The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) announces today the publication of a high-quality draft genome sequence of the white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium. These are the only known microbes capable of efficiently degrading the recalcitrant aromatic plant polymer lignin, one of the most abundant natural materials on earth. White rot fungi such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium play a pivotal role in the carbon cycle–the circulation of carbon from the atmospher

Findings published in current issue of Nature Cell Biology

Adult stem cell transplantation offers great therapeutic potential for a variety of diseases due to their ability to replenish diseased cells and tissue. While they are unique in this ability, it remains a challenge to effectively treat disease long-term with stem cells because of our inability to grow them in the laboratory. Defining the molecular switch in the stem cell replication process, or cell cycle, is a key step to st

In a finding that deepens our understanding of epigenetic regulation, researchers at the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology in Vienna have identified a novel protein in Arabidopsis that may help so-called short guide RNAs and silencing effector proteins target specific DNA sequences for modification.

The ’nuclear side’ of RNA interference (RNAi) is increasingly recognized as an important part of RNA-mediated gene silencing pathways. Short RNAs and proteins of the R

In a finding that broadens our understanding of how the immune system can detect infection, researchers have identified a previously unappreciated way in which bacteria can be recognized inside our cells.

Many bacteria cause disease by invading cells and creating a safe niche in which to replicate. Cells respond to the infection by activating the immune system, and a chief challenge for bacteria is to avoid immune detection. Prior research had shown that bacteria inside the cytosol (the cel

In mammals, the endogenous daily pacemaker that regulates circadian rhythms like sleep and wakefulness is localized to a defined site in the brain, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is composed of many neurons whose circadian activities are in synchrony with one another. By exposing rats to a very short day/night schedule – a regimen that effectively pushes the limits of the SCN’s ability to set the clock to day length – researchers have discovered within the SCN two sub-clocks that norma

An important aspect of human vision is the ability to attend to objects or events appearing in our peripheral vision without shifting our gaze. This way of effectively looking out of the corner of the mind’s eye is thought to be particularly important for alerting us to danger. Researchers have made the seemingly paradoxical discovery that even though eye movement itself is actually dispensable for such an attention shift, eye muscle function is nevertheless required for this ability to reflexiv

Elastic titanium nails help children recover faster from a broken leg than the traditional treatment with weeks of traction and a body cast, according to a new study from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Children with the implanted nails got out of bed within days after surgery, were less dependent on their parents for help in moving, and had fewer complications than children in body casts.

“We’ve shown that although both treatments usually have good outcomes, treatment wi

Clue to how virus avoids immune system activity may lead to new treatment strategy

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers may have provided another clue to the mystery of how HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, evades the defenses of the immune system. In the May issue of the Journal of Virology, a team from the Partners AIDS Research Center at MGH describes finding how a key protein that helps the virus enter its target T helper cells may also keep away the T killer cells that

PACS can increase radiologists’ productivity by nearly 40% in a community teaching hospital, allowing for more patient examinations without increasing physician staffing, a new study shows.

Productivity data before PACS implementation at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA, was compared to data after the facility had converted 100% to a fully digital PACS system. Patient volume increased from 102% for CT, 66% for MRI, 36% for ultrasound, 32% for special procedures and 23% for

Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a computer technique that “learns” how benign and malignant breast calcifications appear on digital mammograms so not only can it detect them, but it can also predict the likelihood that the calcifications are associated with cancer.

“In this study, we analyzed 49 full-field digital mammograms, 19 of which showed cancer,” said Rich Rana, a medical student at the University of Chicago. Four mammography specialists read the images and ele

A new study shows that the risk for prostate cancer is significantly elevated in men who are part of families with a hereditary form of breast and ovarian cancer. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have determined that men in families carrying BRCA genetic mutations have a three- to five-fold increased risk of prostate cancer.

“While the association between hereditary breast and prostate cancer has been suspected, this is the first study of its type to confirm the link,”

Researchers from Yale University, University of Pittsburgh and University of Georgia have reported new data on how the fundamental arrangement of water molecules is affected by the presence of protons. The work appears in Sciencexpress.

This research is about the surprising flexibility of water molecules that makes water the medium of choice for biological systems. The study examines the 50-year-old question of how many water molecules share a proton, a crucial issue in the transportation o

Mayo Clinic researchers have created a method for measuring the growth of new spinal cord nerve fibers in rats, an advance that allows them to quickly determine nerve regeneration rate and what variables in the nerve-growth environment best support it.
The finding is important because it is a first step in laboratory animal models that will help scientists refine and improve nerve repair and regrowth in spinal cord injuries. While much basic science remains to be completed, this path of discove

People who have lost or damaged teeth could soon be growing their own, thanks to a major scientific breakthrough by a start-up, Odontis Ltd, formed by King’s College, London. An investment of £400,000 from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) – the organisation that nurtures UK creativity and innovation and the Wellcome Trust biomedial research charity, will enable the company to move onto the next stage of development.

Damaged or missing teeth are a large and

An independent researcher reporting at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) finds that “Custom” or…

Dartmouth physicians and engineers are collaborating to test three new imaging techniques to find breast abnormalities, including cancer. Results from the first stage of their research, information about the electro-magnetic characteristics of healthy breast tissue, appears in the May 2004 issue of Radiology, the journal of the Radiological Society of North America.

The interdisciplinary team, which includes researchers from Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering and Dartmouth Medical