New Discovery About Genes Has Implications For Genetic Therapy
... researcher Steven Zimmerly, focused on the simple organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae , ordinary baker's yeast. The yeast is widely used both in brewing and by geneticists for their research. Genes are basically long strands of DNA that carry the essential genetic information needed to produce a protein. ...Mutate Or Die: New Polymerase Gives Desperate Yeast An Option
...s the first polymerase whose purpose is toallow an organism to tolerate , rather than fix or discard, damaged DNA. Unlike other polymerases, which eitherrefuse to copy damaged DNA or which help repair it, zeta lets a cell replicate damaged DNA, giving the cell a chance atlife at the cost of a higher mutation...DNA Techniques Allow Scientists To Become Pollution Detectives.
... other water bodies. "E. coli is a very convenient organism to test for," Tamplinsaid. "We use E. coli to measure the probability of other harmfulbacteria in the water. We hope to be able to have folks send uswater samples and to run these tests on it for them. We thinkthis type of test could be used all over...Researchers Identify A New Cellular Structure: The "Dumposome"
A team of researchers studying the one-celled organism Tetrahymena has discovered a cellular structure that acts asa selective garbage disposal for unneeded DNA. The recently identified cellular component, dubbed a "dumposome," mayprove to be an entirely new organelle. It's introduced in the cover story ......ks going back as far as half a billion years. The organism apparently arrived within the past 10 years from J...any sampling sites. The introduction of an exotic organism that spreads as rapidly as T. hadai is a matter of considerable concern, Sloan says. In particular t...Scientists Identify Retrovirus-Like Components In Corn Genome
...ruses that are devastating to humans. Every living organism has a genome, the DNA in each cell's nucleus, which includes the active genes that determine the organism's characteristics. However, the genome also contains inactive pieces of DNA and other materials, many of which had not been identified. In the N...New Sensor Provides First Instant Test For Toxic E. coli Organism
...ces -- a simple treatment withheat -- can kill the organism as can thorough cooking of meats. The bacteria strainis a potent health threat. Undoubtedly, numerous unreported outbreaks of E.coli related disease have occurred. Children and the elderly are particularlysusceptible to infections. Symptoms inclu...Bigger Biology Tackled Through Keyboards
...ltruism has long intrigued biologists. Whywould an organism intent on spreading its genes on to the next generationrisk anything by helping another organism. Well, computational work hasrevealed that individuals are more likely to help neighbors than randomstrangers they expect never to see again and that thi...Ten Years of Progress For Superfund Basic Research Program
... to degrade a wide variety of compounds." A second organism isolated and studied at UC belongs to thegenus Mycobacterium. This group includes the microbes which causeleprosy and tuberculosis, but the strain used at UC is a commonsoil bacteria which does not cause illness. What it can do ischew up another grou...Duke researchers find existing drugs can stop fungus that attacks AIDS patients
...ever, in people withsuppressed immune systems, the organism can evade the host defense and infectthe brain. Between 6 percent and 10 percent of AIDS patients develop this life-threateninginfection, the researchers said. In about 40 percent of these patients,it is the first infection they develop when th...Munching Microbes Make A Meal Out Of Toxic Substances
...eum compounds. Theoretically, a benzoate-degrading organism could degrade petroleum as well, Nies says. Nies found that at sites contaminated with petroleum, the number of benzoate-degrading organisms in the soil was higher than normal background levels. "Our conclusion is that there are more of this type of ...Houseflies May Transmit Ulcer Bug
...l ulcer, gastric ulcer and gastriccancer. The organism lives in the stomachs of most people in the world,although in developed countries less than than 50 percent are infectedand most children are Helicobacter free. In developing countriesinfection is almost universal among adults with 50 percent beco...Scientists Discover How Genes Work Together To Control Neural Development
...lycell," Lai explains. "Plus flies are a very good organism forgenetic engineering." During a fly's development, on about the fourth day of life, certainproto-eye cells receive instructions from the fly's genes to become eitherlight-filtering cone cells or photoreceptor neurons. "That's whenwe dissect the e...Evolution Re-Sculpted Animal Limbs By Genetic Switches Once Thought Too Drastic For Survival
... the same time. This hasclear implications for the organism and can be an advantage, depending onenvironment." Patel said the finding legitimizes the comparative genetics of early developmentas a tool for studying evolution. "This variation is what everyone had hoped to find for this class of genes," hesaid. ......rug treatments needed to cure the disease give the organism time tomutate into new, resistant forms. Making treatment even more difficult is thefact that many TB sufferers stop taking antibiotics before the bacteria iseliminated. "This is a breakthrough because it offers a novel drug target fortubercu...Research Team Discovers Key Gene For Telomerase Enzyme In Humans
...catingtelomerase was first developed by an ancient organism and subsequentlyinherited by all eukaryotes -- organisms whose cells have a separatenucleus and cytoplasm, including humans. "It means that studies on simple organisms like yeast are relevantto the human enzyme," said Cech. Telomerase...Altered Genes, Altered Metabolism--Longer Life?
...e, the daf-2 geneactivates a pathway that puts the organism into a hibernating state. A decreasein metabolism has been observed in calorically restricted rats which have anextended lifespan, suggesting that this mechanism in humans may have thepotential for slowing down aging. The National Institute on Aging...Experts: Public Will Accept Irradiation In Wake Of Meat Recall
...ch as proper cooking, but irradiation destroys the organism before it reaches the consumer." Richard Linton, Purdue Extension specialist in food safety, says, "Cooking and irradiation are perhaps the only existing ways today to get rid of microorganisms on food." An instance where irradiation would've ...E. Coli Genome Reported: Milestone Of Modern Biology Emerges From Wisconsin Lab
...DNA. For this reason E. coli is considered a model organism in the Human Genome Initiative of the National Ins...ttner's team rose to prominence as an experimental organism in 1945 when it was used in the discovery of spontaneous gene transfer or bacterial sex. As a result...Discovery Of Genetic Pathways May Provide New Ways To Combat Candida Infections
... in a petri dish. When Candida enters a host, the organism is eaten up by cells called macrophages, which are...dida can take over, as evidenced by the havoc this organism wreaks in patients after chemotherapy. In Friday's Cell paper, the scientists report that two para...