish species discovered in more than a decade.
The first specimen of the new species, dubbed Eustomias jimcraddocki, was large, compared to the average pencil-sized dragonfish at abou
In their first human studies of the feasibility of using brain signals to operate external devices, researchers at Duke University Medical Center report that arrays of electrodes can provide useable signals for controlling such devices. The research team is now working to develop prototype devices that may enable paralyzed people to operate “neuroprosthetic” and other external devices using only their brain signals.
While the new studies provide an initial proof of principle that human appl
The culprit behind mad cow disease, a.k.a. bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is the most infamous mammalian form of prions. Prions are misfolded proteins that are capable of growing, replicating, and being passed on to daughter cells – that is, they are by themselves heritable. Beyond their disease manifestation, prions also occur naturally in some organisms (such as yeast) and may play important roles in their growth and development. Now, Osherovich and colleagues have identified the amino acid seq
A protein released from the lungs of a developing mouse fetus initiates a cascade of chemical events leading to the mother’s initiation of labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found.
The research, which has implications for humans, marks the first time a link between a specific fetal lung protein and labor has been identified, said Dr. Carole Mendelson, professor of biochemistry and obstetrics and gynecology and senior author of the study. The paper appear
Scientists studying the elusive western gorilla observed that neighboring social groups have surprisingly peaceful interactions, in contrast to the aggressive male behavior well documented in mountain gorillas. By analyzing the DNA from fecal and hair samples of the western gorilla, scientists uncovered evidence that these neighboring social groups are often led by genetically related males. These findings suggest connections between genetic relationships and group interactions, parallels with human
System for guiding cell migration, adhesion has biomedical and regenerative medical applications
Scientists at the University of Toronto are taking regenerative medicine to a new dimension with a process for guiding nerve cells that could someday help reconnect severed nerve endings.
Molly Shoichet, a professor of chemical engineering and applied chemistry at the Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), has devised a new method that helps guide cell mi
A novel application of microarray technology, where up to 30,000 whole genomes are printed on a single slide, is described in the journal BMC Microbiology this week. The ‘Library on a Slide’ will help researchers compare the genetic make up of large numbers of bacterial strains to discover which genes are responsible for causing disease.
Even within one species of bacteria, the genetic content can vary by as much as 25% between individual strains. These differences can determine how virulent
Feedback
