Degrading Plastics To Reduce Waste
...egradable Compostable Plastic (DCP) additives that acts as a catalyst to causethe carbon bonds in the polyethene to be broken. Microorganisms in the soil andwater can then digest the material, converting it into harmless water and carbondioxide. Refuse sacks made of SPI-TEK are already on the market and...Common Prostate Cancer: A Different Process Altogether?
...cer cells. Earlier studies by the team showed pp32 acts as a suppressor and keeps cellsfrom turning malignant. Yet close relatives of the gene, to theresearchers' surprise,act like pp32's genetic evil twins and encourage tumor growth. The pp32r1 and pp32r2 genes are present and turned on in perhaps 90 pe...New Class Of Molecular Cues Guides Nervous System Wiring
...d Slit, attempting to understand indetail how Slit acts as a repellent in some cases and an axon-branching promoterin others. Their hope is that such knowledge will enable them to use one set ofchemicals to persuade severed neurons, as in damaged spinal cords, to producenew growth cones capable of reacti...Emory University Scientists Demonstrate New Pathway For Genetic Mutations In Everyday Cell Life
...t is normally found only in RNA. Since uracil (U) acts more like the Tbase than it does the C base, it causes genetic miscoding that can lead toprotein mutations. "Scientists have known for awhile that cytosine changing to uracil is a veryimportant type of genetic damage in the process of cell division ...New Insights About 'Good Cholesterol'
...nd to the "good" high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, acts as a powerfulantioxidant within blood vessels. The findings will appear in the American Chemical Society (ACS) peer-reviewedjournal Biochemistry. ACS Web publication of the paper will be on April 27 andthe research will be in the journal's May 11 pr...The Origins Of Hereditary Breast Cancer -- Studies With Knock-Out Mice Reveal Underlying Mechanisms
...d for quite some time, namely that the BRCA-1 gene acts asa tumour suppressor since it is involved in repairing damaged genetic material.Its loss of function causes a genetic instability that favours the manifestationof further mutations. Under normal conditions a variety of 'guardian' genes,including p53...... research team have shown that it binds to DNA and acts as atranscription factor -- it regulates genes that instruct a cell to start thefinal phase of cell division. Bernstein and the University of California haveobtained a patent protecting the use of hCdc5 for therapeutic approaches tocancer and muscle ...Studies Of A Gene For A Rare Form Of Rickets Shed Light On Vitamin D Deficiencies
...re learning how it isregulated normally and how it acts abnormally in both a rare inherited form ofrickets and in common forms of vitamin D deficiency, for example bone growthproblems caused by chronic kidney failure or by aging. Anthony Portale, M.D., professor of pediatrics and chief of pediatric nephro...Researchers Track Path Of Safer Gene Delivery Method
...nter havetracked the path that this polymer--which acts as an artificial virus--and theDNA it carries take through the cell. They have shown that the complex endsup--intact--in the cell's nucleus, where the new DNA can be read and put towork. Antonios (Tony) Mikos, Rice professor of bioengineering...NICHD Researchers Discover Gene For Major Brain Structure
... an exciting model to study in detail how thisgene acts and how its inactivation affects hippocampus assembly and function, headded. This work is part of a concerted effort to unravel molecular mechanismsthat underlie complex brain function, an effort currently under way in manylaboratories....Discovery Of A Molecule That Controls Bile Acids May Lead To New Cholesterol Drugs
..., to activate thecellular changes, is unknown. FXR acts as the lock that binds with bile acids.When this happens, the receptor represses the gene to regulate the enzymecholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase, which limits bile-acid synthesis. At the sametime, it activates a gene that encodes I-BABP (intestinal bi...... gain entrance. This protein, known as an adaptor, acts asboth bridge tender and bridge, binding to a specific receptor-cargo package onthe outside the cell, and then to the clathrin molecule inside the cellmembrane. When triggered by the adaptor, the three-legged clathrin molecules line up withone anot...... suspect," she said, "that the DAF-2/DAF-16 system acts as a master regulatorto regulate development and aging in response to environmental signals, such asfood, as well as internal signals that reflect the state of the reproductivesystem." External factors affecting the rate at which reproductive cells ...Magnetic Fluids More Complex Than Previously Thought
... eachparticle generates its own local field, which acts to stiffen particlesnearby. The researchers found another unexpected effect. They found that, as theywere pulling chains apart, extra spheres frequently popped into the chain.Such additions lowered the tension in the chain momentarily, and caused the...'Cousin' Of Snake Venom Toxin Found In Mice
...ineneurons is a hallmark of the disease. "If lynx1 acts in the whole animal like itdoes in cells, then the structure of the protein could be a good start indesigning rational therapy for human conditions," Heintz said....Report in Science on x-ray crystal structure of matrix Metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2)
...nd the subsequent development of new tissue. MMP-2 acts directly on type IV collagen, a principal component of the basallamina, a specialized form of the extracellular matrix. The activation of MMPshas been implicated in the invasive growth and spread of tumors. Severalclinical studies are in progress e......le,which is synthesized in the brain, responds and acts appropriately to regulatethe release of the pituit...cademic Affairs, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "LIF acts as an 'on-off' switch,communicating to the endocrine system to produce ACTH, which is secreted by th...Target for cystic fibrosis drugs found
...--to fix the mutant CFTR fragment. The heavy water acts like an extra set ofhands on the bed sheet and folds the defective fragment into the samehelical shape as its normal counterparts. And while heavy water is unlikelyto help patients because of its toxicity, researchers now have a simple"test-tube test...University of Pittsburgh team finds gene that increases risk of oteoporotic fractures
...of Bone and Mineral Research. Impressively,APOE-4 acts independently of two important common risk factors--bone mineraldensity and falling. "Our findings suggest that osteoporotic fractures may result from genes that donot influence bone mineral density directly. Identifying this new marker couldimprove...Mayo Clinic study shows dietary supplement may help fight heart disease
...L-arginine, through aseries of chemical reactions, acts on the lining of blood vessels (endothelium)to relax the vessel wall and may inhibit the build-up of platelets and plaques. "These findings are exciting," Dr. Lerman says, "but we want to cautionpatients to discuss the use of L-arginine -- as the u...