Computer Program For Quicker, More Detailed Mapping
...l is to map and sequencethe genetic blueprint that contains all of the instructions about how tomake a human b... 20 markers. However, eachof the human chromosomes contains 500 to 1,000 of these markers -- far toomany to map all at once using available computer programs. ......rthe cave's numerous and unusual animals. The cave contains 48species, including 33 which are found nowhere el...em known that ischemoautotrophically based, and it contains the only knownchemoautotrophically based terrestrial community," said ThomasKane, professor of biolo...Researchers Identify A New Cellular Structure: The "Dumposome"
...tin, a distinct form of highly repetitive DNA that contains few active genes."It's been said that heterochromatin is a bad neighborhood for good genes," Smothers says. "Such inactive regions mightjust be trashed in the name of streamlining. But it's also possible that these genes are of use only during reprod...Scientists Identify Retrovirus-Like Components In Corn Genome
...ganism's characteristics. However, the genome also contains inactive pieces of DNA and other materials, many of which had not been identified. In the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Science, Purdue biologist Jeffrey Bennetzen reports that the maize genome consists primarily of a class of mobile DNA called retrotr...Researchers Find How Disease-resistant Plants Recognize Bacteria
...12/20) issue of Science. The same issue of Science contains a second research paper that addresses different aspects of the recognition mechanism, which was written by researchers from the laboratory of Brian Staskawicz, professor of plant biology at the University of California, Berkeley. The papers represen...Proteins Interacting With RNA And DNA Are Surprisingly Similar
...tructuralcomponents. DNA,or deoxyribonucleic acid, contains the huge library of geneticinformationorganisms need to reproduce and to make RNA. Both RNA and DNA aremade ofmolecules called nucleotides. But RNA is a single-strandedcompound of themolecules and DNA has two strands, which are connected in atwisting...Researchers Corral Millions Of Microscopic Membranes
...cally repulsive. A square centimeter of this array contains 2.8 million of these microscopic "corrals." Next, the scientists dropped tiny bags, or vesicles, of membrane material extracted from chicken eggs into the corrals, which were submerged in saline water. They determined that the vesicles fused to form...New Study Shows Steps Leading To Colon Cancer
...hing the guilt of a suspect. This issue of Science contains three such smoking guns ... firmly establishing beta-catenin as an accomplice in causing colon cancer and as a strong suspect in melanoma. As in many crimes, however, beta-catenin did not act alone but with a set of partners." Describing work in fr...New Vaccine Blocks Viral Entry In Cattle, May Have Implications For Human Vaccines
...hat's an extraordinarily large dose. That one dose contains enough virus to infect every cow in Wisconsin," Letchworth says. "We wanted the challenge dose to be great enough to infect some animals so we could find the limits of protection. Despite that huge dose, 70 percent of the cows remained free of the vi...Children With AD/HD Have Significant Functional Disabilities Related to Attention Deficit
...he Wee-FIM has been standardized for children. It contains measures for self-care, bowel and bladder control, mobility, communication and social cognition. The 43 children assessed were found to have lower than normal Wee-FIM scores overall, and to show significant deficits in self-care, social cogniti...Researchers Find Production Point Of Key Protein In Fragile X Syndrome
...ghtly below normal intelligence. The X chromosome contains many genes. The fragile X gene contains thecode for the fragile X mental retardation protein. That code is transferredfrom the gene into mes...Munching Microbes Make A Meal Out Of Toxic Substances
...up efforts. "We've known for decades that the soil contains microbes with the ability to degrade chemicals such as petroleum compounds," says Loring Nies, assistant professor of environmental engineering at Purdue. "But using them for that purpose has not been widely implemented because few on-site engineers ...Female Adolescents Need Calcium During 'Window Of Opportunity'
...igrams of calcium per day. A cup of milk or yogurt contains about 300 milligrams of calcium, so the new standard for adolescents calls for four and a half to five cups of dairy products every day. Calcium, which makes up much of bone, is an essential element for many body functions. As the body ages, it gets ...Research Team Discovers Key Gene For Telomerase Enzyme In Humans
...to the human enzyme," said Cech. Telomerase contains both RNA and protein components. The RNAportion of the enzyme binds to the DNA in the telomere while the proteincomponent lures DNA subunits into the region and attaches them to the endof the chromosome. "The protein we describe in our paper forms ...Roadsides Benefit From Waste, UF Researchers Say
...erial cannot be used on crops because it sometimes contains metals or glass. "There's no better location than roadsides," Miller said. "They're everywhere." In general, roadside soil is too sandy to hold nutrients or water, making it difficult for grass to grow well. Importing topsoil and adding commercial fe...Wild Plant Genes Increase Food Production
... underscores the point that exotic germplasm often contains genes that are capable of improving traits," Tanksley said. Wild plant species of rice, considered one of the world's top staple crops, were domesticated about 10,000 years ago, during humanity's transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to agrarians....NIH's Genbank Database Logs Billionth Base
...logical characteristics. The GenBank database now contains nearly 10 percent of the human genome, as well as gene sequences from more than 25,000 other species. GenBank is accessed by some 40,000 researchers every day at the Web site http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ . GenBank is built and supported by the Nat...MGH-Led Team Finds Gene For Crippling Neurologic Disorder
... the culmination of more than 15 years of work and contains important clues that could lead to better understanding of the disease and possible preventive treatments. There are many types of dystonia, a term that generally refers to sustained,involuntary muscle contractions that can twist and contort parts o...Chemists Develop High-Throughput Method To Synthesize And Screen Novel Antibiotics
...ere complications.For example, the plague bacteria contains a heart toxin and thebacteria which causes meningitis contains a neurotoxin. Non-lyticantibiotics may prove to be much safer than currently availabledrugs....