Brain Protein "Rescues" Neurons From Atrophy
...er neurotrophins were, indeed, key substances that cause the brain to "wire" itself into certain functional patterns as a result of experience. The new studies, however, show that the neurotrophins are specifically critical to the growth and interconnections of developing cells. In the experiments reported...Dangerous Chemical Combination Presents Possible Scenario For Gulf War Illnesses
... theory that combinations of certain chemicals can cause symptomsthat are not caused by individual chemicals alone." In the Duke study, researchers exposed healthy chickens to each of the threechemicals -- DEET, permethrin and PB -- individually and then in variouscombinations. Doses of each chemical wer......re in the brain suchoverstimulation occurs, it may cause the temporary "high" perceivedby cocaine or amphetamine addicts or the permanent and severe delusionsexperienced by schizophrenics. On the other hand, the lack of dopamine inthe brain's motor areas produces the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. "Virt...New Cancer Switch Discovered By Duke Medical Center Pharmacologists
...esistant to cancer-killing drugs, which is a major cause of death among cancer patients. The scientists dis... oncogene ras and did block apoptosis, but did not cause the cells to become cancerous, or "transformed." "This finding offers us two lessons," Pendergast sa...Researchers Pinpoint Site For Petit Mal Seizures In Brain
...t the exact mechanism by which GABAb receptors can cause absence seizures. Armed with the new information about the mechanism, Hosford plans to look for compounds that inhibit only those GABAb receptors affected in petit mal seizures, which the scientists hope will allow them to develop a treatment that wo...Tumor Suppressor Gene Located In Liver Cancer Cells
...P/IGF2r function is important in the way chemicals cause liver tumors in rats, the scientists explained, then pharmaceutical companies could take into account the decreased likelihood of this genetic loss occurring in humans when determining whether to pursue the testing of a promising new drug. Jirtle an...Duke Researchers Discover Candidate Susceptibility Gene For Autoimmune Disease
...TNFa. It is possible that defects in this gene may cause people to be susceptibleto developing autoimmune d...t new information aboutthe types of genes that can cause arthritis." In addition to using the animal model to understand the autoimmune response,Blackshear...Rosemary May Have Anti-Cancer Properties
...hen treated the rats with DMBA, a chemical knownto cause cancer. (DMBA has a structure similar to benzopyrenes, a classof carcinogens found in auto emissions and cigarette smoke.) The rosemary diet reduced by 76 percent the number of instances of DMBAbinding to the mammary cells, compared to rats fed a c...Duke Researchers Find Second Gene Linked To Blood Vessel Disorder
..., and webelieve there may be a third gene that can cause this disorder." With two genes now described, Marchuk will begin to piece together whatendoglin and ALK1 are doing, whether they interact with each other, andhow each normally contributes to the ability of blood vessels to heal inresponse to injury...Transgenic Rice Plants Resist Insects, Drought And Salt Damage
...to rice, a monocotyedonous plant. The potato genes cause rice plants to produce a protein that interferes w...stance can be easily achieved by adding genes that cause the plant to produce the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) toxin, Wu said. Anticipating potential objectio...Race Plus Roaches: A Breathtaking Link
... the study was conducted, asthma is the number one cause of absenteeism from school, says Eggleston. And recent epidemiologic data show that African-Americans living in the inner-city are hospitalized three times as often and die five times more often from asthma than those of other races. The study inclu...Mutate Or Die: New Polymerase Gives Desperate Yeast An Option
...e study by usingultraviolet light to intentionally cause a well-placed defect, or lesion, in DNA. The defect is a thymine-thymine dimer,a very common and well studied lesion created when sunlight hits an organism, causing two bases to link up unnaturally.The abnormality almost always stops other polymerase...Southern Pine Beetle Reaching Outbreak Levels In North Florida
...n somecommunities, cutting down infested pines can cause controversy. "People sometimes have problems cutting down infested pines. The trees arestill green and they have a tendency to want to try to save a tree, whenactually, the tree is already dead," Foltz said. Leaving an infested pine in place only giv...Researchers Use Hydrated Lime To Reduce Toxic Selenium Emissions
...nd other animals, large quantities of selenium can cause infertilityand damage to the liver, kidneys and lungs. About 2,500 tons of selenium are discharged into the atmosphereeach year in the United States alone. Regulations being proposedby the Environmental Protection Agency will seek to control emission...Core Spins Faster Than Earth, Scientists Find
...o create mountains andoceans, split continents and cause earthquakes. TheLamont-Doherty researchers' findings culminate a period of rapiddiscovery about the inner core. In the late 1980s and early 1990s,several scientists, including Dr. Song when he worked with colleaguesat the California Institute of Tec...Bee Sting Treatment Should Emphasize Speed, Not Method Of Removal
...old that pinching a bee sting out of the skinwould cause more venom to be injected," said P. Kirk Visscher,...mportance of how the sting is removed is likely to cause delays,as they get out a knife, or even try to remember what to do.The method ofremoval is irrelevan...Virginia Tech Researchers Receive Patent For Rapid Virus Detection Technology
... act more like otherviruses, such as the ones that cause human diarrheal infections,than do cells of E. coli , he says. "Numbers of E.coli viruses may be better indicators of human health riskof drinking and recreational waters than numbers of bacteria." The enzyme-based test is easy, inexpensive,and hi......laboratory animals are thought tohave analogs that cause cancer inhumans. This animal research cannow be translated far more quicklyinto human gene sequences, andultimately, it is hoped, into treat-mentsand cures." Pevzner and his Russian collabora-tors-- Mikhail S. Gelfand, of theInstitute of Protein Rese...Salvage Gene Is At The Root Of Many Mutations
...of a cytosine base may change the genetic code and cause amutation. While individual mutations are seldom serious, "if you get that rare mutation that causes cancer, you're introuble," Nelson says. "There's every reason to believe that mutagenesis in humans will prove to be very similar to that in yea...... going to havesignificant impacts on societies and cause serious problems with pension systemsthroughout the world," says Lutz. Western Europe is likely to experience an increase in the proportionof those above age 60 from the current 18.6 percent to a very high 35 percent by2100. The rapid aging is vir...