Harvard, Duke Researchers Discover 'Off-switch' Inside Human Cells
...fhuman proteins to find those that interacted with activated G proteins.Structural analysis revealed that one o...entistshad shown that this RGS family switches off activated G proteins in theseorganisms. Further experiments by the Harvard-Duke team also detected RGS10 in l...Cholesterol Anchor Helps Signaling Proteins Direct Development
...s split in two to activate. During the split, the activated form of the protein, known as the signal, becomes anchored to the surface of the cell that makes it. "It came as a complete surprise to discover that the cholesterol molecule helps cause the split and then serves as the anchor for the hedgehog signal...Medicinal Leech May Offer Clues To Neural Regeneration
... have found that nitric oxide synthase, or NOS, is activated when parts of the nerve cell are damaged in the me...science. "Our study shows that NOS in the leech is activated at the site of injury within minutes after axons are severed, and it remains active well beyond 48 h...New Finding Suggests "HATs" Are Key To Gene Activation Puzzle
...n which DNA is usually stored. "How genes are activated has confounded biologists for years," says C. Davi...sest we've come yet to understanding how genes are activated through chromatin unfolding, and I expect that withinthe next two years we'll have a clearer underst...Project Shows Native Bacteria Can Destroy Widespread Pollutant In Groundwater
...olatile contaminants, which are then adsorbed onto activated charcoal filters. This approach wastes water, because the treated water is seldom reinjected into the aquifer. The contaminated charcoal also must be disposed. Energy costs can be high for pumping contaminated water from deep aquifers. The clean wate...Resistance To Leptin Contributes To Obesity
...mice may result from a defect in the nerve pathway activated by leptin,"Friedman says. "In NZO mice, a decrease in the transport of leptin intothe cerebrospinal fluid may cause the obesity." Friedman, Halaas and Denton's coauthors include: Naseem Fidahusein,B.S., at Rockefeller; Carol Boozer, D.Sc., a...Molecular Piracy Turns Protein Into Traitor
...asthma where the human immune system is abnormally activated or even as a means of understanding transplant rejection. It may also lead to useful anti-inflammatory agents for asthma and rheumatoid arthritis....Imaging Studies Illuminate Brain's Response To Cocaine
...ne user. "Understanding how different circuits are activated during the different stagesof drug use and withdra... Other areas showing an immediateresponse remained activated longer, extending into periods when participantsreported feelings of craving. One of the most signi...... Vpr onnuclear factor kappa-B. They found that Vpr activated another factor calledinhibitor of kappa-B to neutralize nuclear factor kappa-B, largely shutting downproduction of the cytokines. In addition to Weiner and Ayyavoo, coauthors based at Penn include S.Mahalingam, PhD; Sagar Kudchodkar, PhD; and...New Form Of Gene Therapy Holds Promise For The Future
...roducing a "drug" that is internally regulatedand activated only when needed. They have developed a system in mice in which the level of a geneticallyengineered protein responds to inflammatory signals produced by the micethemselves. This method of gene therapy, described in the October issue ofNature...Gene Therapy Trial Takes Aim At Deadly Brain Cancer
...h the patient is given ganciclovir. The drug is activated by the TK enzyme by a process called phosphorylation. The activated drug then kills the host cancer cell by shutting down its ability to replicate its DNA. I......produce one particular receptor, then the odorthat activated that receptor would cause a much larger response than normal, onethat could be easily measured. The Columbia team inserted two linked genes, one that codes for a ratolfactory receptor, called rat I7, and a gene for green fluorescent protein(...... the February 20 Science. APC proteins are activated as the cell progresses through mitosis, butas yet, Kirschner and Yu do not know exactly how they are regulated. However,uncertainty about APC's regulation does not diminish the potential of thismulti-subunit complex for anticancer therapeutics. With ...Study Shows: Just Say NO To Bone Loss
...much calcium from bone, the nitric oxide system is activated to turnthe cell off. More studies are under way to understand these processes.Osdoby, whose work is supported by grants from the National Institutes ofHealth, published his results in the January 1998 issue of Journal of Bone andMineral Research. D...PEBBLEs Help U-M Scientists Open A Window On Cell Chemistry
...target substance, the dye in the PEBBLE glows when activated by a specific wavelength of light. As the concentration of the targeted substance changes, the intensity of the PEBBLE's fluorescence increases or decreases. Once the PEBBLEs are ready, Clark uses pico-injection techniques or a gene gun to fire...Researchers Discover How Ulcer Bug Becomes Antibiotic-Resistant
...fax. "When metronidazole is taken alone, it can be activated by one of the bacterium's enzymes to produce hydroxylamine, a mutagen and cancer-causing chemical." The collaborators describe their findings in the April 14 issue ofMolecular Microbiology. Hoffman's graduate student, Avery Goodman, is lead ...Researchers Discover Existing Drugs May Prevent Enlarged Hearts
...edcalcineurin in heart muscle cells, which allowed activated NFAT3 toenter the nucleus and start the hypertroph...ged to two to three times normal size,proving that activated calcineurin is sufficient to induce cardiachypertrophy. At the least sign of stress the mice died. T...Inhibitor Shows Potential To Protect Infant Brain
... 18 and 24 hours. Just before they died, the cells activated their caspases and chopped up their DNA, two events that typify apoptosis. Protein-cutting caspases are the executioners that finalize a cell's decision to self-destruct. If they're prevented from doing their job, cells can't commit suicide. "A maj...Biggest Acoustics Meeting Ever
...e in Japan (3pBV4) will describe drugs that can be activated at specificcancer sites using ultrasound. Developing anti-cancer drugs that are activated by ultrasound only at thedesired regions can potentially minimize the devastating effects of chemoth...Scientists Say Latently Infected Cells May Stoke the Fire of HIV Replication
...us cycles of infection and death of activated CD4+ T cells, the virus’ primary ... "Studies have shown that T cells activated in the presence of a cellular source of HIV are much more likely to be...