Stuart research funds generating dividends for veterinary medicine
... cells die in two ways. Apoptosis is the term that describes how cells are pre-programmed to die. These cells die naturally as part of normal growth processes. Necrosis is cellular death through disease or trauma. Working with White, Ph.D student and surgical resident Emma Rowe determined that apoptosis was oc...Virginia Tech professor Marjorie Grene is the first woman in The Library of Living Philosophers
...an, a professor of philosophy at Virginia Tech who describes Grene's career as "remarkable," said Grene overcame the difficulties of being a woman in a man's profession because she "came in as a curious outsider and found a way to produce serious criticisms that had a serious impact in the fields" about which ...Newly discovered cellular process helps cells respond to DNA damage
...lished in the current issue of the journal Nature, describes this critical early step in a cell's response to DNA damage. This step, a chemical modification of an enzyme called ATM, allows the enzyme to initiate a series of events that ultimately halt the growth of a damaged cell and help the cell survive. The...Puzzle solved on how influenza builds its infectious seeds
...tment at the University of Tokyo. The group's work describes how the flu virus selectively assembles the series of genetic subunits that make up the virus' entire genome, which are needed to form the particles that shuttle the virus from cell to cell. It has long been known that the influenza A virus genome re...Insight into the genetic pathways that drive segmentation like clockwork
...of by Dr. Kageyama of Kyoto University. This study describes similar oscillations of the protein coded by another cyclic gene called hes1 . The group showed that cultured cells, which do not belong to embryonic segmented structures, exhibit oscillations of both the hes1 mRNA and the Hes1 protein following a...Exercise and recreation for people with mobility impairments
...ilitation Hospital, and guest editor of "Pioneers" describes it as a historical account of rehabilitative engineering. "Pioneers" chronicles the advent of rehabilitation engineering, from key figures and political forces within the rehabilitation movement to early communication aids through the prism of such n...Physics tip sheet #30 - January 9, 2003
... half a millimeter on a live human, but now a team describes a way of analyzing MRI data to squeeze out informa...eutrinos mix for certain energy ranges. This paper describes how a radioactive potassium atom is trapped with magnets and lasers to watch it decay. By carefully ...Endangered northern right whales exposed to paralytic shellfish poisoning
...ool of Oceanography (GSO) biologist Edward Durbin, describes how north Atlantic right whales, feeding in Grand Manan Basin in the lower Bay of Fundy in late summer, are exposed to PSP toxins from feeding directly on the contaminated copepod Calanus finmarchicus. Other members of the scientific team include G...Biologist unlocks secrets of winter survival
...atural history buffs and general readers, Heinrich describes and depicts in detailed illustrations the bustling landscape that lies under the seemingly quiet Maine woods he has studied since his boyhood. "He richly deserves comparisons to Thoreau," says the Washington Post of Heinrich, whose first book, "Bumbl...Knocking the Sox off early mammalian development
...ve them their characteristic properties. Our work describes one such gene, Sox2, that appears essential for multipotent stem cell types in the early embryo," explains Dr. Lovell-Badge. Early in mammalian development, a pre-implantation stage embryo called a blastocyst forms. The cells of the blastocyst are at...Could an anti-marijuana compound hold the key to body weight and appetite control?
...out mice fed a high fat diet. Results This work describes the effect of blockade of CB1 receptors with SR141716 in a non-genetic model of obesity using high palatable diet fed mice. The ability of the compound to reduce food intake in this model was expected, as previous studies have already demonstrated su...Smart polymers provide light-activated switch to turn enzymes on and off
...e Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes a reversible switch for the enzyme endoglucanase in which light is the trigger for turning the switch on and off. An enzyme is a protein that acts as a catalyst in initiating or speeding up a chemical reaction in the body. Endoglucanase facilitates...Novel gene therapy approach shows promise
...e therapy strategy." Gene therapy is a phrase that describes many different modes of gene-based treatments. The most widely used strategy seeks to put normal copies of a gene into cells with a defective gene. An alternative approach targets a defective gene for repair, either of the DNA itself or of the mess...From the bone of a horse, a new idea for aircraft structures
...tructure of the bone near the foramen. Biomimetics describes the increasingly common engineering trend of mimicking natural solutions in manmade materials. The researchers tested the plate by placing it across two upright pillars and weighing it down, comparing the results with those from an identical test of ...New mammal species identified in Australia
...richosurus caninus) - the case for a new species," describes how the northern and southern populations of the mountain brushtail possum are both morphologically and genetically distinct. "This article represents the last 10 years of data on the genetics and morphology of mountain brushtails where we have wor...Arsenic in Bangladesh drinking wells may be linked to crop irrigation, MIT study finds
...tinue to drink arsenic-laced water. The World Bank describes the problem as one of the world's primary environmental challenges. The World Health Organization refers to it as "the largest mass poisoning of a population in history" in a fact sheet published in March. The mass poisoning began, sadly enough, wit...Algorithm predicts interactions between proteins whose structures are unsolved
...s in a cascade of cellular processes." The paper describes how MULTIPROSPECTOR was able to correctly predict protein-protein interactions between many thousands of proteins in brewer's yeast, a model organism in structural genomics. Skolnick and his colleagues took what is known as a threading approach to t...Testing method improves management of Johne's disease in cows
...has developed a testing method that more precisely describes an animal's level of infection, thereby enabling farmers to make more informed decisions about disease management that could improve herd productivity. Johne's disease, named after the veterinarian who first isolated the disease-causing bacteria (Myc...Potential new treatment for Gaucher disease developed by scientists at Scripps Research Institute
...f the National Academy of Sciences, the TSRI group describes using small molecules to partially correct the genetic defect that underlies most cases of Gaucher disease. The defect prevents a crucial metabolic enzyme from reaching the location in the cell where it normally functions, but the small molecules act...Science and Eppendorf award first annual prize in neurobiology
...Bigger Brain by Regulating Cell Cycle Exit," Chenn describes his studies of the mechanism by which brain growth may occur, since little is known about how brain cells are generated from precursor cells. His post-doctoral work, conducted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center demonstrated how a mutation for t...