A team of researchers studying the protein that, when defective or absent, causes cystic fibrosis (CF) has made an important discovery about how that protein is normally controlled and under what circumstances it might go awry.
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DURHAM, N.C. -- A Duke University study of more than 3,000 orphaned and abandoned children in five Asian and African countries has found that children in institutional orphanages fare as well or better than those who live in the community.
The findings contrast sharply with research that associates institutions with poorer health and well-being, and the policies adopted by many international agencies/governments.
"In that time, we were able to track the cells' ability to divide while also monitoring the number of surviving cells. The pattern that was revealed to us showed that restricted glucose levels led the healthy cells to grow longer than is typical and caused the precancerous cells to die off in large numbers," Tollefsbol said.
Washington, DC – December 11, 2009 – Scientists can gain insights into new ways to use microorganisms in medicine and manufacturing through a coordinated large-scale effort to sequence the genomes of not just individual microorganisms but entire ecosystems, according to a new report from the American Academy of Microbiology that outlines recommendations for this massive effort.
A new study reveals the reason why orchids use sexual trickery to lure insect pollinators. The study, published in the January issue of The American Naturalist, finds that sexual deception in orchids leads to a more efficient pollinating system.
Athens, Ga. – Human activity is increasing the supply of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, to stream systems all over the world. The conventional wisdom—bolstered by earlier research—has held that these additional nutrients cause an increase in production all along the food chain, from the tiniest organisms up to the largest predators. A long-term, ecosystem-scale study by a team of University of Georgia researchers, however, has thrown this assumption into question.
In some ways a cell in your body or an organelle in that cell is like an ancient walled town. Life inside either depends critically on the intelligence of the gatekeepers.
If too many barbarians sneak into town, the town may be put to the torch. And if the cellular gatekeepers can't control the flow of ions and molecules into and out of the cell, the cell may die.
Because of their importance, cellular gates, channels and transporters, are the targets of intense scientific interest.
PASADENA, Calif.—For decades, science texts have told a simple and straightforward story about a particular protein—a transcription factor—that helps the embryo of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, pattern tissues in a manner that depends on the levels of this factor within individual cells.
"For 20 years, this system of patterning has been used in textbooks as a paradigm for patterning in embryos, controlled by transcription factors," says Angelike Stathopoulos, assistant professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
(PHILADELPHIA) Scientists from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have discovered a possible way for malignant breast tumors to be identified, without the need for a biopsy. The findings were published online ahead of print in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Using new technology developed in his University of Oregon lab, chemist Andrew H. Marcus and his doctoral student Eric N. Senning have captured what they describe as well-orchestrated, actin-driven, mitochondrial movement within a single cell.
A gene associated with a rare form of progressive deafness in males has been identified by an international team of researchers funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The gene, PRPS1, appears to be crucial in inner ear development and maintenance. The findings are published in the Dec. 17 early online issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
December 17, 2009 – Racial and ethnic disparities in cancer survival are greatest for cancers that can be detected early and treated successfully, including breast and prostate cancer, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) at Columbia University Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Disparities are small or nonexistent for cancers that have more limited early detection and treatment options, such as pancreatic and lung cancer.
Scientists have generated hundreds of new leads in the fight against the H1N1 flu pandemic, according to two new studies published online December 17th in the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. Both research teams took comprehensive approaches to understanding the interaction of H1N1 strains with human cells, yielding results that point toward new targets for therapy and perhaps also new tools to speed vaccine production, the researchers say.
BOSTON, Mass. (Dec. 17, 2009) – In findings that may lead to better ways to prevent and treat influenza and other viral infections, researchers report the discovery of a family of naturally occurring antiviral agents in human cells.
In experiments in human and mouse cells, the flu-fighting proteins prevented or slowed most virus particles from infecting cells at the earliest stage in the virus lifecycle. The anti-viral action happens sometime after the virus attaches itself to the cell and before it delivers its pathogenic cargo.
Patients with a rare, deadly disease that mostly affects young women felt a dramatic reduction in breathlessness using an approved drug, according to study results published online today in The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.