New metabolic 'switches' discovered
...e such an external signal activates a receptor, it switches on its coupled G protein, which in turn triggers a cell response. G proteins control such cellular responses in tissues throughout the body, including the heart, lungs, adrenal glands, liver, brain and other organs. G proteins malfunction in humans c...Structural mechanism of cell enzyme revealed by UT Southwestern researchers
...gh the method described in this research. Multiple switches give the cell choices, and this shows how those choices are made." The research was carried out primarily by Chung-I Chang, a student in molecular biophysics in the Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. MAP kinases are a group of enz...Computational geneticists revisit a mystery in evolution
...d Siegal was not so much the nature of the genetic switches that operate at the ''forks'' but instead what causes the ''grooves'' that keep development faithfully rolling along when both environmental disturbance and genetic mutation could potentially set it off course. ''You can throw a lot of insults at an ...UCLA neuroscientists discovery distinct molecular key to overcoming fear
...CCs) -- one of hundreds of varieties of electrical switches found in brain cells -- are required to overcome fear but play no role in becoming fearful or expressing fear. The findings suggest that it may be possible to identify the cells, synapses and molecular pathways specific to extinguishing fear, and to ...Ion channels allow bacteria to resist stomach acid
...n open and a closed state," said Miller. "And what switches this bacterial chloride channel to an open state is not a neurotransmitter or voltage change, as is the case with their homologs in the mammalian nervous system, but a high extracellular acid concentration." Miller and his colleagues also noted that ...Mathematical prediction of on-off switches in cell division proven
... stops buzzing when one lets go. A toggle likewise switches on when one pushes hard enough on the lever in one... and hysteretic. What regulates these irreversible switches has been a big question, Sible explains. "Others have published mathematical models of the cell cycl...UT Southwestern researchers identify gene that could have important role in human wasting disorder
...transcription factors (proteins that act as on/off switches for various genetic programs) controls the formation of all skeletal muscles in vertebrates. But little is known of the molecules or mechanisms that confer unique identities to different types of skeletal muscles. Knowing that the MyoR and capsulin g...Calient Networks chosen as core platform for Optiputer
...n. UIC has awarded a major purchase of all-optical switches to Calient Networks, which will install them at fa...nd future-proof all-optical core network." Calient switches installed at the StarLight site in Chicago and the NetherLight site in Amsterdam will make those fac...Technological advances making life easier for people with physical and mental challenges
... force, Conway's team helped build a headrest with switches that will operate a photocopier machine. Since the student has the most motor control in his head, he can use this technology that maximizes his mobility in order to operate the machine and do his job. Conway is working on several other projects for...UCSD biologists discover key to blocking inflammation
...ing energy. But until now, the importance of those switches to regulate inflammation was not well understood. By eliminating the ability of the white blood cells-specifically macrophages and neutrophils-to turn on their hypoxic response and generate energy anaerobically, the UCSD scientists were able to stop ...Rockefeller, Weill Cornell researchers find link between estrogen, brain structure changes
...nding to its receptor led to a series of signaling switches that resulted in PSD-95 protein translation. These switches involves rapid activation of an enzyme called Akt, a common intermediate in signaling pathways, whic...A subtle tool to study mankind's diseases
...d to leukemias. The cassette also contains control switches that allow each defect to be "switched on" whenever the researchers choose; they can also be left off. "We can study each mutation independently, or watch how they act together, or control the time at which each one acts," Testa says. "This will give...Studies of rare blood syndrome yield novel route to cancer
...tween two genes, FIP1L1 and PDGFR alpha , which switches on PDGFR alpha , a tyrosine kinase. The researchers later confirmed that Gleevec did specifically block the activity of the wayward kinase. They did this by analyzing the genes of a patient who developed resistance to Gleevec due to an additional m...St. Jude researchers decipher structure, activity of enzyme key to biochemical pathways of life
... NEDD8 to trigger special molecules that act as on switches for a variety of biochemical pathways, according to Brenda Schulman, Ph.D., an assistant member of the St. Jude Departments of Structural Biology, Genetics and Tumor Cell Biology. The pathways switched on by ubiquitin-like proteins include vital act...The structure behind the switch
...igator. "And yet, the DNA mechanism for how a cell switches from producing one class to producing another has remained a mystery for almost 20 years." The typical antibody molecule is shaped like the letter Y. The region at the end of each of the two short arms houses the receptors that recognize and bind wit...Virginia Tech inventions, creations can improve lives
From peanuts to switches for fuel cell vehicles, Virginia Tech inventions, ...arded for power electronic improvements, including switches for hybrid fuel cell/electric vehicles, power converters, and power unit packaging; new materials an...Engineers design new optical microprobe to detect subsurface organ abnormalities
...en swings back to the left."As the voltage rapidly switches on and off and the mirror vibrates, a beam of light from a fiberoptic cable is reflected onto a tissue surface in a scanning pattern. This repeat scanning produces optical images of the tissues' outer layers. The artificial muscle was made at MCNC, a...Scientists report discovery of cancer-causing gene in childhood kidney tumor
...g some of the gene "targets" of TFEB the genes it switches on that carry the cancer process forward. "The finding will not only help doctors make more precise diagnoses of this disease, but may influence treatment as well," Fisher remarks. "It will put us in a position to prescribe treatments that are know...Without enzyme catalyst, slowest known biological reaction takes 1 trillion years
...cells, the cell signaling pathways and biochemical switches involved in health and disease. "We have esters floating around in our cells with all kinds of functions," Wolfenden said. "Every aspect of cell signaling follows the action of the type of phosphatase enzyme that breaks down phosphate monoesters. Oth...