UCSF-led scientists have identified the first “master” molecule in the cell nucleus that controls the action of hundreds of different genes at once through its action on enzymes. The broad-acting molecule affects enzymes that restructure chromosomes, exposing genes to proteins that can then trigger key gene processes, including the start of protein production and copying and repairing of genes.

The molecule’s broad effect on a number of genes may allow organisms – including humans — to

Each spring, amid the decaying rubble of dead prairie plants, emerging male gall wasps find mates by calling upon the chemistry prowess of their predecessors, entomologists scouring Central Illinois have discovered.

In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they report that as adult gall wasps (Antistrophus rufus) feed in warm weather, they change the ratio of plant chemicals so that males emerging after the winter season can recognize when they are on the right stems at the r

Two specific genes involved in cholesterol transport are required for the most common way excess cholesterol is expelled from our bodies, according to scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

The genes, the researchers report, are essential for efficient secretion of cholesterol into the bile, which is the major route that cholesterol exits the body. The discovery sheds new light on potential therapies that could play an important role in reducing high cholesterol, a ma

NSF awards grants to discover the relationships of 1.75 million species One of the most profound ideas to emerge in modern science is Charles Darwin’s concept that all of life, from the smallest microorganism to the largest vertebrate, is connected through genetic relatedness in a vast genealogy. This “Tree of Life” summarizes all we know about biological diversity and underpins much of modern biology, yet many of its branches remain poorly known and unresolved. To help

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and their collaborators have discovered that some viruses can use the most abundant protein in the cells they are infecting to destroy the cells and allow new viruses to escape to infect others. The findings, described in the November 29, 2002, issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, build upon earlier Brookhaven research on how virus particles become infectious (see related story) and may lead to the design of m

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen with a diverse battery of virulence factors, each of which can act alone or in concert in the development of persistent and sometimes lethal infections such as sepsis, toxic shock syndrome, food poisoning and severe skin diseases.

Staphylococcal infections begin when the organism gains access to host tissues or the adjoining blood supply through breaches in the skin. More than 20% of healthy humans are natural carriers of S. aureus, 10%-20%

Most cancer patients are not killed by their primary tumors but succumb to metastatic disease. The most common human cancers–lung, breast, and prostate–frequently spread to bone, causing suffering and morbidity through pain, fractures, and nerve compression syndromes.

Tumor cells enter bones through blood and lymphatic vessels. In order to establish bone metastases, they have to influence bone metabolism. Most breast cancers that spread to bone express high levels of parathyroid hormone r

Thousands in southern Asia could be drinking arsenic-contaminated water from wells that are falsely labeled safe, while precious good water sits untapped in wells that are wrongly marked unsafe — a dire disparity for countries where water can be more valuable than gold.

A new study of wells in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, suggests the arsenic test kits used by field workers are frequently inaccurate, producing scores of incorrectly labeled wells. The findings were published this month

A paper published in the December, 2002 issue of Infection and Immunity by a research team at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center in New Orleans provides clear evidence that the lethal toxins of such infectious bacteria as Pseudomonas and anthrax can be blocked by a drug developed at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. The compound, called D6R (hexa-D-arginine), is a potent, stable, small molecule inhibitor of furin.

Bacteria produce a number of toxins whic

American Heart Association meeting report

Researchers safely transplanted 16 patients’ skeletal muscle cells into their own severely damaged hearts in the first human testing in the United States, according to a study reported today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2002.

“We have been able to regenerate dead heart muscle, or scar tissue, in the area of heart attack without increasing risk of death,” says lead author Nabil Dib, M.D., director o

American Heart Association meeting report

Preliminary findings of a study in rats suggests that a person’s own cells might one day replace artificial pacemakers, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2002.

Studies conducted at Children’s Hospital Boston tested the ability of immature skeletal muscle cells to interconnect with heart cells and spread the electrical impulses that keep the heart beating properly.

American Heart Association meeting report

Researchers have built mechanically sound blood vessels out of tissue from human skin cells, according to a study reported today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2002. The technique involves tissue engineering, an emerging science that takes cells from the body, manipulates them in the laboratory to create functional tissue, and puts the new tissue back into the patient.

The goal is to produce healthy, fun

From ultraviolet radiation to food carcinogens, our bodies are bombarded with stuff that can make a normal cell go haywire, multiplying out of control and turning cancerous. Thanks to a set of tumor suppressor genes, however, we can defend against this daily onslaught.

Goaded into action, these genes push cells into a kind of molecular menopause, called senescence. The cells remain healthy, but they stop reproducing.

Researchers often assume that we need our tumor suppressor genes

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have successfully transplanted specialized cells that are critical to sperm development in mice, restoring sperm production in once-infertile animals.

The research, reported on the Web site of the journal Biology of Reproduction, may give scientists a better understanding of how Sertoli cells — which surround spermatogenic stem cells — nourish sperm production and the survival of stem cells.

“Spermatogen

Morphochem AG, a leader in novel chemistries for small molecule drug discovery, has announced that one of its leading programmes, inhibitors of blood coagulation Factor Xa, led to the identification of novel, orally available anti-thrombotics in preclinical studies. Details of these preclinical studies will be presented at a meeting of investment analysts and pharmaceutical executives to be held in Basel on 21st November.
Commenting on the Factor Xa programme, Dr Lutz Weber, CEO of Morphochem sa

Aspirin conclusively reduces the risk of a first heart attack by 32%, according to a new report by researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute. The findings were presented today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

Charles H. Hennekens, MD, co-director of Cardiovascular Research, published the first randomized trial of aspirin in primary prevention. Under his direction, Rachel S. Eidelman, MD, a cardiology fellow, performed a detaile