Horseshoe crab studies providing new insight into valuable ancient creatures
...ource forabout a million migratory shorebirds that pass through the region everyspring. After spending the winter in South America, species such as the redknot, ruddy turnstone, semipalmated sandpiper and sanderling feast onprotein-rich horseshoe crab eggs before moving on to their Arctic breedinggrounds........ In humans,one of the cell surface receptors that pass signals to NF-kappa B is thereceptor for the cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1), which among other things isknown to induce fever. Researchers soon realized that the protein Dorsal,activated by Toll receptors in the fruit flies, is structurally similar to...SFVAMC-UCSF scientists solve a key protein structure
...rcells' energy. Basically, Complexes I through IV pass electrons to each otherdown the chain and eventually to an oxygen molecule. At the same time, at leastthree of the complexes "pump" protons through the wall of the mitochondria,which produces a gradient of electrical energy. At the end of the respir...Protein studies reveal sophisticated control of nerve communication
...both ofwhich help regulate electrical signals that pass from neuron to neuron. But "the really cool thing about yotiao," explained HHMI investigator <AHREF="http://www.hhmi.org/science/cellbio/scottjohn.htm">John D. Scott , isthat it holds the enzymes right next to their site of action -- a cruci...Report in PNAS on role of nephrin, the kidney filter protein
...ture that allows theliquid portion of the blood to pass but not plasma proteins. A break-down in the kidney's ability to filter proteins is a common occurrencein most kidney diseases, and results in proteinurea (protein in the urine). Proteinuria is not only a consequence of kidney disease, but also is ge...Protein in eyes may be potential treatment for leading causes of blindness
...o compartments of the eye through which light must pass -- the corneaand the vitreous -- thus helping to ensure clear vision. Bouck, a professor of microbiology and immunology at NorthwesternUniversity Medical School, said this effect may have important therapeuticimplications in both retinal tumo...Single amino acid change in herpes virus prevents it from infecting neurons
...eshorter than a hair's breadth, the virus needs to pass through several celllayers where it will be vulnerable to attack from the immune system. To reach the neuron, the herpes virus employs a 'safety in numbers'strategy by using the proteins of the first cell it infects as building blocksto assem...Mechanical forces found to exert larger role in blood vessel health and disease
... blood vessels, the endothelium, to allow fluid to pass through to thecells beneath. The researchers showed that shear stress and VEGF not only cause similarchanges in endothelium transport properties but also do so by the same chemicalsignaling pathways. Each of the tissue types the group invest...Astrobiologist to hunt small game in Siberia
...he electron microscopeshowed what most of us would pass up as a meaningless blob. Interviewing Hooversometimes means talking with him on the fly. He's rarely still in one place forvery long, unless it's in a chair just behind a NASA engineer who operates theEnvironmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM...Scientists uncover molecular changes underlying amphetamine and antidepressant action
... are quite different. Likeserotonin, amphetamines pass through the transporter and keep it on the cellsurface. Cocaine, on the other hand, allows the transporter to becomesusceptible to the signals that pull it off the surface. "We think this difference will play out chronically in the spectrum ofactivi...Microbes work magic on hazardous air pollutants
...crobesdegrade and destroy the contaminants as they pass over the biofilm. Therecirculating water allows for optimal controlof pH, nutrient levels, and biofilm thickness. Known as a biotrickling filter, this treatment method safely and efficientlydestroys volatile organic compounds (VOCs),hazardous air po...Hepatitis E virus infection may be widespread in rats
...lity is that animals serve asreservoirs of HEV and pass a weakened form of the virus on to humans." Dr. Pu...EV. Dr. Purcell and his colleagues will attempt to pass the virus from infected wildrats to rats raised in the laboratory. In addition to providing clues a...Scientists dissect bacterial crosstalk
St. Louis, Aug. 20, 1999 -- Please pass the sugar, a hungry bacteriumsays. And the lining of the intestine complies. But how can microbes talk tomammals' With a dual-purpose protein, scientists find. The microbes in our body -- more numerous than human cells -- fend off pathogensand do oth......ecause solublenutrients like phosphorus run off or pass more readily through the soil and intothe water," Malone points out. Victor Raboy, a research geneticist with the Agricultural Research Service ofthe USDA, Aberdeen, Idaho, agrees: "A 41 percent reduction in total phosphorusis a pretty big deal," he ...New technique builds microscopic medical devices for transplants
... allowed glucose and insulin molecules to pass through,but blocked the antibody immunoglobulin G (IgG), which attacks transplanted cells. These results were published in a recent issue of the Jour...Blueberries: New thrills for those over the hill
...llowingimportant nutrients and chemical signals to pass in and out of the cell, therebyreducing inflammatory processes in tissues. Recent studies suggest that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, naturaldietary sources of antioxidants, may have a beneficial anti-cancer effect. Orange and yellow vegetab...Scientists identify novel component of cell-fate pathway
...signals bind with receptors on the cellsurface and pass into the cell. There they prevent another protein from shuttingdown the Wnt pathway. This protein then joins with deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA)-regulatory co-factors and enters the cell's nucleus where it binds to theDNA of Wnt-target genes to influence...UCSC researchers obtain first detailed images of a complete ribosome
...sites. During protein synthesis, the transfer RNAs pass sequentiallythrough the three binding sites, which are located at the interface between thetwo subunits of the ribosome. "The transfer RNAs come through as if on a conveyor belt, and we can see how theribosome holds the transfer RNA differently in e...Clay M. Armstrong, MD, wins 1999 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award
...way. When a signal enters a cell, itdoesn't simply pass through. The ion channels are needed to perfectly reproducethe message." Clay Armstrong has been studying ion channels for nearly 40 years. Beginning inthe early 1960s, building on the work of 1963 Nobelists A.L. Hodgkin and A.F.Huxley, Armstrong ...Scientists look for signs of pollution in the superhighway in the sky
...e. "When we cross the jet tracks anhour after they pass by, it's easy to find their chemical trail," said Thompson. But when the scientists looked for increased levels of smog chemistry coveringthe entire flight corridor, they couldn't find them, she said. What complicated the gas analyses is t...