Biologists ID defense mechanism of leading fungal pathogen
... defense. The researchers determined that Candida, unlike baker's yeast, is able to sense the presence of NO and ramp up its defenses. They are currently trying to determine which chemical signals Candida uses to detect the presence of NO. "Baker's yeast and Candida both have the gene to make NO-scavenging ...Frogs muscle-in on 'wasting' process
...lower its metabolic rate by about 90 per cent and unlike animals undergoing hibernation it does this while it's still warm," Dr Hudson says. "There are theories on how this happens, but hopefully our three-year research project will clarify these and define the genes and regulatory networks involved."...Monkey business: Studies show tiny callimicos have unusual characteristics
...the wild," she said. The animals are all black, unlike their marmoset and tamarin relatives who have bright and showy coloration or features. Callimicos are timid and live primarily below 10 meters in the understory of Amazonian rainforests in Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Peru and Ecuador. They weigh abou...Choice of food helps hungry caterpillar
...carefully bores a small hole in the calyx because, unlike the fruit, the leaves and flowers of the plant do produce linolenic acid. Caterpillars will often squeeze out of the same hole, even though they have grown. "A caterpillar will eat three or four fruits during its lifetime," says De Mo...Synthetic hormone used in contraceptives and HRT produces negative effects in monkey studies
...tem." Moreover, according to Dr. Pazol, unlike natural progesterone, MPA cannot be converted to the mood-regulating chemical, allopregnanolone. Changes in allopregnanolone levels have been associated with depression, anxiety disorders and premenstrual mood disorders in humans. To identi...New laboratory model can be used to test new treatments for pediatric eye cancer
...The previous knockout model still had p107, which, unlike in humans, compensates for the lack of Rb1. So those mice never developed retinoblastoma." Another important advantage to the St. Jude retinoblastoma model is that the tumor suppressor genes are only knocked out in the retina of the developing embr...Researchers report major advance in gene therapy technique
...ered. Naked DNA poses fewer immune issues because, unlike viruses, it does not contain a protein coat (hence...ance into arteries carries a degree of risk since, unlike veins, only one artery feeds a whole limb," notes Wolff. In a related procedure, they experienced e...Clue found on breast tumors distinguishes patients with better survival odds
...giving the study a solid statistical basis. Also, unlike some marker assays or tests, the assay for Stat5 is simple, inexpensive, and can be rapidly adapted to routine analysis in pathology laboratories using standard procedures. "Although hurdles remain, we feel there are several reasons to be optimisti...Molecular image of genotoxin reveals how bacteria damage human DNA
...e of diseases, from typhoid fever to diarrhea. And unlike any other bacterial toxin discovered to date, CDT attacks the DNA in human cells, creating lesions and breaks that cause cells to stop dividing and eventually die. Principal investigator C. Erec Stebbins, Ph.D., who conducted the research with Rockef...Mouse study yields clue to why liver is less prone to rejection, say Pitt researchers
...blood flowing through the liver's portal vein. But unlike dendritic cells found elsewhere, such as in the spleen, dendritic cells that reside in the liver express less TLR-4, making them more apathetic toward LPS, the researchers found in their studies of mice. "With the liver constantly being exposed to LP...Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide promotes algal growth
It is usually thought that unlike terrestrial plants, submerged plants like algae will not show any response to an increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This view may be biased by a neglect of the effects of the plants themselves on the water chemistry. In the June issue of Ecolo...Plant-like enzyme acts as key life cycle switch in malaria parasite
...molecular switches have a unique architecture and, unlike their human counterparts, are regulated by calcium directly. By constructing transgenic parasites in which individual kinases were deleted from the genome, the team established the essential role played by one, which they named CDPK4. "This is an ex...Soybeans may reduce risk of colon cancer
...turally found in soybeans. Another result was that unlike many substances that are digested, soy GlcCer survives the journey through the stomach and intestine with enough power to affect cancerous cells in the colon. Ensuring that cancer-fighting substances reach the cells is always a hurdle in any kind of ...Scripps scientists look deep inside sharks and their high-performance swimming system
...ystem serves for powerful swimming propulsion, not unlike a natural, thrust-producing hydrofoil. "It's interesting because the area of the body that is producing this motion is not the same area of the body that is moving back and forth--it's physically separated," said Donley. "It's exactly like tuna in th...First target for childhood malaria vaccine
...he spleen. The study also found that this protein, unlike similar malaria proteins studied, does not vary between malaria parasites from East and West Africa, making it an ideal candidate for a universal vaccine to boost immunity to severe malaria in young children....Scientists report how protons induce water cages
...protons." In nature, proton transport is unlike other things that move through water while retaining their molecular identity. Protons move much more quickly by trading water partners down the chain, like the executive desk toy with five steel balls. The proton that comes out at the end is not th...Spiders make best ever Post-it notes
...als force an interesting form of adhesion is that, unlike many glues, the surrounding environment does not affect it. The only thing that affects it is the distance between the two objects. "One possible application of our research would be to develop Post-it notes based on the van der Waals force, which w...New studies show Curves Program raises metabolic rate in overweight and sedentary women
...inued to lose weight during the maintenance phase, unlike other diets, which typically show a regain of lost weight. These data confirm that Curves' intermittent dieting and eating approach to weight loss works. Most importantly, it's promoting health and fitness to one of the largest populations in the cou...Lack of specific brain protein causes marked deficits in learning, memory
...itters. The mice lacking the RIM1 alpha protein, unlike the others, lacked the ability to learn the location of an escape platform in a pool of water despite repeated attempts over several days. Dr. Eric Nestler, chairman of psychiatry at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study, said another notabl...Fat hormone leptin alters brain architecture and activity, which in turn drives feeding behavior
...eneral phenomenon regulating feeding circuits. But unlike leptin, ghrelin induced feeding behavior in minutes. Leptin appears to have a slower, more long-term effect, Pinto said. Leptin was originally identified by Friedman and his Rockefeller research colleagues in 1994. He identified the gene that produce...