Brain Protein "Rescues" Neurons From Atrophy
...ifically from such defects, neurotrophins might be useful in treating them." In the second paper, in Neuron, McAllister, Lo and Katz explored whether different parts of the visual cortex responded particularly to specific neurotrophins. Such a differential response would help confirm that neurotrophins are ...New Cancer Switch Discovered By Duke Medical Center Pharmacologists
...ieve that such "molecular sabotage" could become a useful treatment for a variety of cancers. The research b...hat inhibition of GRB-2 interactions may provide a useful therapeutic target for treatment of [chronic myelogenous leukemia] as well as other tyrosine kinase-...From Corn Rootworms To Art, Cornell's Reactor Is At The Core
...y of looking at things and has proved to be a very useful non-destructive evaluation tool," said Howard Ader...d water penetration in sand. Such studies will be useful for determining optimum cleanup methods for oil spills. "You can see the water and oil diffusing int...New Discovery About Genes Has Implications For Genetic Therapy
...y certain DNA sequences -- called exons -- carried useful information. Other pieces of "junk DNA" called introns are interspersed as "spacers" between the exons along the gene. Lambowitz' team found that certain introns could move from place to place along a gene, inserting themselves at specific points...Transgenic Rice Plants Resist Insects, Drought And Salt Damage
...al Nature Biotechnology, marks the first time that useful genes were successfully transferred from a dicotyledonous plant, the potato, to rice, a monocotyedonous plant. The potato genes cause rice plants to produce a protein that interferes with insects' digestive process whenever the plant is wounded by in...... copulation. "We aren't the first to prospect for useful compounds," said CIRCE-founder Eisner, who advocates "chemical prospecting" to explore and inventory undiscovered sources of potentially useful, natural compounds. "Here is a beetle that has become more intimately involved in chemistry, and it pays......ccurate "We believe our method willprove extremely useful toresearchers, not just in biotechnology,but also evolutionary biology,"Pevzner says. "It will enable biologiststo trace, with exceptional precision,exact degrees of differencebetween gene organization in differentspecies. And it will help toestablis...Genetic Alterations Linked To Cancer In Some Blood Samples
... Sidransky cautions that the test does not appear useful as a screening test for cancer. "But it might be helpful in patient management for identifying patients with a very poor prognosis who may benefit from aggressive therapy," he says. The test works by identifying replication errors, or chromosomal de......alysis at this level, such as laser detectors, are useful only if the researcher knows what to look for. "B...n characterize and identify." The technique may be useful for examining a host of human medical disorders, the researchers said. "This is an excellent tool fo...Human-Like Ability, Categorical Perception, Found In Insects
...ly label each bluish-sort-of-green color. "A more useful ability in some situations is our ability to tell the difference between sounds like 'ba' and 'pa,' " Wyttenbach noted. "Even though there is a continuum of variation between 'ba' and 'pa' based on voice onset time or VOT, which instruments can dete...Newly Discovered Bacteria Produce Magnetic Material
... uranium. Inthis way, the bacteria are potentially useful for bioremediation of soil andgroundwater contaminated with mixed waste if the contaminated zone issufficiently heated. Potential biotechnological applications of these bacteria include productionof magnetic fluids for brakes and lubricants for high-...Green Glow: Not Only For Halloween
...chose to study the modified GFP because it is more useful for cell biologists, glowing much more brightly than the natural variant. In a second experiment, the researchers deliberately changed one amino acid in contact with the green pigment, in hopes that change would make GFP glow yellow, rather t...New Software Provides Quick Analysis of ion-Channel Activity
...on will provide biophysicists with a powerful tool useful for both basic and applied research. Sachs explained that better information on these proteins could make a tremendous difference in drug design, particularly for conditions where ion channels are implicated. For example, in people who have some ki...NCAR Scientist Models Earth's Climate and Vegetation Patterns At Last Glacial Peak
...wing past climates and vegetation that it can be a useful tool in simulating the future. The two NCAR models used in the study were GENESIS (Global Environmental and Ecological Simulation of Interacitve Systems) created by Starley Thompson and Dave Pollard with funding from the Environmental Protection Agen...Cornell Scientists Find Way To Boost Rice Crop Yield -- They'll Walk On The Wild Side
...s, and the plant tends to shatter -- there is some useful genetic treasure. Specifically, McCouch and Tanksley used the domesticated Oryza sativa rice. Through gene-mapping activities, they deduced that the wild rice O. rufipogon contained two production-boosting QTLs: simply named YLD1 and YLD2. By reco......during stress. Twin studies are uniquely useful for sorting out the complexinteraction of environment and genetics in language development."Talkative parents provide a rich linguistic environment that enhanceslanguage development, but they also provide a genetic impetus towardtalkativeness. The M...Researchers Develop Model Using Birds As Indicator Of Wetlands Health
...er. 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 other types of wetlandenviro...World's Experts Plan Global Locator Service For Environmental Information
...rks. "An information locator service is useful wherever people communicate, but there is a special urgency to the worldwide sharing of environmental information," said U.S. Vice President Al Gore. "Every year, governments and others spend billions of dollars collecting and processing environmenta...Prostate Cancer May Be Predicted 10 Years Before Diagnosis
...y shows that the ratio of free to total PSA may be useful in helping the physician to perdict whether prostate cancer is or is not developing."The American Cancer Society, the American Urological Society, and the American College of Radiology recommend that men have a PSA test and digital rectal exam annual...ORNL Mice Helping Researchers Isolate, Identify Causes Of Cancer
...s that develop spontaneously in the mouse are very useful for ourstudies because mouse leukemias and lymphomas are very similar to humanleukemias," said Monica Justice, a genetics researcher in ORNL's BiologyDivision. "In addition, mouse lymphomas have genetic characteristics thatallow us to isolate the gen...