Social insects point to non-genetic origins of societies
...nly thought of as evolutionary adaptations, Fewell turns this idea on its head by proposing that the network forms first, following the logic and pattern of group connections, then adaptation follows to strengthen the pattern. Social organization, seen in this light, is essentially an emergent property tha...New findings in yeast may reveal why growing older is the greatest carcinogen in humans
...lity that accompanies mother-cell aging in yeast - turns out to apply to human stem cells as well, it would revolutionize our concepts of how cancer arises and how aging occurs," Hartwell said. Gottschling's work was funded by a four-year Senior Scholar grant from the Ellison Medical Foundation Aging Progr...SPR Annual Meeting features newsworthy discoveries
...ve found younger adults to be a finicky bunch. It turns out that how long a story is and how short the cam...were active during the electrical stimulation. It turns out that the brain region responsible for processing touch information, the primary somatosensory re...Stem cells delivered into back of eye hold promise for people with retinitis pigmentosa
...vestigated the molecular basis of this process. It turns out that these stem cells are loaded with a type of protein known as "heat shock proteins." These cells are sort of like firefighters, says Friedlander. They are protected from apoptosis the way that a firefighter is protected from heat and flames b...Geneticists show ripple effects of gene mutations
...e? That's the question we asked," Anholt said. "It turns out that the genomic perturbations arising from a single insertion are substantial. With this experiment, we could see how many genes were perturbed when we mutated one gene, but we could also look at the overlap of the ripples." In addition, the res...How tea works against skin cancer
...We asked if polyphenols can block the process that turns a normal cell into a cancer cell," said Dong. "We looked for a target." The researchers studied the effects of polyphenols on "target" proteins known to be important in the chain of events leading to cancer. The proteins belonged to two classes: enz...Watching social behaviour evolve
...t moving by pili-mediated S-motility). Instead, it turns out that the propulsive force for the evolved swarming is provided by A-motility (the normal motor for individual motility) but an additional social component is required as well. The descendant populations had evolved the ability to make enhanced qu...Research on relative species abundance provides new theoretical foundation
...though we have learned a lot," said Hubbell. As it turns out, there is a great deal scientists do not yet know about how species form ecological communities. Predictive ecological theories that provide real-world answers are needed for issues ranging from protecting biological diversity to improving land m......mate experiment will be releasing the virus. If it turns out that PAC-CRC has got it wrong, there may be little anyone can do about it....Molecules discovered that extend life in yeast, human cells
...nown about the human sirtuin SIRT1, except that it turns off the tumor suppressor gene p53. This raises the concern that any promotion of this pathway might promote cancer even as it switches on a longevity program. But Sinclair said that calorie-restricted animals in experiments by others have lower, not ...... gene in the AIDS virus hijacks the human gene and turns it into a weapon that prevents reproduction of immune-system white blood cells, leaving AIDS patients vulnerable to deadly infections and cancer. The new study "puts us a big step closer to understanding how HIV [human immunodeficiency virus] disman...Modifier gene controls severity of neurological disease in mice
...of Michigan scientists have discovered a gene that turns a chronic inherited neurological disorder which produces tremor and muscle weakness in laboratory mice into a lethal disease that paralyzes and kills them within a few weeks of birth. Called Scnm1 for sodium channel modifier 1, the gene is one of a...Researchers: Fire may help combat fatal dogwood epidemic
...some dogwoods from an otherwise bleak fate. "If it turns out that fire can prevent anthracnose or reduce its impact, it would give parks and other large landowners a method for fighting the disease prescribed burning," said Erich Holzmueller, a doctoral student working on the project. The team will prese...New 'knockout' map helps study gene functions in model plant
...chnique to analyze gene function. Some genes, it turns out, contain certain features that mark them as favored targets of inactivation. Additionally, Ecker and his colleagues have discovered that fewer inactivations occur near the centromeres the thinner gene-poor regions of the chromosome. "These res...Social mobility: Study shows bacteria seek each other out
It turns out that bacteria are real social climbers. Or at least social wigglers. A study by Princeton University scientists has shown that bacteria actively move around their environments to form social organizations. The researchers placed bacteria in minut...Study sheds light on critical relay in visual circuit of the brain
...l palsy or other disabilities later in life. If it turns out that the subplate is linked to such defects, understanding more about its function could eventually lead to new therapies. Research looking at the subplate neurons has proven difficult in the past because of problems accessing the cells, which ar...Rutgers scientists post a genetic road map to sources of disease
...monly used for genome screening," said Matise. "It turns out that our map is equivalent to or better than the other maps that are currently used." Matise explained that without this kind of map, SNP-based linkage screening in humans a procedure by which the entire genome is scanned for evidence of linkage...University of Rochester scientists test new method to attack cancer
...ath is normal, even healthy. But as a healthy cell turns cancerous, a genetic mutation triggers the production of telomerase, which restores the telomeres to normal length. The restored telomeres enable the cell to divide, unchecked, thousands of times instead of the usual 50 to 100. Over time, a few cance......t themselves, but they are not at all helpless. It turns out that they can run around, swim and exert considerable force." When they need more room to grow, blue crabs swallow a lot of water to puff themselves up and then crack apart and discard their old shells. Within a day, their outer membrane, which i...Abnormal plant shows scientists path to plant, animal development
...d.' Then PKL says, 'You're done being a seed,' and turns them off." The genes the scientists identified are... study suggests that PKL is the master switch that turns LEC genes off so that the plant can develop the root and leaf systems of adult plants. "We hope to i...