Washington University's Sarah C. R. Elgin is one of 20 'million dollar professors'
...romatin structure--the packaging of the DNA in the nucleus of a cell--plays in gene regulation in fruit flies. She has chaired the international Gordon Research Conference on Nuclear Proteins, Chromatin Structure and Gene Regulation, served on the editorial board of several journals and served on the Nationa...Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute discover how a plant times its flowering cycle
...ed when exposed to daylight and transported to the nucleus of the plant cell where they alter the expression ...tio of phytochromes and cryptochromes reaching the nucleus varies, and these changes allow them to delicately control many other genes. One gene they influence...Researchers identify enzyme that turns on RNA
...ides an important piece of the puzzle." Inside the nucleus of every cell are genes, which are composed of deo...into RNA, which carry the instructions outside the nucleus to the molecular machinery that makes proteins. But along the way, things can go awry: If an RNA i...University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute discovers proteins linked to colon cancer
...earchers analyzed a subset of proteins in the cell nucleus called nuclear matrix proteins, or NMPs, to examine the cellular changes in tissue that occur as colon cancer grows. "NMPs appear to represent the earliest changes that occur in cells, which is why we wanted to look carefully at these proteins in bot...Revealed: How a master protein remodels chromosomes to orchestrate gene expression
...hromatin is the complex of DNA and proteins in the nucleus of the cell. It consists of DNA wound like thread ... of the organism, well over a meter of DNA, into a nucleus only a few millionths of a meter across. Many orders of chromatin folding are necessary to fit the ...New study shows efficacy of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease
...of this network is a region called the subthalamic nucleus (STN), which in Parkinson's Disease is extremely overactive, and if silenced leads to a dramatic reduction in the symptoms. Targeting the overactive cells, researchers inserted the "GAD" gene into a viral vector (adeno-associated virus or AAV) to al...Ancient defense mechanism may still be protecting us
... of RNA (ribonucleic acid) likely migrate from one nucleus in the parental cell to the other before moving into a third developing nucleus in the progeny cells, all the while comparing one genetic template to the next until a "safe to use"...Twin sister mechanism prevents formation of genetic mutations
... division, each chromosome -- the structure in the nucleus that contains DNA -- gives rise to two identical "sister" chromosomes. These move on to the two separate cells created from the dividing cell.) According to this theory, if one of the sister chromosomes is damaged, the other can serve as a back-up s...Experimental 'gene switch' increases lifespan with no ill effects
...ut protein-making instructions are sent out of the nucleus in the form of a related molecule, RNA. The technique can partially disable, or "knock down" any given RNA sequence and hence any given gene simply by introducing double stranded RNA that matches it. The two strands separate when cleaved by an enzy...Chromatin, not proteins, support chromosomes during cell division
...ot protein, but chromatin, the portion of the cell nucleus that contains DNA, which provides this support. "What we've shown is that the mitotic form of chromosomes, when they're folded up for transmission during cell division -- the long, chromatin fibers made of DNA complexed with a lot of protein -- are l...A newly identified learning and memory area in the human brain
...l structures of the brain, e.g. hippocampus, basal nucleus of Meynert and prefrontal cortex, were thought to contribute to learning and memory in succession, but by working separately. The marginal division (MrD) is a newly identified pan-shaped structure consisting of spindle-shaped neurons in the mammalia...UCLA scientists eavesdrop on cellular conversations by making mice 'glow' with firefly protein
...ations. Finally, the message reaches deep into the nucleus and tells the cells' genes what to do." Gambhir said that the new system could be used to test drugs that target protein-to-protein interactions in mice or advance medical research with a new breed of mice that indicates when intracellular interactio...Scientists identify 'master' molecule that controls action of many genes
...identified the first "master" molecule in the cell nucleus that controls the action of hundreds of different ...is single inositol polyphosphate molecule. In the nucleus of cells of all higher organisms, from yeast to humans, DNA is bound to proteins called histones and...Scientists reveal a new way viruses cause cells to self-destruct
...plasm in an inactive form, and must migrate to the nucleus to become activated in newly synthesized viral particles by two viral cofactors. Once activated, it can cleave several viral proteins to complete the viral maturation process. There were no indications that the protease could be activated in the cell...Researchers identify cause of aggressive childhood cancer
...hromatin is the complex of DNA and proteins in the nucleus of the cell. "There has been indirect evidence that some types of chromatin remodeling complexes might play a role in cancer," said Roberts. In a key finding reported in 1998, French researchers showed that mutations that inactivated SNF5 were pres...A new approach holds promise for reducing cocaine craving
...cts of cocaine in a region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, which has been associated with motivati...ls of the common neurotransmitter glutamate in the nucleus accumbens. Normally, the neurons are bathed in high levels of glutamate, which tends to reduce their...West Nile Virus capsid protein causes encephalitic inflammation by triggering cell suicide
...ll to digest itself. Since the protein enters the nucleus of the cell, it is possible that WNV-Cp changes the host cell's transcriptional machinery, resulting in an over production of certain proteins related to an apoptotic program, which consequently feed back to the mitochondria. Alternatively, as WNV-C...Psychiatry receives grant establishing Conte Center to study molecular and cellular mood mechanisms
...structures beneath the brain's surface, called the nucleus accumbens, the amygdala, and the hypothalamus, are...ole of CREB, a transcription factor in the brain's nucleus accumbens that is a key control point for mood motivation. Working with Nestler in the Conte Center ...New technique reveals drug resistance in breast cancer tumors
...ceptors -- small molecular docking stations in the nucleus of cells -- appear to be defective in some tumor cells. The receptors may be disconnected from tumor cell growth, or they have become super-sensitized to estrogen so that even tiny amounts can make the tumor grow. In the latter case, even an aromatas......d individual HIV particles as they traveled to the nucleus of a human cell and began taking over its genetic ...re inside -- in particular, how they arrive at the nucleus to hijack the cell's genetic machinery and begin reproducing their own DNA -- had remained a mystery...