Duke Researchers Discover Central Role Of Nitric Oxide In Hemoglobin Action
...it carries to help get oxygen into tissues. And NO helps hemoglobincarry away the trash of carbon dioxide. It's fantastic." The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Pew CharitableTrusts. Working with Stamler was first author, Duke research associate LiJia, and Joseph Bonave...Salvage Gene Is At The Root Of Many Mutations
...salvage irreparably damaged DNA. The enzyme, REV1, helps a cell evade its ownstringent quality control and opens the door to mutations. The findings are reported in the August 22 issue of <AHREF="http://www.nature.com/">Nature . The researchers set out to understand the function of a family ...Human-Like Ability, Categorical Perception, Found In Insects
..., and insect-eating bats, emitting ultrasound that helps echolocate their prey at 25 to 80 kHz (humans with good hearing can detect sounds up to 20 kHz). Steering toward the low-frequency cricket sound might help the flier find a mate, or at least the company of other crickets. However, failing to steer ...Cholesterol Anchor Helps Signaling Proteins Direct Development
...surprise to discover that the cholesterol molecule helps cause the split and then serves as the anchor for the hedgehog signal," says Jeff Porter, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow and first author of the paper. "After spending two years searching for what we thought might be a new molecule, this was like findi...Pinpoint Gene Control Holds Promise For Nervous System Studies
...hy. Scientists believe the presence of suchfactors helps determine how our brains are wired. For example,like trees shooting out their roots in search of water, neuronsin one part of the brain, the basal forebrain, send theirprojections in search of NGF to the hippocampus. The team plansto study the effect...A Sensor, A Switch, A Zipper: Protein Engineers Design Potential Tool
... Beyond any potential applications, this study helps increase general understanding of coiled coils. These structures are found in hundreds of proteins and are essential to processes as diverse as gene transcription, muscle contraction, viral attack, and cell division. ...New Study Shows Steps Leading To Colon Cancer
...catenin' in humans, goes into the cell nucleus and helps regulate gene expression or, in other words, turns genes on and off." In normal embryonic development, by switching genes on and off, the protein tells cells which tissues they should make and directs, for example, development of arms and legs, Pei...CSIRO Discovery Fights Cell Ageing
...nt. The CSIRO team also found that Beta Alistine' helps to prevent cross-linkingof collagen and other proteins in skin. Over the years, and especially withexposure to the sun, cross-links form between adjacent collagen fibres causingthe characteristic wrinkling and loss of elasticity. Sydney University's...Evolutionary Advantage Found For Sex
...in the July 31issue of the journal Nature that sex helps weed out harmful genetic mutations,increasing a population's genetic fitness. Clifford Zeyl, assistant professor of biology at Wake Forest University,said that his studies of sexual reproduction in brewer's yeast, Saccharomycescerevisiae, hav...Resistance To Leptin Contributes To Obesity
Insensitivity to the protein leptin, which helps the body regulateits fat stores, contributes to obesity in mice according to the firstformal study of leptin intolerance, report scientists in the Aug. 5Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings also provideclues about leptin's a...Where Fossils Fear To Tread: Scientists Follow Genes To An Ancient Ancestor
...ages not only simplifies evolutionary history, but helps explain the great burst of evolutionary activity known as the Cambrian explosion. This "evolutionary big bang" took place in the world's oceans more than 500 million years ago when new animals appeared at breakneck speed. "The reality is th...... of real families andthe choices they made, Zallen helps readers think through theirown alternatives and discuss them with relatives. "DoesIt Run in the Family? is a must for anyone considering genetictesting, and facing its personal, familial, and societal implications,"said Joan O. Weiss, founding dire...Roadsides Benefit From Waste, UF Researchers Say
...The improved soil would help grass grow, and grass helps to stabilize roadways. The researchers turned to c...Importing topsoil and adding commercial fertilizer helps but is prohibitively expensive. So the researchers turned to organic wastes. "The roadside is a very...Jefferson Scientists Find Potential Deadly Effects Of Two Missing Cancer-Suppressor Genes
...until the damage can be fixed. MSH2 is a gene that helps cells' DNA spell-check and repair itself during replication. In 1993, Fishel and colleague Richard Kolodner showed that when MSH2 is altered, it accounts for about half of all cases of genetically linked hereditary non-polyposis colorecta...Gene For Last Major Form Of Batten Disease Discovered
...ecial sugarcalled mannose 6-phosphate. This sugar helps the cell direct the enzymes to thelysosomes. The normal brain contains about 75 of these enzymes, which appear asindividual spots when spread out on paper in one kind of laboratory test. However, the brains of patients with late infantile Batten dis...Plant-Based Therapies Examined For Colon Cancer Prevention
... Eating diets rich in fruits and vegetables helps reduce the risk ofcolorectal cancer as well as deaths from the disease, according topopulation-based studies. However, the chemicals in these plants responsiblefor the anti-cancer effect are not well known. "Certain plant-derived compoundscalled ph...New, Environmentally Friendly Technique For Separating Liquids Invented At UNC-CH
...s such as taxol, an extract from the yew tree that helps fightcancer," said Dr. Joseph M. DeSimone, Mary Ann Smith professor of chemistry atUNC-CH. "Very often these processes need to use organic solvents which are notgood for our environment. That's because the solvents are either toxic orflammable or bot......his conclusion. More generally, the study helps advance understanding of the criticalbalance between epilepsy and schizophrenia. DNA DAMAGE BY TOXINS MAY PRECIPITATE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE Scientists at Oregon Health Sciences University are shedding light onthe mechanisms by which a pl...Epic Of Evolution Conference Brings Science And Religion Together November 12-14
...ral Understanding and Change. "Dialogue like this helps to showthe public that science is a process of inquiry; it is part of the humanendeavor to understand the world and give meaning to it." Another focus of the conference is to simply educate the public about the broadapplication of evolutionary studie...Stress Lowers Sperm Count By Overwhelming Cells That Make Testosterone
...orticoid hormone. In small amounts, glucocorticoid helps cells grow andthrive, but in the large amounts pro...-1facilitates the action of glucocorticoid, which helps Leydig cells divide. In essence, according to Hardy's data,glucocorticoid does for the developing Le...