Dutch researcher Annelieke Franke has discovered that the aging of the brain adversely affects the fertility of female rats. The scientist suspects that her research will provide insights into fertility problems of women over the age of 30.
Franke studied relatively young subfertile rats. Although the pituitary gland and ovaries of these rats still functioned normally, their brains had already started to function differently. This led Franke to conclude that the ageing of the brain reduces f
Fly genetics may increase understanding of human hearing disorders
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin Medical School have found genetic evidence linking humans and fruit flies in a new way: through their hearing. The link offers the future possibility that the insect’s auditory system may serve as a model for understanding human deafness and other hearing disorders.
The scientists found that a mutated fruit fly gene controlling hearing and the mutated human coun
Purdue University biologists have determined the structure of the West Nile virus, a development that could greatly augment our understanding of the virus’ life cycle.
Using cryoelectron microscopy and advanced imaging techniques, the Purdue team has determined the orientation of the major surface proteins in a West Nile viral particle. Because these proteins are instrumental in allowing the virus to bind to and invade a host cell, the research could be a step forward in combating the
Genes and behavior go together in honey bees so strongly that an individual bee’s occupation can be predicted by knowing a profile of its gene expression in the brain, say researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
This strong relationship surfaced in a complex molecular study of 6,878 different genes replicated with 72 cDNA microarrays that captured the essence of brain gene activity within the natural world of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Even though most of th
Professor Ana Wünsch Blanco has presented her PhD, at the Public University of Navarre, on the application of molecular technologies in the identification and enhancement of the cherry fruit tree.
The application of molecular technologies in the identification and enhancement of the cherry tree is not something new. In fact, the varietal identification of fruit species has been accompanied, in the past few years, by the appearance of DNA markers. This has enabled an investigation of the geno
Cyclacel Limited, the UK-based biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it had entered into an agreement with MRC geneservice for the distribution of its proprietary Drosophila RNA interference (RNAi) collection. This agreement will allow access for MRC geneservice’s academic and commercial clients to the Cyclacel collection, for gene identification and validation purposes.
The Cyclacel Drosophila RNAi set covers some 13,605 genes defined in the FlyBase Drosophila genome database. The
The molecular mechanisms that may assist the tumor suppressing gene Rb2/p130 in blocking the progression of lung cancer cells has been clearly identified for the first time according to a study by researchers at Temple University’s Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine.
The results of their study, “pRb2/p130 target genes in non-small cell lung cancer cells identified by microarray analysis,” appear in the Oct. 9 issue of Oncogene (http://www.nature.com/onc/).
Scientists at the University of Chicago have demonstrated that sleeping has an important and previously unrecognized impact on improving people’s ability to learn language.
Researchers find that ability of students to retain knowledge about words is improved by sleep, even when the students seemed to forget some of what they learned during the day before the next night’s sleep. This paper, “Consolidation During Sleep of Perceptual Learning of Spoken Language,” is being published i
Concerns about the ethics of using embryos created to treat infertile couples for stem cell research is discussed by researchers at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester in this week’s BMJ.
Although the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 allows the creation of embryos for research in the United Kingdom, the House of Lords Select Committee on stem cell research reported in February 2002 that embryos should not be created unless there is a demonstrable and exceptional need that cannot be met
The thymus, a once overlooked glandular structure just behind the top of the sternum, has gained increasing attention from scientists in the past two decades because it is where disease-fighting T-cells mature.
Especially in AIDS patients, T-cell count is a relative indicator of the body’s ability to fight disease. Until recently, however, researchers have understood little about how T-cells are generated.
Now, thanks to what a researcher at the University of Georgia calls a
Humans Share DNA That Helps Mice Move Ears, Eyes, Whiskers
University of Utah researchers have identified genes that ensure nerves develop in the correct part of the brain so mice can roll their eyeballs sideways, wiggle their whiskers, pull their ears back and blink their eyelids. The genes are common to all mammals, and so they likely help control human facial expressions such as smiles and frowns.
“In this study we looked at what nerves are made in a particular part of th
Duke University Medical Center researchers have linked elevated levels of a specific heart protein in elderly hearts to a decrease in the pumping ability of the heart.
Since levels of this protein, known as G-alpha-i, are also elevated in patients with congestive heart failure, the researchers believe that not only do they better understand why the heart’s pumping ability decreases with age, but that there may be a pharmacological approach to prevent this age-related decline.
A complete molecular-scale picture of how plants convert sunlight to chemical energy has been obtained at Purdue University, offering potential new insights into animal metabolism as well.
Using advanced imaging techniques, a team of Purdue biologists has determined the structure of the cytochrome, a protein complex that governs photosynthesis in a blue-green bacterium. While their work does not immediately suggest any industrial applications, it does reveal a wealth of information not onl
To the average person, the turkey genome may seem to be a lot of “gobbledygook.” But a just-published study in the journal, Genome, will help to ensure that the turkey that we “gobble down” at our Thanksgiving feasts will be a bird that is truly best of breed.
For the first time, researchers from the University of Minnesota and Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms in California have collaborated to produce the first genome map, or genetic blueprint, of the domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo).
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have found a novel way to boost the paltry survival rate of cloned mammals: When two genetically identical cloned mouse embryos are combined, the aggregate embryo is considerably more likely to survive to birth.
A team from Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine reports the results in the Oct. 1 issue of the European Molecular Biology Organization Journal.
“At the blastocyst stage, an early embryonic stage just prior to implantation,
Affymetrix Announces Commercial Launch of Single Array for Human Genome Expression Analysis
— More than 1 million probes analyze expression level of nearly 50,000 RNA transcripts and variants on a single array the size of a dime —
Affymetrix, Inc., (NASDAQ: AFFX) today launched its new GeneChip® brand Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 Array, offering researchers the transcribed human genome on a single commercially available catalog microarray. The HG-U133 Plus 2.0 Array analyzes
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