Science picks -- leads, feeds and story seeds (February 2003)
...s well as trace metals, such as chromium and lead, attach to particles and flow to the river. Butch Kinerney ( bkinerney@usgs.gov ) 703-648-4732 FEEDS: Is February Earthquake Season? Early February seems to be a busy time for bad earthquakes. Checking on data from the USGS and its long-term role in e...Boulder chemist wins national award for studies of atmosphere
...lops ever-smaller and less costly instruments that attach to balloons and measure chemicals such as ozone and nitric oxide. Interestingly, a nitric oxide monitor may have medical benefit as well. The gas's presence in human breath is a signal for the inflammation characteristic of asthma. "The idea is to on...Gene that drives cells to commit suicide also plays key role in development of skeletal muscle
...3 or PAX7break away from their own chromosomes and attach to FKHR forming PAX3-FKHR or PAX7-FKHR fusion genes. These genes then cause rhabdomyosarcoma. Understanding the normal role of FKHR in myoblasts could help explain how the mutated FKHR genes cause cancer, according to the St. Jude researchers. The st...Researchers develop first mouse model of epithelial ovarian cancer
...in cells covering the ovaries. "It was critical to attach the oncogene to a regulator that would limit the cancer-causing gene's expression to the ovary, including the epithelial ovarian cells," explained Connolly. "Using this strategy, we have generated transgenic animals that develop epithelial ovarian c...... with the proteins that viruses such as HIV use to attach to cells. "The idea is to make decoys for the virus," said Jacquelyn Gervay Hague, professor of chemistry at UC Davis and principal investigator on the grant. HIV attaches itself to a host cell through a protein called gp120 on the virus surface. G...Gold 'nanoplugs' wire up enzymes
...thors describe how they used gold nanoparticles to attach a glucose-oxidizing enzyme to an electrode, and then used this bioelectrocatalytic system to measure glucose levels. "The gold nanoparticle --1.4 nanometers, or billionths of a meter, in diameter -- plays two very important roles," says Hainfeld. "Fi...Myosin V, the molecular motor, moves in monkey-bar motion
...en the molecule rotates allowing the other head to attach much like a child on a playground crosses the monkey-bars hand-over-hand. Myosin V, which is also found in pigment cells, is a protein that consists of two heads attached to a long tail, which can bind to the motors molecular cargo. Myosin trav...Getting a handle on sensitive cycles
... is no estrogen around, 'unloaded' receptors still attach themselves to DNA, but the gene won't be activated. Now suppose that a lot of estrogen arrives, and that gene needs to be activated. The inactive receptor needs to be moved out of the way so that an active one can take its place." Cells need to be eq...New DNA chip rapidly detects, identifies dangerous pathogens
...hen a complex series of steps must be performed to attach a special molecule to the DNA, which will act as a fluorescent beacon, making the DNA strand easy to detect. These beacon-outfitted pieces are then mixed with control DNA sequences to see if any match. Matching sequences would adhere to one another, ...Gene variation in immune system cells lowers heart disease risk
... immune system cells bearing CX3CR1 and helps them attach to infected or diseased tissue. The NIAID scientists speculated that in atherosclerotic tissues, fractalkine might attract immune system cells and encourage them to bind to the walls of blood vessels, thereby triggering inflammation and plaque forma...Programmable antibodies-- hybrid cancer therapy described by scientists at Scripps
...body with the small drug molecule and "covalently" attach the two with a linker. And while the antibody portion of the hybrids kept them circulating, the small-molecule portion guided them towards cancer cells. In this case, the small molecule they used guided the hybrids to target two molecules known as th...Process triggered by some anti-cancer drugs causes tumors in mice, study finds
... methyl molecules, which can turn genes on or off, attach to the bases of an organisms DNA. In many cancer cells, too few methyl molecules attach to DNA, a condition scientists call hypomethylation. But until now, scientists didnt know which came...Scientists discover 'drive shaft' in mechanism that propels parasite into cells
...wn as MIC2 (micronemal protein 2) to recognize and attach to host cells. MIC2 molecules bind to receptors on the host cell, thus gripping the membrane. The parasite moves these adhesin-receptor complexes over its surface from front to back like a tractor tread. This concerted action propels the host membran...Borrowing from Ebola virus could aid cystic fibrosis gene therapy
...r modified virus creates a hybrid vehicle that can attach itself to a receptor on the top surface, or airway...mes. Previously studied gene delivery vehicles can attach only to the bottom surface, which requires breaching the normally closed cell surface layer. The di...A switch that makes a blood clot sticky found within the platelet membrane
...ladelphia, PA) - Integrin receptors allow cells to attach to other cells and to connective tissue which is necessary to form tissues, organs, or even people, for that matter. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that a key to activating αIIbβ3, the int...Columbia investigators win 2003 Gairdner International Award for research
...ture of a key molecule that the AIDS virus uses to attach onto a human immune cell during infection, opening a new approach to the design of HIV antiviral drugs. Other 2003 award recipients include Dr. Seiji Ogawa, director of Ogawa Laboratories for Brain Function Research, Hamano Life Science Research Fou...Controlling cell adhesion: Researchers report first evidence of 'catch bonds'
...ely on the mechanism to regulate when cells should attach and when they should not. "One of our goals now is to demonstrate that catch bonds are universal to at least several classes of molecules," added Zhu, who also holds a faculty appointment in the Coulter School of Biomedical Engineering operated by G...Pathogenic yeasts and fungi: A growing health concern
...of biofilms, or communities of microorganisms that attach to a solid surface. Groups of yeast cells that tend to be more resistant to anti-fungal drugs, fungal biofilms, are potentially a major cause of untreatable fungal infections. And these ideas only skim the surface. As researchers learn more about pat...Enzyme could overcome industrial bleaching waste problems
...earchers can use already established technology to attach the enzyme to tiny polymer beads and pack them into columns that will filter industrial wastewater. The team is currently discussing the industrial possibilities of this catalase with a major hydrogen peroxide manufacturer....Finicky snails provide new clues to the evolution of coastal ecosystems
...ease offspring into the open sea, channeled whelks attach their egg capsules to nearby rocks. This breeding behavior led Sanford to speculate that newborn whelks probably hatch and grow up within a few yards of where their parents lived. By staying close to home, whelk populations eventually would become is...