ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Scientists have discovered a molecular assistant called Spy that helps bacteria excel at producing proteins for medical and industrial purposes.
Bacteria are widely used to manufacture proteins used in medicine and indus…
LA JOLLA, CA — Mutant presenilin is infamous for its role in the most aggressive form of Alzheimer’s disease — early-onset familial Alzheimer’s — which can strike people as early as their 30s. In their latest study, researchers at the Sal…
By determining what goes missing in human cells when the gene that is most commonly mutated in pancreatic cancer gets turned on, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a potential strategy for therapy.
The production of a particular cluster of …
As the cholera epidemic in Haiti continues to rage, public health workers are focusing their efforts on treating the tens of thousands who have already been hospitalized with cholera-like symptoms and providing clean water and adequate sanitation to…
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — In a new study to be published in the Nov. 25 issue of Nature, MIT cancer biologists show that restoring the protein p53′s function in mice with lung cancer has no effect early in tumor development, but restoring the function lat…
ANN ARBOR, Mich—University of Michigan researchers have determined that most types of melanoma cells can form malignant tumors, providing new evidence that the deadliest form of skin cancer does not conform to the increasingly popular cancer st…
PASADENA, Calif. — The eerie music in the movie theater swells; the roller coaster crests and begins its descent; something goes bump in the night. Suddenly, you’re scared: your heart thumps, your stomach clenches, your throat tightens, your muscle…
Between alerting us to danger and allowing us to spot prey, vision keeps many animals, including humans, alive. But exactly how does this important sense work, and why is it easier for us to spot movement of small objects in our field of vision,…
PHILADELPHIA – When most genes are transcribed, the nascent RNAs they produce are not quite ready to be translated into proteins – they have to be processed first. One of those processes is called splicing, a mechanism by which non-coding gene…
Our cells live ever on the verge of suicide, requiring the close attention of a team of molecules to prevent the cells from pulling the trigger. This self-destructive tendency can be a very good thing, as when dangerous precancerous cells are permit…
DALLAS — Oct. 14, 2010 — Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that fluctuations in internal body temperature regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that controls metabolism, sleep and other bodily functions.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A University of Michigan-led research team has identified a gene responsible in some families for a devastating inherited kidney disorder, thanks to a new, faster method of genetic analysis not available even two years ago….
New Rochelle, NY, September 16, 2010 — Not only do undergraduate students gain valuable hands-on experience by participating in scientific research projects, but they also make meaningful contributions, examples of which are highlighted in the curr…
PHILADELPHIA – By comparing two species of ants, Shelley Berger, PhD, the Daniel S. Och University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues Danny Reinberg, PhD, New York University, and Juergen Liebig, PhD, Arizona State Univers…
Elderly people may develop insulin resistance — one of the major risk factors for diabetes — because “power plants” in their muscle cells decline or fail with age, according to Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers at Yale University School of Medicine. In studies of young and elderly people, the researchers found that older people had lower levels of metabolic activity in their mitochondria, the “factories” that provide power to cells. The findings suggest that reduced mitochondrial activity underlies insulin resistance, which is a major contributor to type 2 diabetes in the elderly.
A protein defective in two types of muscular dystrophy also appears to be important in repairing damaged muscle, according to Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. The discovery reveals the first known component of the machinery that repairs the damaged membrane in a muscle fiber. Further studies of this and related proteins could lead to a better understanding of disorders that affect cardiac and skeletal muscles.
Researchers have literally unearthed a treasure trove of genomic information from ten newly identified viruses found in the monkey pit at the Bronx Zoo and other locations. The viruses are called mycobacteriophages and they infect a range of bacteria, including those that cause tuberculosis and leprosy.
Exposure to continuous white noise sabotages the development of the auditory region of the brain, which may ultimately impair hearing and language acquisition, according to researchers from the University of California, San Francisco. According to the scientists, the young rats used in their study were exposed to constant white noise that is relevant to the increasing, random noise encountered by humans in today’s environment. They theorize that their findings could aid in explaining the increase in language-impairment developmental disorders over the last few decades.
