Researchers at New York University have developed a model of the intra-cellular mammalian biological clock that reveals how rapid interaction of molecules with DNA is necessary for producing reliable 24-hour rhythms. They also found that without the inherent randomness of molecular interactions within a cell, biological rhythms may dampen over time. These findings appeared in the most recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Daniel Forger, a

Imagine an entire chemistry laboratory reduced to the size of a postage stamp. It could happen.

While others may think big, Texas A&M University physicists Don Naugle and co-worker Igor Lyuksyutov are thinking small – as in micro small. They have successfully managed to levitate micron-sized fluids using magnets, which could lead to new advances in medicine, chemistry, chemical engineering and other related fields. By using small magnets on a postage-stamp sized chip, Naugle an

For many years, DNA and proteins have been viewed as the real movers and shakers in genomic studies, with RNA seen as little more than a messenger that shuttles information between the two. But researchers from Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that small RNA molecules called microRNAs regulate thousands of human genes–more than one third of the genome’s protein-coding regions. In other words, a class of molecule once releg

Sequence may contain genes controlling stature and tumor development

Scientists report on Friday in the journal Genome Research that they have successfully cloned and characterized a previously intractable DNA sequence: a 554-kilobase-pair genomic segment near the centromere of the human Y chromosome. This sequence contains eight putatively active genes that could be implicated in sex-associated height differences and gonadal tumor development.

This pericentromeric ga

Tobacco smoke triggers the production of COX-2, a cellular protein linked to the development and progression of cancer, according to research published in the January 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

Tobacco smoke also promoted rapid cellular production of two proteins that initiate an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) driven cascade leading to the production of COX-2, the report stated.

The report by Andrew J. Dannenberg, M.D., director of cancer preventi

Surgeons are using a revolutionary implant to help rebuild the faces of children injured in accidents or born with serious defects.

Scientists from The University of Nottingham have teamed up with Russian researchers to create the honeycomb-like polymer which readily bonds with bone without causing adverse reactions.It is currently undergoing clinical trials in Moscow where it has been used on around fifty children aged from eighteen months to 18 years. Among the patients who have

An article appearing in the January 2005 issue of Brain, Behavior and Immunity suggests that developing depression while on interferon-alpha plus ribavirin may impact how well the medications work.

In a study conducted in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, Charles L. Raison, MD, Andrew Miller, MD, and colleagues, observed that patients who develop depressive symptoms during interferon-alpha plus ribavirin therapy were signi

How do you remember your own name? Is it possible ever to forget it? The memory trace, or engram, “feels” like it is stored permanently in the brain and it will never be forgotten.

Indeed, the current view of memory is that, at the molecular level, new proteins are manufactured, in a process known as translation, and it is these newly synthesized proteins that subsequently stabilize the changes underlying the memory. Thus, every new memory results in a permanent representation in

While children across the country are still trying to stick to their New Year’s resolutions to tidy their bedrooms every morning, building scientists are investigating whether a clutter could actually be the key to healthier living. Dr Stephen Pretlove, from Kingston University’s School of Architecture, is one of a group of specialists advising Britons to leave their beds unmade to banish house dust mites which cause asthma and other allergies. The scientists have discovered the mites cannot sur

The University of Surrey today announced that it is to lead a major European research initiative in the genetics of drug addiction, funded by an € 8.1 million contract from the European Commission. The effort brings together eight leading public and private research organisations with the aim of identifying genes involved in addiction and advancing the development of new treatment strategies for this serious disease.

Although the role of genetics in susceptibility to addiction has be

B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) is the most common leukemia in adults and is characterized by the progressive accumulation of mature B lymphocytes in the blood, bone marrow, and lymphatic tissues. It is believed that in the early stages of disease, B-CLL is the result of an undefined defect in the programmed signals that trigger normal B cell death (apoptosis). Livio Trentin and colleagues from Padua University School of Medicine now demonstrate that high levels of expression and alter

Findings could lead to new vaccines and antibacterial strategies

A previously unknown network of immune cells has been discovered in the mammalian gastrointestinal system by a research group based in the Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The finding, reported in the January 14 issue of Science, could lead to better understanding of how the immune system recognizes and responds to dangerous bacteria and viruses and to new

Finding someday may help treat hearing loss, neurodegenerative disorders

Selectively turning off a protein that controls the growth and division of cells could allow regeneration of the inner ear’s hair cells, which convert sound vibrations into nerve impulses. The discovery by a research team based at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) runs counter to current beliefs about these cells and could eventually lead to ways of preventing or treating hearing loss. The report wil

A research team has discovered clusters of aluminum atoms that have chemical properties similar to single atoms of metallic and nonmetallic elements when they react with iodine. The discovery opens the door to using ’superatom chemistry’ based on a new periodic table of cluster elements to create unique compounds with distinctive properties never seen before. The results of the research, headed jointly by Shiv N. Khanna, professor of physics at Virginia Commonwealth University and A. Welford Ca

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered the molecular sequence of events in mice that turn a juvenile heart into an adult heart capable of responding to increased workloads.

Published as the cover story in the January 14, 2005 issue of the journal Cell, the study identifies a protein called ASF/SF2 as a regulator of a calcium enzyme responsible for heart contraction and tissue growth. Mice born with mutated or absent ASF/SF2

Cryptococcus study sheds light on how fungi cause disease in persons with impaired immunity

In a project that already has benefited an important field of biomedical research, scientists have deciphered the genomes of two closely related strains of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungus whose importance as a human pathogen has risen in parallel with the HIV/AIDS worldwide epidemic and the increased use of immunosuppressive therapies. The study, posted online January 13 in Science Express