Discovery could improve anemia treatment in patients
... a protein called HFE. The researchers showed that genetically engineered mice with deficiencies in HFE maintained elevated levels of iron in the blood during inflammation. "What we've shown is that unless you have the HFE protein, you can't mount this iron-withholding response," says Roy, who holds a doctorate...A new hypothesis about autoimmunity. Is it possible to be too clean?
...ne systems of a type of mouse called NOD, which is genetically prone to developing diabetes. The NOD mouse has a genetic defect that causes it to produce excessive amounts of a molecule called interleukin-21, which signals the growth of T cells without signaling for their survival. Normally, T cells undergoing ...Evolution's mirror in a fish's spines
...tists argued that since animals must always remain genetically fit, only subtle changes in genes that are relatively low in the hierarchy of developmental control could cause skeletal evolution. "We felt that to understand what was happening in nature, we had to find a genetic model system where we could study n...Scientists question reports of massive ant supercolonies in California and Europe
...lifornia has been infested by numerous colonies of genetically distinct Argentine ants during the last 100 years....he case that the whole California coastline is one genetically homogenous supercolony," says Gordon, a professor of biological sciences. "We find a lot of genetic ...Lack of specific brain protein causes marked deficits in learning, memory
...behaviors of normal mice to those of three sets of genetically altered mice each of which was missing a specific...able finding was that, while the other two sets of genetically altered mice displayed some of the same cellular abnormalities as the RIM1 alpha mice, these other...Warning to preserve 'unique' red squirrel from extinction
... because previous research has suggested that more genetically diverse a species is, the less likely it is to become extinct. The Newcastle University research team, who analysed squirrel hides from Holland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK, publish their report in the current edition of the academic journal Con...Gene with key role in replicating pox viruses also halts inflammation
...dividuals. The vaccinia virus genome is 97 percent genetically identical to the smallpox genome, making it an ideal model virus to use in the laboratory to understand how smallpox and other dangerous poxviruses function, Shisler said. In their research, Shisler and Xiao-Lu Jin, a research specialist in microbiol...Genetic trick adapted from viruses makes gene therapy vectors more versatile
...ple, distinct proteins. St. Jude researchers used genetically modified mouse immune system cells called T lympho...3 proteins, and thus could not make T cells. These genetically modified stem cells subsequently developed and restored T cell development in the mice. Hematopoieti...UT Southwestern researchers reveal mechanisms of smooth-muscle contraction
...tern Medical Center at Dallas are the first to use genetically engineered mice containing a fluorescent molecule ...ress of this intricate chemical dance, researchers genetically engineered a mouse containing a fluorescent molecule, or biosensor that directly monitors the calciu...Leptin rewires the brain's feeding circuits
...bit appetite." The solution, said Friedman, was to genetically engineer mice to have NPY and POMC neurons that each expressed a distinctive version of a green fluorescent protein. These fluorescent proteins literally lighted the way for the scientists to perform detailed studies of the action of leptin on the tw...UIC researchers discover gene that causes liver cancer in animals
... the current study, scientists in Costa's lab used genetically altered mice to establish the link between Foxm1b and liver cancer, showing that the gene is essential for the cancerous cells to multiply. "Foxm1b is expressed in many different kinds of cancer cells, which leads us to believe it plays a key role i......errestrial and aquatic ecosystems may be linked by genetically based plant traits that can directly and indirectly affect population-, community-, and ecosystem-level processes." The authors involved in this study included: Joseph Bailey, Jennifer Schweitzer, Gregory Martinsen, and Thomas Whitham from Nort...Chestnut trees to spread across landscape again, says Purdue scientist
..., the breeding program will produce trees that are genetically 94 percent American chestnut and 6 percent Asian chestnut. Trees with this genetic makeup exhibit the resistance of the Asian chestnut but have the growth characteristics of the American chestnut, he said. American chestnut formerly played...Missing gene a potential risk factor for birth defects
...ie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy found that mice embryos genetically engineered to lack one or both copies of the ATM gene and then exposed to ionizing radiation and a subsequent overload of reactive oxygen species were at increased risk for dying in utero, developing birth defects or experiencing other developmental ...Proven method of bone analysis may clarify human origins
...The morphometric results closely matched the known genetically derived trees. "We were actually able to replicate with the temporal bone data the molecular phylogeny of the hominoids down to the subspecies level," Kimbel said. "There is a strong correlation between the landmark data and the DNA data. "This is ...Bioreactor boosts chemical fermentation by 50 percent: study
...have used their patented fibrous-bed bioreactor to genetically alter a bacterium so that it produces 50 percent more of the chemical propionic acid than the organism produces normally. And it did so without the aid of chemical additives employed in industry. The device also reduced the amount of two...'Top Houston Women in Technology' honoree at UH
... physicians a quicker, more thorough way to assess genetically linked risk factors for such things as diseases and adverse drug reactions." ...The biological clock: What really makes us tick
...und in many organisms are controlled by an innate, genetically encoded circadian clock. This research has allowed Hardin to be able to define certain genetic relationships that, in turn, led to the discovery that circadian oscillators can produce profound effects on the performance of animal sensory systems. H...Germany starts clinical development of a new tuberculosis vaccine
... tuberculosis vaccine candidates we are relying on genetically modified variants of the live BCG vaccine that has been in use since 1921," says MPI director, Prof. Dr. Stefan Kaufmann. "The vaccine consists of an attenuated bacteria that is very closely related to the TB pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. BCG...