'Smart antibiotics' may result from UCLA research
New UCLA research published in Nature may lead to an effective alternative to antibiotic drugs for treating bacterial diseases.... ...UCLA microbiologists report the discovery of a new class of genetic elements, similar to retroviruses, that operate in bacteria, allowing them to diversify their proteins to bind to a large variety of receptors. The team discovered this fundamental mechanism in the...UCLA molecular biologists uproot the tree of life
One of science's most popular metaphors -- the "tree of life," with its evolutionary branches and roots, showing groups of bacteria on the bottom and multicellular animals on the higher branches -- turns out to be a misnomer, UCLA molecular biologists report in the Sept. 9 issue of the journal ....... "It's not a tree; it's actually a ring of life," said James A. Lake, UCLA professsor of molecul...DHA-rich diet protects brain from Alzheimer's damage, UCLA study shows
UCLA neuroscientists have shown for the first time that a diet high in the omega-3 fatty acid DHA helps protect the brain against the memory loss and cell damage caused by Alzheimer's disease. The new research suggests that a DHA-rich diet may lower one's risk of Alzheimer's disease and may help slow progression of the disorder in its later stages. The journal Neuron reported the findings on Se...UCLA researchers recreate patterns formed by mammalian cells
In early development, how do cells know to put the right spacing between ribs, fingers and toes? How do they communicate with each other to form symmetrical and repeated patterns such as zebra stripes or leopard spots? ......For the first time, UCLA researchers have recreated the ability of mammalian cells to self-organize, forming evenly spaced patterns in a test tube. Published in the June 22...UCLA receives NSF award for plasma research
UCLA researchers have received a Major Research Instrumentation Program award from the National Science Foundation to build a 256-node, 512-processor computer cluster to advance research and education in broad and diverse areas of plasma science. This major award recognizes the significant role computation plays in scientific discovery and technological advances and especially highlights the stro...UCLA to host free symposium April 5 on extinctions in Earths history
UCLA will host a symposium on "Extinctions in the History of Life," bringing together internationally renowned scientists, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, April 5, in UCLAs Schoenberg Auditorium (near the corner of Hilgard and Westholme Avenues).... ...Topics will include "Extinctions in Lifes Earliest History," "The Evolutionary Role of Mass Extinctions," "Causes of Mass Extinctions," "Extincti...VA/UCLA researchers pinpoint role of histamines in waking
Sepulveda, CA-- A study by scientists with the Veterans Affairs' Neurobiology Research Laboratory and UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute shows that brain cells containing the chemical histamine are critical for waking....... , the findings show that the cessation of activity in histamine cells causes loss of consciousness during sleep, while cessation of activity in other brain cells--those containi...UCLA scientists decipher how the brain retrieves and stores our oldest memories
For the first time, UCLA neurobiologists have pinpointed a region of the brain called the anterior cingulate as responsible for retrieving and storing distant memories. Published in the May 7 edition of Science, the findings may suggest new ways of treating memory disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. ......"Scientists have long understood that the hippocampus processes...UCLA chemists develop new coating for nanoscale probes
A UCLA-led team of chemists has developed a unique new coating for inorganic particles at the nanoscale that may be able to disguise the particles as proteins -- a process that allows particles to function as probes that can penetrate the cell and light up individual proteins inside, and create the potential for application in a wide range of drug development, diagnostic tools and medications.......UCLA study sheds new light on island evolution
Evolution of genetically distinct species that live exclusively on land can be slowed by over-water dispersal following tropical storms, according to a UCLA study that suggests classic theories of island evolution need an overhaul.... ...In an article published Thursday, Dec. 4, in the journal Nature, postdoctoral fellow Ryan Calsbeek and Professor Thomas B. Smith of the UCLA Center for Tropical...UCLA study identifies stem cell in artery wall
A UCLA study demonstrates for the first time that specific cells found in the adult artery wall have stem cell-like potential. Researchers found artery cells that change into cartilage, bone, muscle and marrow stromal cells....... The new study will be published online on Oct. 27 and will appear in an upcoming print issue of the journal Circulation. The study may lead to a new source of adult ste...UCLA study uses genetic profiling to distinguish types of leprosy
UCLA researchers found a distinction in the gene expression of leprosy that accurately classified two different clinical forms of the disease. This is one of the first studies of its kind where genetic profiling distinguished between disease types, possibly leading to new ways to diagnose and treat all types of diseases. ... ...The new UCLA study, published Sept. 12 in the journal Science, also...UCLA researcher first to solve structure of membrane transport protein
Led by UCLA physiologist H. Ronald Kaback (Sherman Oaks), an international research team's 12-year mission to solve the structure of an important protein has paid off. Kaback and his colleagues recently captured the three-dimensional structure of lactose permease (LacY), which moves lactose across the cell membrane of E. coli, a common bacterium.... ...According to Kaback, LacY is a model for a l...UCLA physicists create nanoscale sensor
UCLA physicists have created a first-of-its-kind nanoscale sensor using a single molecule less than 20 nanometers long -- more than 1,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair -- the team reports in the June 24 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences....... The nano molecular sensor could help with early diagnosis of genetic diseases, and have numerous other applic...UCLA scientist wins prestigious award
Brain surgeon and scientist Dr. Linda Liau has won the prestigious Kimmel Translational Science Award to further her search for genetic mutations associated with deadly brain cancers....... Liau, a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher and an assistant professor of neurosurgery, will receive $200,000 over two years from the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research. Founded in 1993, the foundation...UCLA study finds clues to diabetes puzzle
A diabetes epidemic that appears to have claimed the life of composer Johann Sebastian Bach may explain baffling disparities in the disease's rates among 21st-century ethnic groups, a UCLA geographer and evolutionary biologist says in the current issue of Nature.... ...Aside from speculating that many people may carry genes that predispose them to diabetes, researchers have been at loss to explai...UCLA biologists elucidate fertilization process
UCLA graduate student Jeffrey Riffell and UCLA biology professor Richard Zimmer report the first experimental test on the role of small-scale physics as it influences the interactions between sperm and egg, and the consequences for fertilization, at the annual conference of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences in Sarasota, Fla., April 10. ......The physics of fluid motion has a profound co...UCLA and NASA partner to form new institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration
UCLA and NASA have partnered to combine the latest advances in biology and engineering at the Institute for Cell Mimetic Space Exploration (CMISE), which officially opens on Monday, Feb. 10. CMISE will meld the molecular world with aerospace technology to create minuscule monitoring systems, or a "lab on a chip," that could make research safer and more efficient on earth and in space. ......UCLA...UCLA offers CASE Media fellowships on genetics, society and the individual
In conjunction with the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), UCLA will host a fellowship program to inform journalists about leading experts' positions on the sweeping medical and societal changes brought by the genetics field to society and individuals. The UCLA-CASE Fellowship Program will take place May 1216, 2003. ......The program will enable journalists to explore is...UCLA/Caltech scientists develop new gene therapy approach
UCLA and California Institute of Technology researchers have developed a new gene therapy approach that prevents the AIDS virus from entering human cells. The technique offers a potential way to treat HIV patients and could apply to any disease caused by a gene malfunction, including cancer. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences will report the findings online the week of Dec. 23......UCLA scientists eavesdrop on cellular conversations by making mice 'glow' with firefly protein
UCLA scientists coupled the protein that makes fireflies glow with a device similar to a home video camera to eavesdrop on cellular conversations in living mice. Reported in the Nov. 11 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, their findings may speed development of new drugs for cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neurological diseases....... Led by Dr. Sanjiv Gambh...Model for common type of cancer developed by UCLA scientists
Scientists at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have developed the world's first animal model for mature human B-cell lymphomas, a discovery that may lead to the uncovering of the genetic mutations that cause these types of cancer. Mature B-cell type lymphomas account for about 85 percent of all lymphomas....... The basic science discovery is outlined in the Oct. 29 issue of the peer-reviewed journal...UCLA study shows water reclamation could become an important source of future water supplies
Southern California's water supply is dwindling and a drought exists in the state, but the public has misperceptions and shows a lack of interest in water reuse, a potential source of water supplies, according to UCLA Institute of the Environment researchers. ......The demand for water outside of California, along with environmental needs, are reducing Southern California's imported water supplie...UCLA neuroscientists discovery distinct molecular key to overcoming fear
In a discovery with implications for treatment of anxiety disorders, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute investigators have identified a distinct molecular process in the brain involved in overcoming fear. The findings will be published in the Oct. 15 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience.... ...The study of how mice acquire, express and extinguish conditional fear shows for the first time that L-ty...UCLA science profs awarded $1 million Howard Hughes Medical Institute grants
Two UCLA professors are among 20 professors nationally to be awarded $1 million grants by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to creatively improve undergraduate science teaching....... UCLA's new "HHMI Professors" are Utpal Banerjee and Robert B. Goldberg, both professors in the Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology....... UCLA is the only university in the United States...Smoking pot alters more than mood human immune system affected, USF/UCLA study finds
Tampa, FL (Aug. 27 2002) -- Marijuana may alter immune function in people -- but the jury is still out on whether it hurts or helps the body's ability to fight infection or other diseases, report researchers at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and the UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles.... ..."The bottom line is you cannot routinely smoke marijuana without it affecting your...UCLA scientists develop prostate cancer tracking system
Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and in the Department of Urology have demonstrated for the first time that they can locate difficult-to-detect prostate cancer metastases in laboratory models, a discovery that could lead to safer and more effective gene-based treatments for advanced prostate cancer....... UCLA researchers engineered a virus that can identify prostate cancer cells based...UCLA scientists discover hormone may spur dramatic weight loss
The only known adults in the world who possess a rare genetic mutation that prevents their bodies from producing leptin may open the door to a new way of fighting fat. After injections with leptin -- a human hormone linked to appetite control -- the adults' dramatic weight loss suggests that leptin offers significant promise for treating obesity.... ...Dr. Julio Licinio, professor of medicine at...UCLA neuroscientists first to show that adult brains turn back developmental clock to repair damage
A new study by UCLA neuroscientists shows for the first time that a unique pattern of cellular activity found in early brain development also triggers repairs to damaged adult brains. The findings, appearing in the July 15 edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of Neuroscience, hold implications for treating brain damage caused by stroke and other disorders.... ...Researchers in the Department of N...Communities dealing with hazardous waste need independent adviser, UCLA engineering professor says
Helping a community cope with the fear and chaos accompanying a hazardous waste cleanup project convinced a UCLA engineering professor that people in this position need someone to watch out for their interests....... As a result of his recent efforts on behalf of Rep. Jane Harmon (D-Venice) involving a reclamation project in Torrance, Calif., chemical engineering Professor Yoram Cohen believes th...UCLA scientists image how Parkinsons genes misfire in mice
UCLA scientists have developed a fast new way to image how thousands of genes misfire proteins in a mouse model of Parkinsons disease. The approach may provide a research blueprint for pinpointing the abnormal brain regions linked to autism and schizophrenia.... ...The new findings are reported in the June edition of Genome Research.... ...Last year, UCLA pharmacologist Desmond Smith developed a...Brain cancer vaccine shows promising findings in early research at UCLAs Jonsson Cancer Center
An experimental vaccine for brain cancer has shown promising results in preliminary investigations at UCLAs Jonsson Cancer Center.... ...The results are published in this weeks issue of the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Research.... ...The vaccine, studied first as a preventive strategy for brain tumors, completely prevented brain tumor formation in laboratory rats. In contrast, all of the rats th...Children from risky families suffer serious long-term health consequences, UCLA scientists report
In the first study to analyze more than a decade of research showing how a familys social environment influences physical and mental health, a team of UCLA scientists found strong evidence that children who grow up in risky families often suffer lifelong health problems, including some of societys most common serious ailments, such as cancer, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depre...UCLA scientists, colleagues substantiate biological origin of earliest fossils
UCLA paleobiologist J. William Schopf and colleagues have substantiated the biological origin of the earliest known cellular fossils, which are 3.5 billion years old. The research is published in the March 7 issue of the journal Nature. ......Schopf and a team of scientists at the University of Alabama, Birmingham have devised a new technique using a unique laser-Raman imaging system that enables...Centuries-old lotus seeds germinated by UCLA scientists
An international team led by UCLA scientists germinated lotus seeds nearly 500 years old from lotus fruits recovered from an ancient lotus lake in northeastern China the first time new plants have been raised from parents so old. ......The cultivation of offspring from old seeds radiocarbon dated at between 200 and 500 years of age is a first in plant biology, said UCLA research biologist Jane...UCLA and Finnish scientists identify genetic mutation that causes lactose intolerance
UCLA and Finnish researchers have identified a genetic mutation for lactose intolerance, a painful digestive condition that afflicts some 30 million to 50 million North Americans, 75 percent of African Americans and 90 percent of Asian Americans. The findings are reported in the Jan. 14 issue of Nature Genetics....... Dr. Leena Peltonen, UCLAs Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Chair in...UCLA researchers invent first technique to image Alzheimer's onset
... ...Findings will speed diagnosis, intervention and new therapies... ... ... ...UCLA scientists have created the first technique to image the earliest evidence of Alzheimers disease in the living brain before the disorder begins attacking brain cells. Reported in the January issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, the technique will allow doctors to monitor the disease as it...Coenzyme Q shortens life span of worms substantially, UCLA chemists report
A popular dietary supplement, Coenzyme Q, accelerates aging and death in a microscopic worm studied by UCLA biochemists.... ...Adult worms on a diet without Coenzyme Q live 60 percent longer than those on a diet rich in the lipid, reports Pamela Larsen, UCLA research associate in chemistry and biochemistry, and Catherine Clarke, UCLA associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, in the Jan....Exposure to two common air pollutants may increase the chance that a pregnant woman will give birth to a child with certain heart defects, according to a UCLA study that provides the first compelling evidence that air pollution may play a role in causing some birth defects.... ...Pregnant Los Angeles-area women living in regions with higher levels of ozone and carbon monoxide pollution were as mu...UCLA researchers have discovered that the AIDS epidemic significantly amplifies tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks, often doubling the number and frequency of resulting TB cases. However, their research also shows that strong TB treatment programs can curb HIVs effect a result of particular importance in developing countries battling both diseases. The Journal of AIDS reported the UCLA findings in its...