Bacterial Toxin Surprises Scientists
...nnel. This protein movement is especially surprising because it requires a long stretch of water-soluble amino acids to cross a membrane made up of water-repelling lipids. "This result is so counterintuitive that we've spent a lot of time documenting exactly what's goi......initial studies with the mice already have yielded surprising insightsthat challenge conventional theories about drug addiction and Parkinson'sdisease and may provide the first realistic model for testing new treatmentsfor psychiatric disorders. "We were astonished that a single genetic deletion would have suc...Enzyme's "Magic" May Hold Key to Anticancer and Antimicrobial Drugs
...protein to have a hollow middle, even more surprising is the elaborate system of "hinges" and dramatic conformational changes the enzyme requires to perform its unlinking trick (see figure). A model for the reaction catalyzed by topoisomerase II. Different d...New Discovery About Genes Has Implications For Genetic Therapy
...the DNA through this process. "This is a really surprising find. No one suspected that they could use this mechanism." In a few experiments so far, the researchers have been able to modify some of the information carried by the introns and transfer it to the genes at a very specific site. Much more work...Photosystem I -- An Intermediate Step -- May Not Be Necessary For Plants
...ur present knowledge is inadequate to explain this surprising observation," he said....Humble Pocket Gophers Shed Light On The Genetic Fortitude Of Cheetahs
...n inbred laboratory mice. Key evidence came from a surprising 1985 experiment in which unrelated captive cheetahs accepted skin grafts from each other, a sign that their immune systems were genetically almost identical. However, in recent years some ecologists have questioned the validity of that work. The UCSC...Low-Protein Diet May Reverse Kidney Disease
...otein. "We still don't know the mechanism for this surprising result," says Walser. "Evidently, some unidentified component of a regular diet was perpetuating the loss of urinary protein. What's clear from our findings is that the common opinion that kidney disease patients shouldn't be given severely protein-r...Scientists Identify Retrovirus-Like Components In Corn Genome
...plant is fielding this question and producing some surprising kernels of knowledge about the organization and makeup of genetic material in plants. The findings offer new insights into why some plants have larger genomes than others, and they indicate that some plants may be able to thwart certain viruses that ...Two Long-sought Diabetes Gene Found
...pression in the liver, kidney and intestine. "This surprising finding means we have to quit thinking of diabetes purely as a defect in glucose metabolism and starting thinking of it as possibly a defect in gene expression," said Bell. "That makes diabetes a more complicated disorder, but it also opens up new wa...Isle Royale Moose Continue Decline
...lves and older, weaker moose, but it also killed a surprising number of young adults." Peterson says the only thing that saved most of the moose that survived was an abundance of balsam fir browse on the east end of the island. Interestingly, he says, those trees grew up when wolves had reduced the moose herd t...Everyday Technology Underlies First DNA Computer Logic Gates
...re" ever: logic gates made of DNA. Most surprising about Animesh Ray and Mitsu Ogihara's recent work is that they made the DNA logic gates using only the most commonplace biological laboratory techniques, such as DNA ligation and gel electrophoresis. "There is absolutely nothing fancy in...Houseflies May Transmit Ulcer Bug
...thogen transmission potential. It istherefore not surprising that as many as six million bacteria have beenfound on the exterior surface of a single feeding fly and more than 100species of pathogenic organisms have been isolated from the digestivetract of flies." "The adult housefly can fly as far as 20 m...Couch Potatoes, Not French Fries, May Be To Blame For Obesity
...st-food consumption and rising obesity has found a surprising wrinkle: There doesn't appear to be much of a link, at least in terms of large populations. James Binkley, associate professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, used state-by-state data to examine one bit of dogma in the war on weight -...FORT COLLINS--Tuberculosis researchers have made a surprising discovery thatputs a new twist on efforts to develop more effective drugs and vaccines againstthe infectious disease. The discovery, made by scientists at Colorado State University'sMycobacteria Research Laboratory, centers around a group of ...E. Coli Genome Reported: Milestone Of Modern Biology Emerges From Wisconsin Lab
...tablishment, where possible, of their functions. A surprising number of the genes, Blattner said, are new. The work also details the similarity between every gene of E. coli andevery gene of every other completely sequenced organism. The comparison, according to Blattner, shows that some genes appear com...Wonder Thread: UD Scientists Report First Protein With Collagen And Elastin-Like Domains
...om one material to another, gives byssal threads a surprising mix of properties. "If a byssal thread were simply a stiff stick attached to an elastic tube, it wouldn't have an outside chance of surviving these relentless tidal beatings," Waite notes. "In fact, the collagen in byssal threads goes from being a s...Selenium Soil Contamination: Possible New Approach Identified
BERKELEY, CA. -- A surprising alternative to microorganisms for immobilizingselenium contamination in soil and sediment has been identified by researchersat the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Greenrust, a harmless natural iron oxide, was shown...Low B Vitamin Levels Common In Many People Linked To Increased Heart Disease, Stroke Risk
...n lead to elevations in homocysteine.Regarding the surprising finding about normal levels of homocysteine in people with low B-6 and increased risk for cardiovascular disease, Robinson says, "There's something else going on that vitamin B-6 is doing. Even if you take homocysteine levels into account, low B-6 m...Study Links Viruses And Vascular Diseases
... viruses can injure humanvessels. Now, thanks to a surprising discovery at Washington University Schoolof Medicine in St. Louis, there is a new reason to reconsider the idea. In arecent issue of Nature Medicine, the researchers reported that a virus relatedto those that cause mononucleosis and Kaposi's sarcoma ......nces during the conference on the most excitingand surprising results presented at the Conference. I will be happy to assistyou and arrange meetings with scientists you might be interested in meeting. We are confident that our efforts to improve the knowledge on these timelyenvironmental issues are critical for...