Brain Protein "Rescues" Neurons From Atrophy
...enter neurobiologists have protected growing brain cells from atrophying from disuse by treating them with ... new technique of providing neurotrophins to brain cells that, for the first time, allows researchers to determine precisely which cells received the substan...Duke Researchers Discover Central Role Of Nitric Oxide In Hemoglobin Action
...evitably devoursthe free NO gas that endothelial cells produced to dilate the vessel,hemoglobin simultaneously releases the SNO molecule it had been carrying.One "ineffective" NO is exchanged for another "protected"NO. Blood pressure remains constant and blood flow maintained in order topromote oxygen tr...Enzyme's "Magic" May Hold Key to Anticancer and Antimicrobial Drugs
...er levels of topoisomerases in some cancer cells than in normal cells," Dr. Wang said. Many topoisomerase-targeting drugs "freeze" the enzyme while it is clutching two ends of a severed DNA strand before rejoining them (see figure). "Basically, what this type of drug...New Cancer Switch Discovered By Duke Medical Center Pharmacologists
...o interfere with the malignant machinery of cancer cells to kill them. In a second paper in the October iss...cientists reported new understanding of how cancer cells acquire the ability to avoid the natural death, called "apoptosis," that normal cells experience. Su...Researchers Pinpoint Site For Petit Mal Seizures In Brain
...in the brain. These receptor proteins are found in cells throughout the body, and respond to a neurotransmi...n of GABAb receptors at the junction between nerve cells where signals are transmitted from one nerve to the next. She showed that GABAb receptors that recei...Tumor Suppressor Gene Located In Liver Cancer Cells
...material, they compared strands of DNA from tumor cells and surrounding normal tissue, and discovered mutations in the tumor samples. The discovery of identical mutations in more than one tumor indicated potential "hot spots" -- regions of the gene that may be more susceptible to mutation. "One mutation ...Rosemary May Have Anti-Cancer Properties
...s initiation phase, or the transformationof normal cells to cancerous ones. The study, directed by John Mil...The results were similar:DMBA's binding to mammary cells was reduced by 66 percent. The researchers also found that rosemary's effectiveness against tumor ...Heat-loving Microbe Repairs Its DNA With Light
...ciallydamaging the DNA of live S. acidocaldarius cells with UVradiation, whose effects on DNA are precisely known. As expected,the vast majority of cells were unable to reproduce followingthis treatment. If the cells were then exposed to visible light, ...Duke Researchers Show "Editing" Can Fix Faulty Genes In New Approach To Gene Therapy
...s, Sullenger introduceda defective gene into mouse cells growing in a test tube. Then he engineereda ribozyme to recognize a short stretch of RNA near the genetic defect andsplice in the corrected sequence, which Sullenger had produced artificiallyand attached to the ribozyme tail. When he introduced the r...Duke Researchers Find Second Gene Linked To Blood Vessel Disorder
...1 gene appears to be made almost exclusivelyin the cells that line blood vessels. While researchers aren't ...rowth inhibitor. For example,TGF-_ stimulates skin cells to divide, making TGF-_ an excellent wound-healer. In earlier research, reported in the December 1...Transgenic Rice Plants Resist Insects, Drought And Salt Damage
... made the transgenic rice were first introduced to cells of three Japonica rice varieties with the Biolistic particle delivery system, the "gene gun" invented at Cornell by plant biologist John Sanford and electrical engineer Edward Wolf. Cornell Research Foundation has applied for patents on the transgen...Mutate Or Die: New Polymerase Gives Desperate Yeast An Option
...A polymerase family: a last-gasp enzyme that yeast cells turn towhen all attempts to fix damaged DNA have f... humans alike. Damaged DNA that is copied to other cells carries a muchgreater risk of causing cancer and other diseases than healthy DNA does. By copying da...International Research Team Clones New Skin Cancer Gene
...ew gene, called PTC, is essential for keeping skin cells under control. "Genetic mutation of PTC is the key step in development of skin cancer,2 said Allen Bale, M.D., senior author of the Cell paper and director of the Cancer Genetics Program at the Yale Cancer Center. The discovery paves the way for nov...... With the exception of early fetal cells, all cells appear to have poisonousproteins stashed beneath t...anes. Like spies with cyanide pills underthe skin, cells pack these suicidal enzymes away for extreme emergencies,releasing them only when neighboring cells ...Photosystem I -- An Intermediate Step -- May Not Be Necessary For Plants
...e view that photosynthesis -- the process by which cells in green plants convert the energy of sunlight int...researchers explained they found that mutant algal cells were able to grow and survive in near-normal conditions. "No pun intended, but this sheds new light...Researchers Find Possible New Route to Making Cancer Cells Vulnerable
...ects the cell against poisons, but resistantcancer cells have many times the normal amount of MDR protein to protectthem from chemotherapy drugs. These cells work overtime, expelling chemotherapydrugs that would normally kill a cancerous tumor and allowing r...Protein Glitch May Be Early Problem In Inherited Alzheimer's
...be directly causing the widespread damage to nerve cells seen in FAD, but it may interfere with other proteins that could. Like dominoes falling, a change in presenilin sets off a chain reaction. "Think of it as a cascade," says Sisodia. "We don't know how many steps there are in this cascade, but we have...Virginia Tech Researchers Receive Patent For Rapid Virus Detection Technology
...sed on the fact that many viruses causesusceptible cells to break open and release their cellular contentsa...se of compoundsthat are normally only found within cells is indicative of thepossible presence of a virus," says Hagedorn. The test detects a specific compo...Nitric Oxide May Hold Key To First Treatment For Deadly Form Of Malaria, Duke Scientists Report
...ng why somebacteria escape attack by immune system cells called macrophages, whichare designed to disable a...ygenor NO is present. In fact, bacterial cells attempt to control both excess oxygen and excessnitrogen with the same OxyR transcription factor. ......ur cells. Uncorrectedabasic sites can be lethal to cells because they act as vast potholes, halting the pol...ght to occur because mutations permit precancerous cells to overcome the geneticdefenses against unlimited cell proliferation and migration." The Roches...