Duke University Medical Center researchers have developed a new statistical genetic “fishing net” that they have cast into a sea of complex genetic data on autistic children to harvest an elusive autism gene.
Moreover, the researchers said that the success of the approach will be broadly applicable to studying genetic risk factors for other complex genetic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
In this case, the gene, which encodes part of a brain neurotr
Insect Antibiotic, Cecropin A, Bypasses Outer Defenses to Kill Bacteria From The Inside
For antibiotics, the best way to beat bacterial defenses may be to avoid them altogether. Researchers at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that Cecropin A, a member of a family of antibiotic proteins produced by insects, may kill bacteria and avoid resistance by entering bacterial cells and taking control of their genetic machinery.
While most antibiotics kil
Although sweet, bitter and umami (monosodium glutamate) tastes are different, researchers are finding that information about each of these tastes is transmitted from the various taste receptors via a common intracellular signaling pathway.
The identification of a common pathway runs counter to widespread belief among some researchers in the taste field who have long held the view that the different tastes require distinct machinery within the cell to transduce their signals to the brain, wh
New technique tracks RNAs associated with the protein responsible for Fragile X
The process of turning genes into protein makes the insides of cells terribly crowded and complicated places. Signals tell machinery to transcribe the DNA of genes into messenger RNA (mRNA) whose translation into protein has to be coordinated with everything else that is happening within the cell. Fortunately, there are RNA binding proteins to organize mRNAs. These proteins are so critical that the loss of
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have identified an over-active gene and the molecular events it triggers to cause acquired cases of pulmonary hypertension, a form of high blood pressure in the lungs that kills about one percent of the population each year.
The findings, published in the February 6, 2003 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, offer the first specific molecular targets for development of new therapies.
“Although
’We consider these cells conditionally alive’, explains Professor Vladimir Repin, leader of the research team, ’because they were fixed in formalin to preserve after extracting them from the mammoth body in the field. However, the inner structure of these cells is undamaged, so we suggest that the rest frozen tissues contain similar cell layers, which could be defrozen’. The sensational finding was made by Oleg Taranov, a member of the research team.
The story is as follows. Last su
Scientists at the John Innes Centre (JIC), Norwich have discovered the gene that gives freshly turned soil its distinctive smell. A smell, it is believed, that enables camels to find water in the desert. The ‘earthy’ smell is caused by geosmin, a chemical produced by a common bacterium, Streptomyces coelicolor, that is found in most soils. The discovery of the gene that produces geosmin is reported in the International science journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.
Stanford University Medical Center researchers have found that a recently discovered gene regulates HDL (high density lipoproteins) cholesterol, also known as “good” cholesterol. The study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could lead to new therapies for heart disease, said lead author Thomas Quertermous, MD.
“This is a significant and unexpected finding, and the gene is going to be a real target for the prevention and treatment of heart disease,” sai
The Purdue University research team that recently created a tiny motor out of synthetic biological molecules has found further evidence that RNA molecules can perform physical work, a discovery that could advance nanotechnology and possibly solve fundamental mysteries about life itself.
Purdue’s Peixuan Guo has discovered how viral RNA molecules bind an energy-bearing organic molecule known as ATP. While linking these two substances might seem to create no more than a longer string of
Research undertaken by Professor Einar Árnason at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik and published in the January 2003 issue of Annals of Human Genetics highlights the inaccuracy of claims that Icelanders are a ’genetically homogenous’ population.
Professor Árnason explains in his article: “Recently, statements have been made about a special ’genetic homogeneity’ of the Icelanders that are at variance with earlier work on blood groups and allozymes.” Iceland has been said to be an “islan
Tequila is the national drink of Mexico and is also hugely popular worldwide. Now a Mexican student has come to England to study the unusual properties of tequila plants.
Postgraduate student Ivan Saldana Oyarzabal, from Guadalajara, which is 50km from the town of Tequila, is studying Agave tequilana and its unusual behaviour at the University of Sussex.
“These agave plants grow in extreme environments and they have a very particular behaviour,” says Ivan. “They are important plants
’Best laid plans of mice and men’
Using both the mouse and human genomes, a computer scientist at Washington University in St. Louis and international collaborators have developed a method for predicting novel genes in both genomes. With the method the scientists have discovered 1,019 novel genes that are found in both man and mouse. The breakthrough is expected to speed up discovery of genes in both genomes as well as those of other mammals. Because it is efficient and cost
In their ongoing research on turning adult stem cells isolated from fat into cartilage, Duke University Medical Center researchers have demonstrated that the level of oxygen present during the transformation process is a key switch in stimulating the stem cells to change.
Their findings were presented today (Feb. 2, 2003) at the annual meeting of the Orthopedic Research Society.
Using a biochemical cocktail of steroids and growth factors, the researchers have “retrained” specific
New method for the study and treatment of disease
The application of RNA interference (RNAi) to the study of mammalian biology and disease has the potential to revolutionize biomedical research and speed the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
A series of studies by Greg Hannon at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have revealed a great deal of information about the mechanism of RNAi, as well as how RNAi can be adapted for use in medical research. These and other
Chua lab discovers protein that regulates early growth arrest
For an infant plant, the world outside of its seed is not always a friendly place. Drought, wind, ice and other harsh conditions would threaten its well-being were it not for the shelter of its seed. Consequently, the decision to shed this weatherproof coat in order to begin to grow is perhaps the most critical a plant will ever make: once it stretches its fragile stem up toward the sky, there’s no turning back to the
Discovery could help scientists to understand how cells ’remember’ which genes to switch on or off
Scientists from Imperial College London, the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK and the Hammersmith Hospital have discovered an important aspect of how heterochromatin, the wrapping around DNA, works.
The researchers, whose work is published today in Science, discovered that heterochromatin is dynamic, constantly wrapping and unwrapping around DNA, and not s
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