Enzyme's "Magic" May Hold Key to Anticancer and Antimicrobial Drugs
...g them (see figure). "Basically, what this type of drug does is to convert the normal enzyme into a DNA-damaging agent. Therefore, the more enzyme you have, the more potent the drug becomes." This is an unusual pharmaceutical mechanism, Dr. Wang said. "Usually, drugs ...New Cancer Switch Discovered By Duke Medical Center Pharmacologists
...roduced by the cABL gene is a "tyrosine kinase," a type of enzyme found throughout the cell. The cABL enzyme is normally a well-behaved part of the cell-growth machinery. However, the stitched-together BCR-ABL outlaw protein turns itself on, sending the cell proliferating out of control. In earlier work, ...Researchers Pinpoint Site For Petit Mal Seizures In Brain
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Using a type of mouse genetically prone to petit mal seizures, researchers at Duke University Medical Center reported Monday finding new clues about the precise location in the brain that causes the common childhood form of epilepsy. The findings may lead to more...Rosemary May Have Anti-Cancer Properties
...mary may be particularly important." However, the type of fat consumed was important: Diets high in saturatedfats seemed to block the protection that rosemary offered, while diets highin unsaturated fats were more beneficial. Milner has already published a number of studies demonstrating the anti-cance...Transgenic Rice Plants Resist Insects, Drought And Salt Damage
...al pesticides, because the protein has a different type of action on their systems, he said. And genes for the insect-, salt- and drought-resistant rice should stay where the genetic engineers put them and not escape to produce a super weed, Wu said, because rice is a self-pollinating plant and few other...Mutate Or Die: New Polymerase Gives Desperate Yeast An Option
... alive, but it does so bydramatically boosting the type of mutations that, in humans and other animals, so...y of Rochester team, done bycreating in yeast the type of damage that sunlight does to our own DNA, is reported in the June 14 issue of Science . The ...DNA Techniques Allow Scientists To Become Pollution Detectives.
...nd to run these tests on it for them. We thinkthis type of test could be used all over the country to detectpollution in water." Despite hours of complex testimony in the O.J. Simpson trial, theDNA "fingerprint" testing used by the UF scientists is fairlysimple to understand, Tamplin said. Picture a threa......ines are inferior to vinifera. These are vinifera type wines from vines that are much easier to grow in cold climates." Traminette descends from a cross between Joannes Seyve 23-416 and GewŸrztraminer made by Herb Barrett of the University of Illinois. Seed were planted by the Geneva breeding prog...Hawaiian Whales Show 'No Overt Response' To Sounds Of ATOC Simulation
...ed capable of hearing low-frequency sounds of the type generated by ATOC. "There's so much we need to learn about whales, especially about their sensitivity and response to sounds," Frankel commented. "Unfortunately, you can't just call a sperm whale into the lab, put on a set of earphones and give i...Researchers Find Genetic Clues To Intestinal Disease
...rents also have a history of Crohn's disease. This type of earlier onset of a more severe form of a heredi...for Crohn'sdisease," says Bayless. "Knowing which type a patient has will help us determine quickly which treatment should work best for each patient." Cro...NCAR Scientist Models Earth's Climate and Vegetation Patterns At Last Glacial Peak
...rt. The model ranked the vegetation by which plant type was best adapted to which regional climate. It computed how much surface area each type occupied based on competition for light (related to canopy cover) and disturbances such as tree fall......mented the invasion into U. S. coastal waters of a type of marine microorganism. In a talk to be given on Thursday, Oct. 31, at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver, Doris Sloan and Andrew N. Cohen of the University of California at Berkeley, and Mary McGann of the U.S. Geolog...Scientists Identify Retrovirus-Like Components In Corn Genome
... even if the host doesn't want them." Because this type of DNA is present and highly repeated in many species, Bennetzen says such elements may account for a large percentage of genetic material in other plants and animals with large genomes. "The question we now have is 'How do those plants with small ge...Plants Have Future As Environmental Clean-Up Agents
...inatedwater close to the surface. Depending on the type of chemicalpresent, bacteria on the plant roots can feed on some types ofchemicals, while other chemicals are brought closer to the surface,which can hasten their degradation because oxygen is present. "In some cases, we have actually seen 10 pounds...Bacterial Protein Structure Hints At Mechanism Of A Class Of Premature Aging Diseases
...me, premature aging syndromes; Bloom's syndrome, a type of dwarfism; and somekinds of skin cancer. Understanding of these diseases on the molecular levelis minimal. But since the helicase's job is to help replicate the chromosomes,any malfunction would be expected to have severe consequences. "No on...Researchers Develop Model Using Birds As Indicator Of Wetlands Health
...ds were there," said Styer. Coleman believes this type of index will be a useful tool toprovide a quick comparison among wetlands as well as a way tomonitor the health of one particular wetland over time. As part of his Ph.D. research, he also hopes to refine themodel and extend his work with birds to ot...Researchers Find How Disease-resistant Plants Recognize Bacteria
...Researchers found evidence that indicated that the type III secretion pathway also operated in plants, and Martin recognized that this pathway would explain why the kinase proteins are found in the plant cell cytoplasm, instead of on the cell wall. Experiments in Martin's laboratory with the bacterium tha...Pinpoint Gene Control Holds Promise For Nervous System Studies
... in Washington. The Rochester team used a new type of genetic surgery tocarry out the experiment. First they created a special strain ofmice by inserting extra NGF genes into their DNA, along with a"stop" DNA sequence that kept the genes turned off. Then, whenthe mice were several months old, scienti...Selenium Supplements Can Reduce Cancer Rates
...tressed. Of the selenium group, 69 developed some type of cancer compared with 116 of the placebo group; 28 of the selenium patients died of cancer compared with 58 from the placebo group. "Overall, the selenium group experienced 18 percent less mortality than the placebo group, and almost all of that di......tions associated with ataxia spells and a specific type of migraine(familial hemiplegic migraine). Researchers noted that although that type ofmigraine is rare, variations in the same gene may predispose people to themore common migraine, wh...