Scientists sequence genome of kind of organism central to biosphere's carbon cycle
...der to thrive. Diatoms, most of which are far too tiny to see without magnification, are nevertheless thought to absorb carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, in amounts comparable to all the world's tropical rain forests combined. "These organisms are incredibly important in the global carbon cycle,...Newly identified master gene key in baby's first breath
...cal found in the lungs that prevents alveoli - the tiny airways in the lungs - from collapsing and in turn allows the lungs to open when the newborn starts to breath. The absence of surfactant causes respiratory distress syndrome within hours of birth. "We showed that Foxa2 regulates a group of genes t...Rice finds 'on-off switch' for buckyball toxicity
...Four types of solutions were tested. One contained tiny clusters of smooth-surfaced buckyballs. In the other three, researcher s modified the buckyballs by attaching other molecules to their sides. Researchers measured how many cells died within 48 hours of exposure to each solution, and they repeated the...New sequence involved in DNA replication timing may aid in cancer detection
...ings have 46 large chromosomes, while cells of the tiny fission yeast contain three much smaller chromosomes," noted Huberman. "Despite these differences, the process of DNA replication is very similar in humans and fission yeast." The scientists found that the DNA surrounding many late-firing origins con...The book opens on the first tree genome
...equenced four years ago, Arabidopsis thaliana, the tiny workhorse for plant molecular geneticists. "Although we're still in the early stages of analyzing the poplar genome, in our first pass we found more than 40,000 genes, most with significant relatedness to genes in other plants," said Daniel Rokhsar,...Green, leafy spinach may soon power cellphones and laptops
...agments called peptides, transform themselves like tiny LEGOs TM into millions of substances. Shuguang Zhang, associate director of MIT's Center for Biomedical Engineering, discovered that these same peptides can be tweaked into forming completely new natural materials that perform useful functions. One ...Peering inside the body, with a new spinliterally
... magnetic field being pelted with radio waves. The tiny rodent-adventurer and her cohorts are put under and emerge from the experience no worse for the wear. This technique, in turn, called slow-magic-angle spinning magnetic resonance spectroscopy, or "slow MAS" for short, has provided researchers a new g......ting their outer membranes by the application of a tiny electrical current, a process called electroporation. This technology allowed the team to track cells that had been electroporated with the mutant forms of Cdc42 and observe as they contributed to somite formation. Electroporation of dominant negati...Two Virginia Tech energy-related inventions win R&D 100 awards
...ir and can reach depths exceeding 10,000 feet. The tiny sensors can be hydraulically deployed through a small tube, which means they can be pumped into place and retrieved without pulling the wellhead and casing. The sensors require no down-hole electronics or electrical power. Light is sent the length of...New research shows air pollution can reduce children's lung function
...air pollutants might dampen the growth of alveoli, tiny air sacs in the lungs. The research team will continue to follow the study participants into their early 20s, when their lungs will be fully mature. They want to find out whether the participants will experience respiratory symptoms, and if those who...Imitative parrots just might tell you it's all in the tongue
...e Sept. 7 issue of Current Biology shows that even tiny changes in theposition of a parrot's tongue can lead to big differences in sound. "Birdsong is an excellent model for human speech and also for thedevelopment of communicative behavior," Beckers said. "Song is somethingthat has to be learned, and it ...Genetic map of important tree genes outlined
...t species, such as rice, corn, and Arabidopsis - a tiny plant in the mustard family that is the lab rat for all plants." The database just announced, which was produced by a research group in Sweden with collaboration by researchers at OSU, describes about 102,000 sequences of the most commonly expressed...Single isolated mouse skin cell can generate into variety of epidermal tissues
...requently were found by researchers to reside in a tiny bulge halfway up the side of a hair follicle shaft. Earlier this year, researchers in the Fuchs lab reported in the journal Science a method to tag these "slow cycling" cells with a fluorescent marker and watched them travel out of the niche and mov...Identifying tick genes could halt disease, bioterrorism threat
...terrorism weapons. To find new ways to control the tiny animals and halt the spread of the pathogens they carry, Purdue University researchers and colleagues from the University of Connecticut Health Center, the University of Notre Dame and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are undertaking the job of ...Small, Smac-like molecule encourages death of cancer cells
...t's remarkable, because then you would only need a tiny amount to have a dramatic impact." The next step in the research is to test the compound in animals. "If it does well, hopefully it will someday find its way to people," he said. "That's the ultimate goal."...Essential smell gene may provide key to new insect repellents
...te, which smells like wintergreen. They attached a tiny recording electrode to the antenna of a fly, then puffed the odorant molecules into the air nearby. In normal flies, a dip registered on the electroantennogram (similar to the chart that records heartbeats on an electrocardiogram), indicating that ne...Convulsions in worms mimic epileptic seizures
...ave found a way to mimic epileptic seizures in the tiny roundworm C. elegans. The finding could make the worm a powerful model for unraveling the molecular regulation of epilepsy, a condition that affects two percent of the population. Guy A. Caldwell, coordinator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's ...New imaging technology at Joslin shown to detect early signs of type 1 diabetes
...mmation is increased permeability (leaking) of the tiny blood vessels surrounding and within the islets. ... technology works The new imaging technology uses tiny probes called long-circulating magnetofluorescent nanoparticles (CMFN). These particles contain mag...Molecular motor myosin VI moves 'hand over hand,' researchers say
...osin VI has two "arms" connected to a "body." The tiny molecule converts chemical energy into mechanical motion, and transports its load by "stepping" along polarized filaments of actin -- but in the opposite direction from other myosin variants. "Studies have suggested two main models for the stepping m...... drugs to specific parts of the body or be used as tiny security sensors....