Brain Protein "Rescues" Neurons From Atrophy
...ons in the layers of visual cortex. The scientists found that each of the different neurotrophins caused certain layers of the cortex to sprout more dendrites than others. "The findings in these two papers show the critical role that neurotrophins play in the developing brain," Katz said. "They also open t...Duke Researchers Discover Central Role Of Nitric Oxide In Hemoglobin Action
...- Duke University Medical Center researchers have found thatnitric oxide, combined with hemoglobin, is a m...range offunctions than NO. Not many SNOs have been found in the body to date, butthe ones that have been discovered are powerful forms of NO, he said. Forexa...Dangerous Chemical Combination Presents Possible Scenario For Gulf War Illnesses
...udies using chickens, the researchers specifically found that two pesticides,DEET and permethrin, and the anti-nerve gas agent pyridostigmine bromide(PB) were harmless when used alone, even at three times the doses soldierslikely received. But when used in combination, the chemicals caused neurologicaldefi...New Cancer Switch Discovered By Duke Medical Center Pharmacologists
...cABL gene is a "tyrosine kinase," a type of enzyme found throughout the cell. The cABL enzyme is normally a...ol. In earlier work, Pendergast and her colleagues found that the outlaw BCR-ABL protein plugs into an adaptor protein called GRB-2 to switch on a chain of o...Key to Triplet Repeat Brain Diseases Open Door For New Way To Understand, Treat Genetic Diseases"
...ne, DukeUniversity Medical Center researchers have found a possible key to braindisorders such as Huntingto...die, destroyingbrain tissue. The researchers have found this effect in two neurological diseases -- Huntington'sand Haw River Syndrome. They believe the eff...Researchers Pinpoint Site For Petit Mal Seizures In Brain
...receptor in the brain. These receptor proteins are found in cells throughout the body, and respond to a neurotransmitter signal called gamma aminobutyric acid, or GABA, which is one of a dozen or so known neurotransmitter molecules. GABAb receptors are thought to act as a brake on nerve cell activity, Hosf...Tumor Suppressor Gene Located In Liver Cancer Cells
...r this year in the journal Oncogene, Jirtle's team found that liver tumors from 64 percent of patients studied had lost one copy of the gene. The deletion of one copy, or allele, means that a mutation in the remaining copy can limit or destroy a cell's ability to produce functional protein. Next, the res...Duke Geologists Explore Alternative Way To Measure Ice Age Sea Bottom Temperatures
...last two glacial-to-interglacial cycles. The study found evidence that deep ocean water cooling has intensified in the past 3.2 million years, which the authors suggest is due to greater influence of bottom currents of colder waters flowing from the south polar region. The ostracod calcium-magnesium record......in water. Therefore, scientists reason, all Th-230 found in limestone must be the product of radioactive de...ing the extremely small amount of U-234 and Th-230 found in samples like the Zhoukoudian material. But by upgrading and calibration of instruments pioneered ...Computer Program For Quicker, More Detailed Mapping
...ene mappers use short, distinctive genetic markers found in DNA as signpostsin the human genome. Markers th... off-the-shelf thing, then tried to scaleit up. We found that we were bumping up against its limitations -- thenwe'd change it. Eventually, the original prog...Duke Researchers Discover Candidate Susceptibility Gene For Autoimmune Disease
...lin, a hormone involved in diabetes. Instead, they found they hadactually located what may be a key gene involved in autoimmune diseasessuch as arthritis and dermatitis. "This research is a perfect example of how research in one area canoften lead to an understanding in an apparently unrelated field," B...Rosemary May Have Anti-Cancer Properties
...ietary implications," according toMilner. "We have found a spice that offers protection against a classicmo...ure similar to benzopyrenes, a classof carcinogens found in auto emissions and cigarette smoke.) The rosemary diet reduced by 76 percent the number of inst...Heat-loving Microbe Repairs Its DNA With Light
A University of Cincinnati biologist has found a microbe whichnot only survives under extremely h...traviolet (UV) light, S. acidocaldarius has been found to repair the damage. However, Dennis Grogan, assistant professor ofbiological sciences at the Unive...Freshwater Sponges May Pose Threat To Zebra Mussels
...in Lake Erie, researchers at Ohio State University found that the sponges were smothering zebra mussels in ...er system for the study. Of that number, 197 were found dead. "We found that the effect of sponge overgrowth was only impressive on vertical surfaces, wh...Duke Researchers Find Second Gene Linked To Blood Vessel Disorder
...o unravel howTGF-_ works. Receptors for TGF-_ are found on the surface of virtually every cell ofthe body....oglin, this gene provides a blueprintfor a protein found almost exclusively in the cells lining blood vessels. "We realized when we found the first gene th...New Discovery About Genes Has Implications For Genetic Therapy
...tween the exons along the gene. Lambowitz' team found that certain introns could move from place to plac...rimitive, as if they were the ancestors of introns found in higher organisms." Lambowitz believes that the introns are "parasites" on the genome, and beha...Race Plus Roaches: A Breathtaking Link
...y of more than 80 Baltimore youth, the researchers found that an African-American child was 16.4 times more...bags. Detectable levels of cockroach allergen were found in 26 percent of urban and suburban bedrooms, where children spend the most number of consecutive ho...Mutate Or Die: New Polymerase Gives Desperate Yeast An Option
... that code for zeta, and scientist Peter Gibbs has found onewhose sequence bears the markings of a zeta polymerase. If zeta is found in humans and works similarly, it would be anattractive target for anti-cancer therapies. "If t......he cave contains 48species, including 33 which are found nowhere else in the world. "Movile is the only cave system known that ischemoautotrophically based, and it contains the only knownchemoautotrophically based terrestrial community," said ThomasKane, professor of biological sciences. "We have now shown......irth defects in NBCCS", said Bale. The researchers found that individuals with NBCCS are born with a mutation of PTC in all of their cells. Further investigation revealed the same mutation in sporadic (noninherited) tumors, which account for the vast majority of basal cell carcinomas. In those tumors, th...