Life Sciences and Chemistry

Fluorescent nanoparticles that can be attached to biological molecules are being developed for use in microscopic sensor devices. Philip Costanzo, a graduate student in chemistry at UC Davis, and Timothy Patten, associate professor of chemistry, have prepared nanoparticles of cadmium sulphide and silicon dioxide coated with polymer chains with biotin attached to the ends. When avidin, a protein that binds to biotin, is added, the nanoparticles cluster into larger aggregates. The researchers used dyna

Major differences found between genomes of oral pathogen and related spiral-shaped bacteria that cause syphilis and lyme disease

Three centuries after a pioneering Dutch microbiologist first observed the spiral-shaped oral pathogen Treponema denticola, scientists have deciphered the bacterium’s entire DNA sequence and used comparative genomics to cast new light on other spirochete microbes.

The study by scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and collabo

Researchers at EMBL publish breakthrough studies that could lead to a new means of combating the deadly disease

EMBL scientists have identified four mosquito proteins that affect the ability of the malaria parasite (Plasmodium) to survive and develop in the malaria-carrier mosquito (Anopheles). This breakthrough, featured in recent issues of Cell (March 5, 2004) and Science (March 26, 2004), could be used to block the transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans.

“Many r

Yiping Han verifies presence of bacterium in as many as 30 percent of women

A team of researchers, led by microbiologist Yiping Han from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, have discovered that a bacterium (Fusobacterium nucleatum) found in periodontal disease enters the blood, specifically targets placentas and amniotic fluid of pregnant mice and triggers preterm or term stillbirths as well as early death for live-born mice.

The researchers reported t

Discovery of GPR56 sheds light on evolution of frontal lobes

With the identification of the gene responsible for a newly recognized type of mental retardation, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have also discovered what appears to be the key target in the evolution of the frontal lobes of the brain’s cerebral cortex. The findings, reported in the March 26, 2004, issue of the journal Science, offer a key insight into the complex puzzle of human brain deve

Global health threat Cryptosporidium parvum affects humans and animals

University of Minnesota researchers have completed sequencing the genome of an intestinal parasite that affects healthy humans and animals and that can be fatal to those with compromised immune systems, such as AIDS patients. The results will be published in the journal Science on March 25.

The parasite, Cryptosporidium parvum, is considered a major public health threat for which there is currently no know