A protein called vinculin moves cylinder-like fingers to form a hand to which an arm extended by a protein partner called alpha-actinin can bind, according to St. Jude researchers

As a cell moves forward, physical stress on its skeleton triggers molecular fingers and arms to grasp each other in reinforcing links that stabilize the skeleton, according to images produced by investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The images show how a protein called al

Discovery could help in the development of sensors against chemical threats

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), which could play an important role in developing sensors against chemical threats, have enhanced interaction with ammonia because of the presence of oxygen groups on the nanotubes, researchers at Temple University have discovered.

Their findings, “Sensitivity of Ammonia Interaction with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Bundles to the Presence of Defect Sites

UCLA investigators found large gaps and marked variation in U.S. hospitals’ heart failure treatment based on adherence to four standard quality measures. The study points to the need for hospitals to establish education programs and systems to improve quality of care for this patient population.

Published in the July 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers compared four standard measures for heart failure treatment used by the Joint Commission of Accredita

By discovering a crucial piece of submicroscopic information about how the brain converts fuel into energy for neurons, Cornell University biophysicists have gleaned new insights into brain cell metabolism that will allow neurologists to better interpret data from such diagnostic tests as positron emission tomography (PET) scans and a specialized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test.

The discovery uncovers a key piece of information that’s been missing for years about cell met

History classes would have had added flavour had we been told that our great explorers of the past travelled with their pigs. Originally descended from the Eurasian wild boar, present day pig populations in South America and Africa can pride themselves with adventurous ancestors. At the SEB meeting at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Oscar Ramírez from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, will be presenting his work on the formation of European pig breeds and their subsequent dispersion i

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are unraveling the biochemical mechanism by which functional foods combat cancer.

“Compounds like sulforaphane in broccoli and resveratrol in wine have been shown to prevent cancer,” said Andrew Mesecar, associate professor of pharmaceutical biotechnology in the UIC College of Pharmacy. “They do that by signaling our bodies to ramp up the production of proteins capable of preventing damage to our DNA.

“We now have

Ground-breaking research is reshaping understanding of the avian brain and holds promise in teaching learning-disabled children

A Brandeis University researcher has shown that an African grey parrot with a walnut-sized brain understands a numerical concept akin to zero – an abstract notion that humans don’t typically understand until age three or four, and that can significantly challenge learning-disabled children.

Strikingly, Alex, the 28-year-old parrot who lives

Understanding why some parts of the world sustain more species than others is one of the most enigmatic problems in ecology. One particularly common pattern is a “hump-shaped” biodiversity gradient: for example, biodiversity peaks near the equator and declines going either north or south.

Historically, explanations for such gradients invoked coincident geographical variation in environmental factors hypothesized to reduce extinction rates or promote the evolution of new species.

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered an inherited structural mechanism that can make drugs for some diseases toxic for some patients. The mechanism decreases a protein and in turn causes certain individuals to metabolize thiopurine drugs differently. Thiopurine therapies are used to treat patients with childhood leukemia, autoimmune diseases and organ transplants. The Mayo researchers say their finding advances the field of pharmacogenomics, which tailors medicine to a patient’s personal gen

Researchers have pinpointed specific gene and protein over-production in metastatic melanoma, pointing the way to a possible new drug target, according to a study published in Nature July 7.

Gene amplification is a process that often happens in cancer cells when the normal DNA replication process is altered, causing many copies of the gene to be produced instead of a single copy of a region of a chromosome.

The researchers found that the MITF (microphthalmia-associated tr

Do you have a rare blood group or are you concerned about contracting a disease such as HIV from a blood transfusion? The first ever European Blood Substitutes project (‘EuroBloodSubstitutes’) is designing molecules which will be able to replace the need for blood during transfusions in the future. Researchers are modifying the genes of the oxygen-carrying part of the blood (haemoglobin) and using cell factories to mass produce artificial molecules which will be able to oxygenate the body’s cells

Prenatal efforts ineffective

The key to preventing postpartum depression may be individual support provided after birth by a health professional and tailored to a mother’s needs, says a University of Toronto researcher.

“Health professionals want to identify pregnant women who may be at risk for postpartum depression in hopes of initiating preventive strategies,” says U of T nursing professor Cindy-Lee Dennis. “But in my review of studies from around the world, I fo

Rice University/Baylor College of Medicine study focuses on peripheral arterial disease

Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) are more likely to have a foot or leg amputated if they live in a region that has few vascular surgeons, according to a Rice University/Baylor College of Medicine study published in the July issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery.

“We found that areas of the country that had higher numbers of vascular surgeons had more bypass surgery

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have determined how serotonin decreases the body’s sensitivity to light and that exposure to constant darkness leads to a decrease in serotonin levels in the brain of fruit flies. These findings suggest that serotonin may play a role in maintaining circadian rhythm, as well as modulating light-related disorders such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Senior author Amita Sehgal, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience at Penn and a Howard

SCIENTISTS at Manchester Metropolitan University have begun ground-breaking research to combat an alarming rise in brain damage in children living in the world’s most polluted countries.

Biomedical researchers in the city are investigating a link between poor diet in young children and neurological damage caused by polluted air and water and poisonous consumer products.

If a link is proven, a simple course of supplements could prevent irreversible brain damage in thousands

A signaling pathway required for plants to grow to their normal size appears to have an unexpected dual purpose of keeping the plant from wallpapering itself with too many densely clustered stomata.

“It’s surprising that size and stomata patterning – both key to plants being able to survive on dry land – are using the same signaling components,” says Jessica McAbee, a University of Washington research associate in biology. She’s one co-author of a report in the July 8 i