USC researchers uncover mechanism of class- switching in antibodies
A team of scientists from the Keck School of Medicine of USC has, for the first time, described a new, stable DNA structure in both mouse and human cells-one which differs from the standard Watson-and-Crick double helix and plays a critical role in the production of antibodies, or immunoglobulins.
The research will be published online in the journal Nature Immunology this week, and will appear in print in the jou
May lead to sharper picture of human genome as well
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have used a powerful gene-mapping technique to produce the clearest picture yet of all the genes of an animal – the microscopic worm Caenorhabditis elegans (better known as C. elegans). Scientists believe the same technique may be used to bring the current, somewhat blurry picture of the human genome into sharper focus.
The study, which will be posted on the Nature Genetics website (
Researchers in Oxford University’s Department of Human Anatomy have identified a factor involved in the regeneration of neurons in the central nervous system. The discovery and use of this factor could provide the basis for a reparative treatment for both brain and spinal cord injuries.
Unlike lower vertebrates, mammals have lost the ability to repair damage to the brain and spinal cord. Since peripheral nerves are capable of repair, this is thought to be not so much an intrinsic inability o
Is there life on Mars? It’s possible, but it may not be Martian, say scientists. New research, published in the open access journal BMC Microbiology, suggests that conditions on Mars are capable of supporting dormant bacteria, known as endospores. This raises concern about future attempts to detect Martian life forms because endospores originating on Earth could potentially hitch a ride to Mars and survive on its surface.
Soil on Mars is thought to be rich in oxidising chemicals that are known
Scientists have been studying mutant plants that take an unusually long time to flower. At the SEB conference on Thursday 3 April, researchers from Horticulture Research International will present the results of their investigation into a RING finger protein (RING stands for Really Interesting New Gene) involved in regulating when a plant will flower.
Dr Stephen Jackson and colleagues have been working with mutants that have altered flowering times. One particular mutant that takes a long ti
Many shark species, including the great white and mako, swim at speeds greater than their morphology should allow. Dr. Adam Summers (University of California) has discovered they achieve this speed by changing the stiffness of their body by pressurising their thick, inflexible skin. “This study could help answer questions about the evolution of the shark, especially why sharks abandoned a bony skeleton in favour of a cartilage structure,” said Dr. Summers who will be presenting his findings on Frida
The broad barred goby is a coward. A sweeping statement you may say, but even though the goby is poisonous to its predators, the cowardly fish still spends almost all its time cowering in an inaccessible coral home 20-30 cm in diameter. A new study, to be presented to the Society for Experimental biology on Wednesday 3rd April, reveals how the fish has adapted to extremely low oxygen concentrations (hypoxia) in order to avoid venturing out from its coral den.
Dr. Göran Nilsson, from the Univ
Scientists Identify a Protein Channel that Mediates the Body’s Ability to Feel Frigid
A group of researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) have identified and isolated a novel protein that mediates the body’s ability to sense cold through the skin.
In an article that will appear in this week’s issue of the journal Cell, the group describes the “ion channel” protein, called ANKTM1, which is the
Study shows surprisingly sophisticated nesting behavior in common marsh birds
Coots, the Rodney Dangerfields of the bird world, just might start to get some respect as a result of a new study showing that these common marsh birds are able to recognize and count their own eggs, even in the presence of eggs laid by other birds.
The counting ability of female coots is part of a sophisticated set of defense mechanisms used to thwart other coots who lay eggs in their neighbors
Ammonia is a problem. All animal cells produce it, but how do they get rid of it? New research by Dr Dirk Weihrauch (University of Illinois at Chicago) to be presented on Wednesday 2 April (session A2.2) suggests that the crab may have evolved a rather novel solution.
For us mammals, the key to getting rid of waste ammonia is to detoxify it into urea in the liver. Marine organisms can employ the rather simpler solution of allowing the toxic ammonia to diffuse into their environment. However,
In a new study published in the April 1, 2003 issue of Genes and Development, scientists at University Health Network’s Advanced Medical Discovery Institute (AMDI)/Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI) have shown that a molecule called caspase-8 plays a key role in the immune system response, by controlling how T-cells are activated to respond to infections.
T-cells are white blood cells that recognize and fight off viruses and bacteria. When T-cells encounter these foreign invaders they build up
EMBL researchers discover a mechanism by which cells monitor estrogen
The hormone estrogen is recognized by most people because of its important role in women’s reproductive cycles. It also has other functions in the body: it drives some types of cells to replicate themselves, and it has been linked to the development of tumors. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg have now described a new model of how cells constantly monitor their exposur
Until now, scientists believed that a single area in the brain generated breathing rhythm, enabling breathing to speed up or slow down to adapt to the body’s activity and position. But UCLA neurobiologists have discovered that two systems in the brain interact to generate breathing rhythm — a finding that may translate into better treatment for sleep apnea and sudden infant death syndrome. The journal Neuron reported the findings in its March 6 issue.
“We originally thought that only one bra
Unique Hand-Over-Hand Rotation Transports Molecules Through Cells
Within every neuron is a vast protein trail system traversed by a small protein engine called Myosin V. The long-standing question of how this molecule moves may have finally been resolved by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Their findings, presented in this week’s issue of Nature, show how myosin V can move ’hand-over-hand’ on tracks, composed of a protein called actin,
Using a laser beam scalpel so fine it could inscribe words on the surface of a fly egg, researchers have snipped their way to a new understanding of a key process in a fruit fly’s embryonic development. The process, called dorsal closure, is the complex mechanism by which the embryonic skin of the fruit fly Drosophila knits itself together to protect its innards from the outside world.
Understanding this seemingly arcane process is important because dorsal closure uses molecular and cellular
Sometimes finding out what doesn’t matter in science is just as important as finding what does.
That’s the case for a study that looked at the function of the viral protein, MTase1. Researchers found that the rate of virus replication in tissue culture was not affected when MTase1 was removed.
The finding is important as researchers look for what proteins are essential and how they function in cells, potentially providing answers to everything from insect control to the co
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