proceedings of the national academy of sciences

Redheaded women respond better to painkilling drug

A gene associated with red hair and fair skin may also be responsible for how females respond to painkillers, according to a study conducted by lead researcher Jeffrey Mogil, a McGill University psychology professor, and collaborators in the United States. Results of their study are to be released today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (article #03-0053). “While we believe pain is the same in all women of all hair colours,” explained Mogil, “our study shows women with red hair respond better to the pain-killing drug we tested than anyone else — including men.”

Common Acne Treatment Stops Blindness in Animal Model

Administering Accutane, a drug commonly used to treat acne, UCLA researchers have successfully stopped the accumulation of toxic pigments in the eyes of animals with a genetic defect similar to Stargardt’s macular degeneration. The UCLA team gave a daily injection of Accutane to mimic the effect of constant light deprivation and the results proved dramatic. These toxic pigments, called lipofuscin, are responsible for the visual loss in patients with Stargardt’s disease.

Researchers find human body produces ozone

In what is a first for biology, a team of investigators is reporting that the human body makes ozone. The team has been slowly gathering evidence over the last few years that the human body produces the reactive gas — most famous as the ultraviolet ray-absorbing component of the ozone layer — as part of a mechanism to protect it from bacteria and fungi. “Ozone was a big surprise,” says researcher Bernard Babior. “But it seems that biological systems manufacture ozone, and that ozone has an effect on those biological systems.”

Optical trap provides new insights into motor molecules

When it comes to nanotechnology, many researchers turn to nature for inspiration. Of particular interest to nanoengineers is the naturally occurring protein kinesin – one of several ”motor molecules” that facilitate movement in living cells. A mere ten-millionth of an inch long, kinesin is the workhorse of the cell, hauling chromosomes, neurotransmitters and other vital cargo along tiny tracks called ”microtubules.” While one end of a kinesin molecule holds onto its cargo, the other end uses a strange two-headed structure to grab the microtubule and pull the cargo forward.

Training helps dyslexic brains behave 'normally'

For the first time, researchers have shown that the brains of dyslexic children can be rewired — after undergoing intensive remediation training — to function more like those found in normal readers. The training program, which is designed to help dyslexics understand rapidly changing sounds that are the building blocks of language, helped the participants become better readers after just eight weeks.

Scientists Find Human Longevity Marker

In a study of nonrelated people who have lived for a century or more, the researchers found that the centenarians had something in common: each was five times more likely than the general population to have the same mutation in their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). That mutation, the researchers suggest, may provide a survival advantage by speeding mtDNA replication, thereby increasing its amount or replacing that portion of mtDNA which has been battered by the ravages of aging.

Fasting forestalls Huntington's disease in mice

Decreasing meal frequency and caloric intake protects nerve cells from genetically induced damage, delays the onset of Huntington’s disease-like symptoms in mice, and prolongs the lives of affected rodents, according to investigators at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Intramural Research Program. This animal study* is the first to suggest that a change in diet can influence the course of Huntington’s disease.

Researchers discover genetic pathway in lupus

Researchers have identified a genetic “signature,” a series of genes that are activated by interferon in patients with severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This is the first time a signature pattern of gene expression has been identified in an autoimmune disease. The identification of this genetic signature may be used in the future to help diagnose lupus, predict the development of serious disease, and perhaps most importantly in treatment decisions.

Study shows how eye cells die when exposed to lead

A new study designed to find out why cells in the eye die when exposed to lead may provide novel therapies for retinal damage caused by injury or diseases such as diabetes and retinitis pigmentosa.
The study, published in the Feb. 4 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focused on identifying how low-level lead exposure during development in mice injures and eventually kills rod-shaped photoreceptor cells, or rods, in the eye. Rods are cells in the eye that help humans see in dim light. The other type of photoreceptors, or light-gathering cells, called cones are responsible for color and spatial vision. Cones are used primarily in daylight and for activities such as reading.

A bed of microneedles: Scientists’ gadget measures muscle cell force

Using the same technology that creates tiny, precisely organized computer chips, a research team has developed beds of thousands of independently moveable silicone “microneedles” to reveal the force exerted by smooth muscle cells. Each needle tip in the gadget, whose development and testing is reported this week in the advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, can be painted with proteins cells tend to grab onto. By measuring how far a contracting muscle cell moves each needle, the scientists can calculate the force generated by the cell.

Growing Human Antibodies in Algae is Inexpensive, Fast

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have used algae to express an antibody that targets herpes virus, describing the work in an upcoming issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This antibody could potentially be an ingredient in an anti-herpes topical cream or other anti- herpes treatments, but more importantly the algae expression technology that the TSRI team used could facilitate production of any number of human antibodies and other proteins on a massive scale.

Team uses genomic tools to discover gene for childhood genetic disorder

In an advance illustrating the power of genomic information, an international team of researchers today announced it has identified a gene that causes Leigh Syndrome, French Canadian type (LSFC), a fatal inherited disorder affecting 1 in 2000 live births each year in the Saguenay-Lac St Jean region of Quebec. The paper appears in the January 14 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings will have immediate clinical implications for families in the Saguenay-Lac St-Jean region in the Quebec province in Canada, where the disorder is common and is associated with high infant and childhood mortality.