Bacterial Toxin Surprises Scientists
...brane seven or more times. The mystery has led some researchers to consider a hypothesis previously thought unlikely--that the channel walls are not made exclusively of protein, but contain parts of the membrane. Despite their efforts, the researchers also remain...Enzyme's "Magic" May Hold Key to Anticancer and Antimicrobial Drugs
...e been laid bare by a group of researchers led by NIGMS grantee Dr. James C. Wang, the Mallinckrodt Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Harvard University. In the January 18 issue of Nature , the scientists described the detailed, three-dimensiona...Tumor Suppressor Gene Located In Liver Cancer Cells
...wever, the functions of an already-identified gene led Jirtle and his team to hypothesize its involvement in liver cancer. "This is an 'old' gene for which we have characterized an important new role," Jirtle said. When working properly, the M6P/IGF2r receptor protein has at least three distinct regulato...Second Breast Cancer Gene Located
...er susceptibility gene identifiedin 1994 by a team led by Mark Skolnick of the University of Utah and MyriadGenetics Inc., according to the researchers. The Duke and British researchers reported their findings in the Dec. 21issue of the journal Nature. The principal investigators are P. AndrewF......homas Eisner, the Cornell University biologist who led studies reported in PNAS. "The male's strategy is to woo the female with a 'teaser' of the chemical, and to reward her with a massive nuptial gift if she accepts him for mating." Describing the cleft-like organ in the male beetle's head where the en...Cornell Researchers Precisely Date Wood From Ancient Tomb In Turkey
...d exposure to sunlight and increased soil moisture led to tree rings in juniper, cedar and pine samples from Porsuk, a site in central Turkey, that were three to eight times wider than normal. Porsuk is about 840 kilometers downwind of Thera. Archaelogists had long believed the Thera eruption had occurr...Humble Pocket Gophers Shed Light On The Genetic Fortitude Of Cheetahs
... control that the 1985 study lacked. These results led Sanjayan and Crooks, both Ph.D. candidates in biol...he June 13 issue of the journal Nature. Scientists led by geneticist Stephen O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute began exploring the genetic troubles ......reasing levels of air pollution in our cities have led both politicians and drivers to take action. Drivers want to have more and more sophisticated air quality control within their vehicles and legislators, particularly in the United States, have moved to pass laws to restrict air pollution from cars. ...Nitric Oxide May Hold Key To First Treatment For Deadly Form Of Malaria, Duke Scientists Report
...e system insideliving cells, a team of researchers led by Duke University Medical Centerreports finding that the chemical nitric oxide is a universal signalingmolecule that can control basic life processes down to the level of thegene, the master plan of a cell. The study findings, published in ......ferty, Cornell professor emeritus of chemistry who led the work. Their accuracy provides less than 0.01 percent error. "With this, you can also measure masses of individual pieces of a molecule for further characterization." The researchers -- McLafferty; Gary A. Valaskovic, a postdoctoral associate in...Nitric Oxide Found To Control Cells By Turning On Genes; Suggests New Role In Health And Disease
...e system insideliving cells, a team of researchers led by Duke University Medical Centerreports finding that the chemical nitric oxide is a universal signalingmolecule that can control basic life processes down to the level of thegene, the master plan of a cell. The study findings, published in ...Asian Beetle, New In This Country, Threatens Brooklyn's Shade Trees
...quarter inch, circular holes in the Brooklyn trees led authorities to think pranksters were drilling them. But rather than human teen-agers causing the damage, adult beetles emerging from the heartwood center of the trees bore an exit hole through the outer bark. After beetle emergence, mating occurs, ...Study Shows Songbirds Switch From Bugs To Berries To Fuel Fall Migration
...demonstrated that a mixed diet of fruit andinsects led to a significantly greater weight gain for birds than did astrictly fruit or insect diet alone. For some species, the more fruit in themix, the greater the buildup of fat necessary for a successful migration. Switching from insects to fruit offers mi...Human-Like Ability, Categorical Perception, Found In Insects
...laboratory conducted the experiments. Researchers led by Hoy reported in 1978 that crickets can detect bats' ultrasound and take evasive action, but those flight studies never answered the question: What is the cut-off line between "good" sounds and "bad", and how does the insect decide? The study is ...Discovery Of Cell Sites May Shed Light On How Bodily Systems Interact
...sity of Illinois animalscientist and immunologist, led to a color snapshot of a direct link betweenthe body's immune and endocrine systems. The work was featured on the coverand inside the September issue of the journal Endocrinology. Specifically, researchers identified two types of receptors for inter...Researchers Identify A New Cellular Structure: The "Dumposome"
...University of Rochester professor of biology who led the group ofresearchers. "It's basically a little garbage disposal for eating extra DNA." Dumposomes appear only briefly during the life cycle of Tetrahymena. Over a five-hour period during reproduction,molecules of a structural protein known as...Antarctic Science Season Gears Up With Searches for Meteorites, Neutrinos, and New Life Forms
...d Climate in the Southern Ocean Scientists led by Robert Anderson of Columbia University and Walk...eddell Sea and associated studies, under a project led by Kenneth Smith of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, will track the ecology of tiny animals ...Animal Studies Indicate Aging Brain Responsive To Estrogen
...ns administered in a cyclicfashion. These findings led to the cellular studies in Einstein's lab thatnow suggest a mechanism for this improvement in memory. In the study, the team used aging female rats that had their ovaries removedand, thus, were making no estrogen. The researchers divided the rats in...Impact of Meteorites, Drop in Sea Level Caused Mass Extinctions 65 Million Years Ago
... relative importance of all the major factors that led to the extinction of the ammonites," says Marshall. The impact of the asteroid or comet accounts for 50 to 75 percent of the ammonite extinctions, which is a much higher figure than some scientists had expected, but lower than others anticipated, he......e levels. But two overlapping research teams, each led by Graeme Bell, Ph.D., Louis Block Professor of Bi...f every gene within the targeted region, an effort led by Kazuya Yamagata, M.D., at the University of Chicago, and Roger D. Cox, Ph.D., at the Wellcome Tru...