New clues to hereditary blinding disease found
...act on rhodopsins ability to function properly may point to significant advances for research in other devastating illnesses as well." The principles of the protein rhodopsin may be extended to its relatives: G-protein coupled receptors that mediate numerous functions in the body including sight, taste, sm...Enzyme activation appears key in helping internal clock tell night from day
...e activation of PKG-II may be the critical control point that tells our biological clock to proceed by putting night behind and journeying into a new day. In their research, the scientists blocked the phosphorylation action of PKG-II during the normal cycling of the clock. By doing so, they disrupted the ...Sweet success in targeting sugar molecules to cells in living animals
...tant research and clinical implications. "From our point of view, one of the most exciting implications of this work is the prospect for imaging glycosylation in real time within living organisms," she said. "We hope to be able to witness changes in the pattern of glycosylation in a tissue as an animal dev...Anti-bacterial additive found in Maryland streams
... and bio-accumulate in the food chain, but at this point we can only speculate," said Dr. Halden. He added that more research is needed to determine whether the environmental contamination discovered translates into human exposure and any corresponding long-term risks. Prior to Dr. Halden's research, the m...Alcohol-use and depression among pregnant and postpartum women
... depressive symptoms, binge drink, or smoke at any point during their pregnancy may be at risk for depressi...erience depression, binge drink, or smoke at any point during their pregnancy may be at risk for depression and alcohol use during their first postpartum y...Technology already exists to stabilize global warming
... each of the 15 possible technologies, the authors point out that implementing the measures would likely generate economic benefits, including creating new industries, reducing the U.S. dependence on foreign oil and lessening the need for other pollution-control expenses associated with burning coal and ot......the sampling of gene expression levels at a single point in time. Many genes exhibit variable expression cycles roughly over the course of a 24-hour day, a phenomenon known as circadian rhythmicity. In their study, Ueda et al. first identified genes that are expressed in high amplitude circadian patterns....The telomere crisis: A crucial stage in breast cancer
...nd other signals in the clinic. The findings also point to possible ways of stopping cancer by derailing transition through the telomere crisis (rare as successful transition is): by using drugs that maintain the cell's damage-control mechanisms, for example, or that prevent telomerase reactivation or tha...Scientist who discovered Sly syndrome finds new research path to explore for treating the disease
...scientist who discovered Sly Syndrome 32 years ago point to a new direction for research into the rare genetic disorder that can cause bone deformities, vision and hearing loss, mental retardation and death in children. The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Onli...New hypoxic event found off Oregon coast
...ears to be shifting the system closer to a tipping point where the right conditions can kick it over the edge and into an hypoxia state. This coastal ecosystem off Oregon seems to be changing in a way we have never seen." Scientific data to document the changing ocean conditions only goes back a few decad...Why some animals have smaller eyes: Lifestyle matters
...ortion to body size than the eyes of adults." They point out that many of the smaller non-human primates -- the ones we humans think are cute -- tend to have much larger eyes than their body size might suggest, whereas the biggest primate, the gorilla, has especially small eyes for its body size. "I imagin...Method to visualize gene activity may provide insight into normal development & genome function
...gh a telescope versus binoculars." The researchers point out that while they have refined the technique in Drosophila embryos, it will likely require modifications to work in other organisms. A detailed guide to the labeling process accompanying the paper, and available through Science's website, should fa...Molecular therapeutics advance fight against brain cancer
..." Further, there is no cost to the patient at this point since the tests are performed by the Neuro-oncology Program and supported by the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn. In addition, there is no requirement for additional blood samples, so results will be given more quickly with no need for follow-up visit...Study explains spatial orientation differences between sexes
...mblay asked 24 people (11 males and 13 females) to point a laser straight-ahead (perpendicular to the body ... to pay attention to internal cues helped women to point the laser significantly closer to their straight-ahead, there were still significant differences bet...Outcome for acute lymphoblastic leukemia linked to gene expression patterns
... why patients respond differently to treatment and point to new approaches to overcome these causes of disease relapse." The researchers tested leukemic cells from 271 children newly diagnosed with ALL for sensitivity to four anti-cancer drugs: prednisolone, vincristine, L-asparaginase and daunorubi...JCI table of contents, 2 August, 2004
... provide evidence for an additional key regulatory point in the control of energy balance through leptin and may suggest novel therapeutic strategies for treatment of obesity and thyroid axisrelated diseases. TITLE: Regulation of hypothalamic prohormone convertases 1 and 2 and effects on processing of prot...New diagnostic technology helps justify earlier cataract surgery
...ues is determining when they degrade vision to the point that the patient is at an increased risk of falls ...hem from coverage until their vision degrades to a point that is measurable by an outdated test," Masket said. ...... provide evidence for an additional key regulatory point in the control of energy balance through leptin and may suggest novel therapeutic strategies for treatment of obesity and thyroid axisrelated diseases. ...DNA variations surprise researchers
...ained in individual genomes. These findings, which point to possible new explanations for individual uniqueness as well as why disease develops, are published in the September 2004 issue of the scientific journal Nature Genetics (available online August 1, 2004). "Using new genome scanning technologies, we......ved in this research, says: "If there is a tipping point in rusty crayfish ecology - so we can drive the crayfish to low levels using natural predation, plus heavy harvest by people - then we may have a tool for restoring the lakes that have been damaged by crayfish invasions."...