U of T microbiologists achieve results with pattern recognition software
...ologists have used pattern recognition software to discover the function of yeast genes essential to cell life knowledge that could help scientists determine what causes cells to die, as well as what they need to live. "Given the similarities between the yeast and human genomes, our work should promote adva...Researchers discover how worms' noses sense oxygen
...stead of NO, will help Marletta and his colleagues discover the tricks used by the enzyme to let in or screen out oxygen from the heme binding site to selectively detect one or the other. "This experiment helps us understand how NO receptors in muscle and brain are able to bind selectively to NO in low concen...'Search and destroy' protein turns tables on HIV
...actor in HIV resistance," said Harris. "We need to discover whether these proteins are essential for keeping HIV at bay in an infected individual. "APOBECs are a 'search and destroy' defense. It's different from the defense found in some HIV-resistant people, in which the outer surfaces of their cells no lon...Melting ice cap gives urgency to new census of marine life project in Arctic Ocean
...bmersible experience in other oceans, we expect to discover at least twice as many species in most groups as currently described." Dr. Gradinger says sampling to date has relied on relatively small boxes to scoop sediments from the ocean floor, or ice drills to reach the water, missing many organisms which "s...New insight into cancer metastasis
...e, some large ones won't. Here we might be able to discover if a tumor is ready to invade and metastasize or not by finding out if the Twist gene is on or off." For now, the discovery of Twist is only the beginning. Says Weinberg, "There are a number of other regulatory proteins that have been st...Study of proteins offers insights into organization of biological networks
...e Dame, for example, has used computer modeling to discover that removing hubs from a network is more likely to result in the network's disintegration than the removal of non-hubs. And biologists have shown that without the genes for hub proteins, yeast cells are three times more likely to die than if they l...Lowly weeds may hold promise for curing host of common health woes
...d in pharmaceuticals. In drug companies' quests to discover new remedies, weeds short-lived, herbaceous, fast-growing plants that thrive in areas of human disturbance that sprout along the outskirts of jungles and may have healing properties are routinely overlooked for flora ballyhooed for their disease-fi...Pharmacogenomics could replace 'trial-and-error' with science from the human genome
...onse. Pharmacogenomics can also help investigators discover more effective drugs, such as anti-cancer agents. "Some genes are over-expressed in cancer cells that are either sensitive or resistant to anticancer agents, while other genes are under-expressed, or relatively inactive," Evans said. "Drugs designed...Are bacteria turning our own weapons against us?
...r genes similar to TEPs, we were very surprised to discover a bacterial α2m gene - there are no previous reports of such a finding," says Budd. EMBL Scientists predict that the α2m is used by a bacterium to protect itself from attacks against its cell wall by the host immune system. This bacterial d...Maxygen subsidiary Verdia announces discovery and improvement of glyphosate tolerance gene
... at Verdia used microbial diversity collections to discover a family of genes, called gat genes, exhibiting a very low level of the desired novel enzymatic activity. This activity was then improved using the MolecularBreeding TM directed evolution platform. Eleven iterations of DNAShuffling TM recombinatio...First genetic comparison of purebred domestic dogs produces surprises
...nting 85 breeds, the researchers were surprised to discover previously unappreciated relationships between existing breeds and new details that suggest completely unexpected breeds to be among the most ancient descendents of dogs' wolf-like ancestors. The researchers, led by Elaine A. Ostrander and Howard Hug...New insight into how tumors resist radiation
... how this protective response is activated, we can discover an effective means of inhibiting it. This work takes a major step toward achieving this understanding and might eventually translate into a significant clinical benefit by allowing optimal sensitization of tumor vasculature to conventional therapies...Stuart Lipton honored with Jung Prize for Medicine
... Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Lipton was the first to discover a unique mechanism of action for the drug Memantine, allowing it to work only on pathological conditions and not affect "normal" behavior. This discovery led to clinical development of Memantine and its subsequent approval by the European Union and ...Mimicking humpback whale flippers may improve airplane wing design
...wind angle. The team was particularly surprised to discover that the flipper with tubercles produced as much as 32 percent lower drag than the sleek flipper. "The simultaneous achievement of increased lift and reduced drag results in an increase in aerodynamic efficiency," Howle explains. This new understandi...Research points to potential obesity treatment
...evolutionary time," he says. "Who knows what we'll discover tomorrow, because it's clear there are lots of unknowns. It gets more exciting all the time, and I feel almost like I'm starting over again." The next step is licensing the discovery and working with a pharmaceutical company to develop and test clini...Closing in on the cellular culprits of schizophrenia
...y, despite the millions of dollars spent trying to discover which genes play a role in its etiology. In at least 10 populations around the world, a significant association between schizophrenia and the gene for dysbindin has been noted making dysbindin the most highly replicated schizophrenia-associated gene...Kinase backgrounder: Iressa discovery part of major kinase project at Dana-Farber
...NA in the genes that produce the proteins. As they discover new mutated kinases, the scientists will disseminate the findings so that pharmaceutical companies can match them with inhibitors already on the shelf. Development of these drugs has sped forward in recent years after it became evident that blocking ...Jay Levy honored with 2004 Abbott Laboratories Award in Clinical and Diagnostic Immunology
... factors safe for hemophiliacs. Levy went on to discover a novel noncytotoxic antiviral response in CD8+ cells, where immune cells suppress HIV without killing the infected cell. This immune response has since been observed with other viruses and in a range of animal species. Levy's group was also among th...Researchers developing radar technology to detect mold behind walls
...tural damage and health problems before homeowners discover it. Hoping to develop a non-destructive and less expensive method than is now available to detect mold behind walls, Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) scientists are collaborating with humidity control expert Lew Harriman of Mason-Grant Consu...NASA-inspired technology may help preserve women's future fertility after cancer treatment
... these techniques in the longer term as well as to discover optimum conditions for follicle growth," Dr. Russell said. "Still, the results represent a promising step in the right direction."...