Researchers have discovered a novel class of compounds that affects the cell’s garbage disposal system which degrades proteins and opens a window for understanding a vital cell function as well as for treating heart disease and cancer.
The distinctive mechanisms of these compounds are reported in the July 29 issue of Biochemistry and online earlier this month by Dr. Michael Simons, professor of medicine and of pharmacology and toxicology at Dartmouth Medical School and head of ca
Professor Lance Lanyon, Principal of The Royal Veterinary College, Karla Lee, Helen Jessop, Rosemary Suswillo, Gul Zaman from the Department of Basic Sciences at The Royal Veterinary College have shown in their research that the Estrogen Receptor has a fundamental role in bone cells by adjusting the bone architecture to match the loads individuals place on them. Their paper is published in the latest edition of Nature.
The strain imposed by mechanical loading on bone tissue normally stimulat
The scientist from the Institute of Plants and Animals Ecology, Russian Academy of Sciences (Ural Branch), has made a description of the giant dear remains, found in the Ural, and has determined their age. Giant deer Megaloceros giganteus originated as a species in the preglacial epoch, lived through the glaciation period and died out about 8-9 thousand years ago after the climate had become warmer. The remains will help to investigate how the giant dear lived and why this species disappeared. The r
For decades, scientists have hunted for signals that guide nerve cells’ tentacle-like axons, hoping to understand how these cell tips reach out to distant targets. It’s knowledge that might one day help researchers learn how to rebuild nerves lost to spinal cord injuries or diseases like Huntington’s.
Now, a Johns Hopkins team studying a family of proteins best known for repelling axons and inhibiting their growth reports finding one member that unexpectedly promotes axon growth ins
Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) was identified as a novel gene disrupted by a (1;11)(q42.1;q14.3) translocation that segregated with schizophrenia in a Scottish family. Predicted DISC1 product has no significant homology to other known proteins. Here, Dr. Katayama and colleagues in Osaka, Japan, demonstrated the existence of DISC1 protein and identified fasciculation and elongation protein zeta-1 (FEZ1) as an interacting partner of DISC1 by a yeast two-hybrid study. FEZ1 and its nematode homolog
Chemists at Rice University have identified a chemical process for cutting carbon nanotubes into short segments. The new process yields nanotubes that are suitable for a variety of applications, including biomedical sensors small enough to migrate through cells without triggering immune reactions.
The chemical cutting process involves fluorinating the nanotubes, essentially attaching thousands of fluorine atoms to their sides, and then heating the fluoronanotubes to about 1,000 Celsi
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have identified a previously unknown component of the body’s cellular garbage disposal called the ubiquitin system, which is responsible for regulation of cell function by removal of abnormal and unneeded proteins.
Published in the July 8, 2003 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study provides the first description of a molecule called GAIP interacting protein N terminus (GIPN)
Virginia Tech wood scientists hope that their vacuum-drying project will benefit wood pallet and container manufacturers and hardwood sawmill businesses across the nation.
“The vacuum controlling system eliminates the need for a heating system, saves energy, and does not release ozone-depleting chemicals into the earth’s atmosphere,” says Zhangjjng Chen, one the researchers working on the project at the Center for Unit Load and Design in the wood science and forest products depa
In a river valley just southwest of Mexico City stands a small patch of teosinte – a wild, weedy grass thought to be the ancient ancestor of corn. As a gentle breeze blows gene-carrying pollen from a nearby crop of maize to its wild relative, the genetic integrity and even survival of this ancient plant and others could be jeopardized, according to new mathematical models.
The models, described in the July 23 online edition of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London and develo
A team of scientists – including one from Michigan State University – has announced a genomic sequence for the rest of us: mapping the DNA of a grain fungus that wreaks havoc with beer brewing.
The genomic sequence of the fungal plant pathogen, Fusarium graminearum, has been completed, providing scientists a roadmap to combating a fungus that infects wheat and barley crops, rendering them unusable.
“We have enough to do a tremendous amount of good work,” said Frances Trail,
In a study made possible by the sequencing of the human genome, scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago have identified 57 genes involved in the growth of human tumor cells.
Some of these genes appear to be linked with the growth of cancerous cells only – not healthy cells – making them possible targets for new drugs that could halt the spread of disease without necessarily compromising normal processes.
The research relied on a strategy pioneered in the laboratory of I
A simple, quick and accurate hand-held kit which can be taken out into the field to test for toxic chemicals is being exploited by a spin-out company from the University of York.
The BATT (Bioassay Toxicity Testing) device is now being tested by environment agencies, textile industries, water boards, and diagnostic companies involved with pesticide measurement.
Microbiologist Dr Russell Grant was working on a third-year project as an undergraduate at York when the idea of th
Bacteria and viruses are completely different classes of pathogens, and not surprisingly the body uses completely different molecular “receptors” to detect them in order to mount an immune defense.
Paradoxically, while the detection systems are different, the actual immune defenses the body employs to clear the system of viral or bacterial infection are much the same. As are the symptoms–to you or me, fighting off bacteria or viruses can produce the same fatigue, inflammation, or hac
Primary author of several recent studies involving di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and linuron (L) discusses his findings and what they mean for understanding human development.
Over the last ten years, US researchers have observed a marked increase in some male reproductive disorders, including undescended testicles, increased instances of testicular cancer, and decreased sperm count. In the last 20 years the rates for testicular cancer have grown almost five-fold in Denmark, yet neighbo
A group of nuclear-envelope-associated proteins have been found in a plant for the very first time by a team of researchers at Ohio State University. Led by Professor Iris Meier, this new finding show that these proteins (Plant RanGAP and MAF) have in common a nuclear envelope-targeting domain which is unique to plants and distinctly different from sequences found in known animal nuclear envelope proteins.
This finding is significant because it implies that a funadamentally different nuclea
Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers are moving closer to understanding how the global pattern of the skeleton of mammals is formed during development. In an exceptionally demanding series of experiments, the researchers knocked out entire sets of two families of genes suspected in playing a central role in establishing the pattern of the skeleton in the mammalian embryo.
Their findings regarding the “paralogous” gene families known as Hox10 and Hox11 establish that the genes
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