Brain Protein "Rescues" Neurons From Atrophy
...rts of the visual cortex responded particularly to specific neurotrophins. Such a differential response would help confirm that neurotrophins are not simply a general growth enhancer for neurons, but represent a sort of chemical "language" that specifically regulates how different kinds of neurons develop. In...Bacterial Toxin Surprises Scientists
...family of labeled proteins by changing one specific amino acid in each protein to a cysteine (colicin Ia has no naturally occurring cysteines). They then attached the vitamin biotin to the cysteines. Using changes in voltage, they stimulated the protein to open or close. By ......dopamine reaches the receiving neuron, it binds to specific dopaminereceptors, thereby triggering a response in that neuron. Almost immediately,the dopamine transporter scavenges excess dopamine from the synapse to terminatethe signal. It is this dopamine transporter protein that Caron and his colleagues kno...Enzyme's "Magic" May Hold Key to Anticancer and Antimicrobial Drugs
...ermission. Because drugs act on specific enzyme conformations, knowledge of these conformations has significant implications in drug design. "Topoisomerase is like several enzymes in one because its various conformations are so different," Dr. Wang said. "Eac...Researchers Pinpoint Site For Petit Mal Seizures In Brain
...od form of epilepsy. The findings may lead to more specific drugs for the disorder with fewer side effects, sa...fect -- the overabundence of GABAb receptors -- to specific neurons in the thalamus, a nerve relay center in the brain. During waking hours, the thalamus contin...Second Breast Cancer Gene Located
...ping stage to isolationand characterization of the specific gene involved," Stratton said."Due to many recent advances in molecular biology, we have managedto shorten the process for BRCA2 to half that time." The researchers do not yet know whether BRCA2 plays a role in the developmentof sporadic, or...Duke Researchers Discover Candidate Susceptibility Gene For Autoimmune Disease
...center. To date, doctors have not identified any specific genes for autoimmunediseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, although many researchers believethere may be several genes that, when defective, predispose people to developautoimmune disorders. The Duke researchers made the discovery while trying to ...Duke Researchers Show "Editing" Can Fix Faulty Genes In New Approach To Gene Therapy
...red in the chromosomes, in favorof focusing on the specific genetic RNA messages that are translated intoprote... This ribozyme not only cuts otherpieces of RNA at specific sites called recognition sequences, but afterit cuts, it splices in a piece of RNA sequence attached...New Discovery About Genes Has Implications For Genetic Therapy
...uld allow researchers to insert new information at specific sites along a gene, allowing considerably more con...ace to place along a gene, inserting themselves at specific points along the DNA strand, and transferring genetic information in the process. "This is really...Honeybees In The Wild Nearly Gone In North America
...r cucumbers," he said "Other types of bees arevery specific to certain crops. "Plus, if we take native wild bees and culture them, we'regoing to generate new problems there, too. If we bring together10 to 20 times the number of bees that were ever together before,we could expect to have disease outbreaks and ...Surprising Protein Movement Seen In Cells
...hey areneeded for a variety of purposes. But these specific proteins are not transported; they aremysteriously retained in the organelle. Without the retention,the organelles would not function properly and vital lifeprocesses would break down. Scientists had proposed that the proteins are anchored andimmobil...Bark Beetle Infestation Spurs Multifaceted Study
...the burn scars. A survey of the ages of trees at specific fires can give a cross sectionalview of the age co.... "We have had to develop a tree ring chronology specific for this area,from living trees," says Taylor. "With a chronology that goesback far enough, we can d...Virginia Tech Researchers Receive Patent For Rapid Virus Detection Technology
...ce of a virus," says Hagedorn. The test detects a specific compound(an enzyme) released from cells in the test medium -- "acellular equivalent of canaries used to detect gas in mines,"says Hagedorn. Presently, the presence of the bacterium, Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), is used throughout theworld as an in...Nitric Oxide May Hold Key To First Treatment For Deadly Form Of Malaria, Duke Scientists Report
...ach to a transcription factor, a protein thatfinds specific genes on the bacterial genome and activates them. The genes,in turn, are translated into proteins whose job it is to break down theexcess SNO, rendering it harmless. In this way, bacteria have evolved an ingenious second line of defense againstan S...Genetic Alterations Linked To Cancer In Some Blood Samples
...School of Medicine have detected genetic mutations specific to cancer in blood samples of six patients with he...series of DNA markers to seek out geneticmutations specific to each patient's cancer. "We decided to test serum samples based on evidence from scientists two d...Nitric Oxide Found To Control Cells By Turning On Genes; Suggests New Role In Health And Disease
...ach to a transcription factor, a protein thatfinds specific genes on the bacterial genome and activates them. The genes,in turn, are translated into proteins whose job it is to break down theexcess SNO, rendering it harmless. In this way, bacteria have evolved an ingenious second line of defense againstan S...Harvard, Duke Researchers Discover 'Off-switch' Inside Human Cells
...ill be in a better positionto design selective and specific inhibitors or enhancers of the process."...Discovery Of Cell Sites May Shed Light On How Bodily Systems Interact
... have located -- and produced a vivid pictureof -- specific cells that contain receptors for a hormone-like substancemade by the immune system and associated with declines in growth-hormoneproduction in animals with bacterial infections. The findings included two surprises and may help scientists understand ...New Software Provides Quick Analysis of ion-Channel Activity
...tch" an ion channel molecule at work, they provide specific quantitative results on how it works, on how fast protein molecules change shape. That information will give scientists a critical window into a protein's four-dimensional structure (in space and time), which determines its function, he explained. T...An Equal Opportunity Extinction? Cincinnati Geologists Find Global Impact from Permian Die
...ighly diverse environmentsgenerally occur within a specific environmental zone. Again,there was no significant difference among zones. The Late Permianextinction event affected them all equally. As a continuation of his research, Ebersole will extend hisanalysis to do a latitude by latitude comparison. He exp...