Enzyme's "Magic" May Hold Key to Anticancer and Antimicrobial Drugs
...igure). "Basically, what this type of drug does is to convert the normal enzyme into a DNA-damaging agent. Therefore, the more enzyme you have, the more potent the drug becomes." This is an unusual pharmaceutical mechanism, Dr. Wang said. "Usually, drugs inhibit a p...Second Breast Cancer Gene Located
...CA1, however, inheriting a defective copy of BRCA2 does not appearto put women at a significantly greater risk of developing ovarian cancer,although the risk is still higher than the general population, the researcherssaid. A total of 182,000 U.S. women and 29,000 women in the United Kingdom were...... element thorium, Th-230. Thorium, unlike uranium, does not dissolve in water. Therefore, scientists reason, all Th-230 found in limestone must be the product of radioactive decay of U-238. By making precise determinations of the amounts of all three isotopes (U-238, U-234 and Th-230), and knowing the rat...Mutate Or Die: New Polymerase Gives Desperate Yeast An Option
...e increases a cell's odds at staying alive, but it does so bydramatically boosting the type of mutations t...creating in yeast the type of damage that sunlight does to our own DNA, is reported in the June 14 issue of Science . The findings shed new light on ho......stion of Spanish fly's efficacy as an aphrodisiac, does chronicle an unfortunate side effect for human males: "erections douloureuses et prolongues," in the words of a French Foreign Legion physician who observed soldiers suffering painful, prolonged erections (or priapism) after eating frog-legs from am...Honeybees In The Wild Nearly Gone In North America
...honeybee shortage. "A honeybee is a generalist. It does a good job pollinatingapples or cucumbers," he said "Other types of bees arevery specific to certain crops. "Plus, if we take native wild bees and culture them, we'regoing to generate new problems there, too. If we bring together10 to 20 times the nu...Photosystem I -- An Intermediate Step -- May Not Be Necessary For Plants
...rsity associate professor of plant biology. "What does this all mean? No one knows yet." The Z scheme is ...wo labs showed it was possible," Owens said. Owens does not know how this discovery will fit into the larger puzzle of plant biology. As an analogy, he des...Humble Pocket Gophers Shed Light On The Genetic Fortitude Of Cheetahs
...for that matter, any other species. The UCSC study does not address these latter concerns. It does, however, show that inbred mammals can be so genetically alike that their immune systems distinguish poorly between self and nonself. The proof: The animals accept skin grafts--in effect, organ transplants--...Bee Sting Treatment Should Emphasize Speed, Not Method Of Removal
...What this study found is that themethod of removal does not affect the quantity of venom received. Even sm...mains in the skin and continuesto inject venom, it does so through a valve system in the sting, not throughcompression as would occur with pinching. To te...Nitric Oxide May Hold Key To First Treatment For Deadly Form Of Malaria, Duke Scientists Report
...mler said. "There has beengrowing evidence that NO does its work in the body by signaling genes, butno one has found proof before this." Both oxygen and NO are vital to life processes, but too much of eithercan damage cells. To keep the amount of oxygen and NO in balance, cellshave built-in syst...Genetic Alterations Linked To Cancer In Some Blood Samples
...y, and oncology. Sidransky cautions that the test does not appear useful as a screening test for cancer. "But it might be helpful in patient management for identifying patients with a very poor prognosis who may benefit from aggressive therapy," he says. The test works by identifying replication errors,...Nitric Oxide Found To Control Cells By Turning On Genes; Suggests New Role In Health And Disease
...mler said. "There has beengrowing evidence that NO does its work in the body by signaling genes, butno one has found proof before this." Both oxygen and NO are vital to life processes, but too much of eithercan damage cells. To keep the amount of oxygen and NO in balance, cellshave built-in syst...Human-Like Ability, Categorical Perception, Found In Insects
...-off line between "good" sounds and "bad", and how does the insect decide? The study is reported in the j...s of neurons? "No, of course not," Hoy said. "It does say that all of us animals have to solve many of the same problems. Some with many fewer brain cell...Duke Primate Center Sets October Expedition To Find 'Juliet'
...xpedition representsas much a rescue attempt as it does an effort to bring into captivity abreeding stock of these highly endangered animals, the largest living lemurs.The animals are currently heavily hunted for food in their homeland of Madagascar,and naturalists believe they will become extinct within ......ring. "What we can hope to find eventually is: How does learning influence the activity patterns of individual neurons? We're learning how the circuits are put together, and we should gain insight into what elements of the circuit are modified during learning." The research was funded by the Whitehall Fou...Changing Continental Runoff Patterns Could Change Ocean Circulation
... While the general circulation model used by Bice does not yet mirror history, it does show that changes in surface salinity will affect circulation patterns. According to Bice, it is no...Antarctic Science Season Gears Up With Searches for Meteorites, Neutrinos, and New Life Forms
... the productivity of marine phytoplankton, but how does UV-B affect Antarctica's terrestrial plants? How are such plants reacting to the 50-year warming trend around the Antarctic Peninsula? Thomas Day of the University of Arizona and his team will study the impact of UV-B and warming on the health of t...Medicinal Leech May Offer Clues To Neural Regeneration
...ting system, who this protein talks to and what it does at any specific time." Her studies suggest that nitric oxide may serve as a "stop sign" for microglia, specialized cells that roam the central nervous system to ingest foreign particles, such as bacteria and dead cells. By flagging down microglia to ...Researchers Develop Model Using Birds As Indicator Of Wetlands Health
...y under thedirection of UC alumnus Frank Mink that does environmentalassessments. "It's good to have a quick indicator." As part of his master's research, Coleman developed an indexwhich relies on bird counts to evaluate the condition of wetlandhabitats. He is continuing that work as a doctoral student in...New Sensor Provides First Instant Test For Toxic E. coli Organism
...m in its Center for Advanced Materials. The center does basic research relevant to both the needs of industry and the Department of Energy. Technically, the working part of the sensor consists of multiple copies of a single molecule which is fabricated into a thin film. This molecule has a two-pa...