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.

According to an article in the February 5 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, coronary artery disease in young women appears to be related to estrogen deficiency, and there may be a link to psychosocial stress. The findings are based on an analysis of statistics compiled from a major ongoing investigation of heart disease in women that is led by cardiac researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. “Although coronary artery disease is the leading killer of prem

A major computer project has been launched today to analyse millions of different chemicals in the search for drugs to combat the bioterrorist threat of smallpox.

The smallpox research project will use the ‘screensaver downtime’ donated by up to two million computer users worldwide to screen 35 million compounds and identify those most likely to be suitable for drug development.

Currently no drugs are available to combat the smallpox virus after infection, and the only prevention i

Researchers in the Baxter Laboratory at Stanford University Medical Center have published new evidence showing that cells from the bone marrow might help repair or maintain cells in other tissues. In a paper in this week’s online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers describe finding chromosomes from a bone marrow transplant in the brain cells of transplant recipients.

When people receive a bone marrow transplant after high-dose chemotherapy, s

Use of a vitamin A derivative in former smokers restored production of a crucial protein believed to protect against lung cancer development, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found.

Use of a Vitamin A derivative in former smokers restored production of a crucial protein believed to protect against lung cancer development, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found.

Although they don’t have clear

Diabetes is a widespread illness affecting 5 per cent of the population. In diabetics the metabolism produces an excess of glucose in the blood and, as a result, a number of sufferers need doses of insulin which allows them to regulate their glucose levels.

Currently, the method of administering insulin to diabetic patients making use of emergency services for insulin dosage depends on the experience of the qualified personnel. That is, the same patient can receive different insulin doses,

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

The use of combinations of antiretroviral drugs including nucleoside analogs, protease inhibitors (PIs) and reverse transcriptase inhibitors – collectively termed highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) – has resulted in a dramatic improvement in health status for a large number of HIV-infected individuals.

Side effects in many users, however, cause non-adherence to treatment regimes and concern over their long-term use in the management of chronic HIV infection. The adverse effects o

In a new study in mice, a modified form of an innocuous chimpanzee virus has shown marked potency as a protective vaccine against HIV, itself believed to have crossed into the human population from chimpanzees sometime in the 1930s. The study, led by researchers at The Wistar Institute, appears in the February issue of the Journal of Immunology.

“Our results show this new vaccine is capable of inducing the kind of powerful immune response that we and others believe will be critical for cont

Scientists from The University of Manchester are playing a key role in a major Europe-wide study – believed to be the largest of its kind – of cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx (throat) and oesophagus (gullet). Incidences of these cancers are increasing faster in the UK than almost anywhere else in western Europe.

Every year, cancers of the upper aero-digestive tract kill approximately 10,000 in the UK alone. Alarmingly, these cancers are affecting younger people and are on the increa

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