Loss of the neuronal adhesion protein d-catenin leads to severe cognitive dysfunction
...from d-catenin mutant animals, possibly offering a clue to the mechanisms by which deletions of d-catenin cause synaptic and cognitive dysfunction. Ultimately, this work may facilitate the understanding of the mental retardation observed in Cri-du-Chat Syndrome and the memory deficits observed in Familial...Humans march to a faster genetic 'drummer' than primates, UC Riverside research says
...lting restructuring of our genetic code may be the clue to what makes us human," Dugaiczyk said. "During the same amount of time, humans accumulated more genetic novelties than chimpanzees, making the human/chimpanzee genetic distance larger than that between the chimpanzee and gorilla." Metaphorically s...Researchers uncover secrets of immune system's munitions factory
..., AID must undergo some modification in B cells a clue to the nature of the machinery that initiates somatic hypermutation, and a topic for future studies in Alt's lab. Identifying RPA's involvement could have implications for understanding lymphomas. "Lymphomas and some mature B cell tumors are known to...Penn scientists identify novel pathway in aneurysms
...enes derived from 5-lipoxygenase are one important clue in the progression of aneurysms but not in early atherosclerosis. More studies will be required in other models of aneurysm formation and in larger animals using currently available 5-lipoxygenase blockers before testing can begin in humans, say the ...Size does matter when choosing a mate
...out Rensch's rule for many years but didn't have a clue what drives it. Many biologists had considered sexual selection to be the most likely answer, but nobody really knew how." "Once we started analysing the data the story shaped up perfectly. I believe that sexual selection is the driver behind Rensch'...AGU journal highlights - 29 July 2004
...ctrum within polar mesospheric cloudsmay provide a clue to explain a mysterious "hump" previously seen within thecloud's spectrum. (The mesosphere ranges from 30 to 80 kilometers [20 to 50miles] in altitude.) Carbary et al. analyzed satellite spectrographic images and wereable to separate the particle sca...Hunt for a new plant hormone points to carotenoids
...synthesis protein potentially offers a significant clue to the nature of the hormone, which is thought to coordinate rates of growth between different plant tissues. In plants, as in animals, communication between different parts of the body is vital if the left hand is to know what the right hand is doin...Rutgers chemist uses NMR to elucidate protein-DNA interaction
...ein-DNA Complexes." Kalodimos' findings may be the clue researchers need to develop future methods to inhibit the expression of certain genes that may pre-dispose individuals to harmful diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Through the use of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectr...Argonne scientists determine structure of staph, anthrax enzyme
... years away, the structure could provide the first clue in developing a treatment for the infections. The research is published today in the journal Structure. It took the researchers 21 days to build the three dimensional model of sortase from the genome. Without the new technology available at Argonne's...University of Chicago scientists pinpoint cellular cause of SIDS
...ty of Chicago researchers may have found a crucial clue to understanding and ultimately eliminating sudden infant death syndrome, the leading cause of post-neonatal mortality in the United States. Approximately 3,000 infants die each year from the disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and...Closing in on the cellular culprits of schizophrenia
...d a link between dysbindin and schizophrenia. This clue prompted us to investigate dysbindin in the brain where we found that it is highly expressed and highly abnormal in schizophrenia."...Technique plucks rapidly evolving genes from a pathogen's genome
... Fraser said. "If not, it's unusual and gives us a clue to how the gene has been evolving." "We need the whole genome sequence because we have to learn, for each genome, what its background distribution of triplets is," he added. "If we didn't know that, we wouldn't be able to find a gene with a significa...How do animals exposed to 24-hour light retain their wake-sleep habits?
...stion is whether or not these animals have found a clue in the external environment to take the place of t...orizon at one part of the day, this might act as a clue for the biological clocks. As the American economy requires its work force to abandon traditional wo...More useful plants may sprout from gene role discovery
...more easily absorbed into the digestive tract. One clue that led Chapple's team to its finding came when the scientists looked at leaves from normal and mutant Arabidopsis thaliana plants under ultraviolet lights. The normal Arabidopsis leaves appear blue-green under UV light. Mutants, which lack a deriva...Imaging the brain solving problems through insight
...rlying hint to solving them, but on Saturdays that clue is insanely obtuse. If you had all day, you could try a zillion different combinations and eventually figure it out. But with insight, you'd experience the usual clueless confusion, until--voil--the fog clears and you get the clue, which suddenly see...Researchers find no safe place to sit in California tick-infested forest
...ference between wood products and leaf litter? The clue may be in an important animal host for the larvae and nymphs of the western black-legged tick. "The western fence lizard is an important host for the ticks, and the lizards often use logs in sunlit areas as basking sites," said Lane. "Nymphal ticks ...Leptin rewires the brain's feeding circuits
...eding behavior. The discovery is another important clue about how leptin exerts its effects on the brain to cause decreased food intake and increased energy expenditure, said the researchers. The research also suggests that natural variability in the "wiring diagrams" of the neural feeding circuits of ind...Researchers discover novel form of the Rett Syndrome protein
...of the group has led to the discovery of a crucial clue in the understanding of RTT. It will now be important to prove the newly described protein's role in the disease. However, having seen first-hand the impact RSRF funding continues to make promises that one day basic research findings such as this one...Faulty DNA replication linked to neurological diseases
...ne, explains the mechanism, providing an important clue to the origin of these diseases. Mirkin and Maria Krasilnikova, a research assistant professor in his lab, studied the sequence of a simple repeat of three nucleotides responsible for Friedreich's ataxia, the most commonly inherited form of ataxias, ...University of Colorado archaeologist, colleagues hot on the trail of ancient Persian warships
... pull them into their homes. "Very often the first clue that a shipwreck is nearby is a pile of artifacts collected by these wonderful creatures with an antiquarian's passion for old things." The researchers hypothesize a vessel likely sunk there and landed on a deep shelf, spilling cargo. The site was c...