Enzyme's "Magic" May Hold Key to Anticancer and Antimicrobial Drugs
...is like several enzymes in one because its various conformations are so different," Dr. Wang said. "Each one is a potential drug target." Many anticancer drugs, initially recognized for their ability to kill cells, have turned out to target topoisome...New 'Twist' In Proteins Offers Possible Route To Improved Antibiotics
...lanning experiments in which theyselectively alter various amino acids in the enzyme and then study the effectsof those alterations, to understand how the natural enzyme works. Roderickis currently attempting to locate the active site by determining the X-raystructure of the enzyme with one of its bound subs...Heat-loving Microbe Repairs Its DNA With Light
...ered by microbiologists overthe past 25 years from various hot springs, undersea vents, andother geothermal environments. When its genetic material (DNA) is artificially damaged byultraviolet (UV) light, S. acidocaldarius has been found to repair the damage. However, Dennis Grogan, assistant professor ofb...Cornell Researchers Precisely Date Wood From Ancient Tomb In Turkey
...amples, are long colored strips of paper depicting various chronologies. One orange strip on the wall runs from circa 500 B.C. to 50 A.D.; a blue strip pasted below begins at 362 A.D. and stretches around the corner to the present. Such simple displays belie the sophisticated technologies that are used at ...New Software Provides Quick Analysis of ion-Channel Activity
... physiology. It also is critical to understanding various genetic diseases, including cystic fibrosis, as well as some neuromuscular disorders and some cardiac arrythmias. Now, biophysicists at the University at Buffalo have developed software programs that can perform ion-channel analysis with remarkable e...Changing Continental Runoff Patterns Could Change Ocean Circulation
...d, possibly much like the early Eocene. "From various indicators in the geological record, we know that during the Eocene, the bottom water in the ocean was about 18 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it is today," says Bice. "And with this warmer water globally, we believe that there were deep water for...NCAR Scientist Models Earth's Climate and Vegetation Patterns At Last Glacial Peak
...er than today's temperatures by 2 to 20 degrees in various parts of North America. Above the ice sheets there and elsewhere, average temperatures may have plummeted to 40 degrees colder for those regions. Besides temperature, the model calculates all other climate indicators, including moisture levels (preci...Duke's Russian Laser Making Ultraviolet Light And Gamma Rays
...ing such vital details as therelative abundance of various elements in the universe. Measuring its details,ho...about the centersof atoms by bombarding those with various kinds of high speed subatomicparticles. If the OK-4's gamma ray energies could be boosted to about ...... an altruism test that many humans would fail. In various sites in a plastic tunnel maze, the biologists had placed pea-sized bits of sweet potato. That simulated conditions in Africa, where the chisel-toothed rodents dig miles of burrows in search of the small bulbs and tubers that sustain them. Tuber pa...Robots, Virtual Reality & Other "Smart" Tools Soon Will Help Physicians Heal Patients
...nse Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and various commercial partners, and hosted by the United Kingdom's Engineering and Physical Science Research Council. A follow-up workshop is being planned for 1999....Researchers Find How Disease-resistant Plants Recognize Bacteria
...isease-causing bacterium, which alerts the plant's various defense mechanisms. "By understanding the mechanis...nt resistance gene, Pto . This alerts the plant's various defense systems. The resistance is effective only if the plant has the dominant resistance gene and ...Proteins Interacting With RNA And DNA Are Surprisingly Similar
...cial toan embryo's development, turning on and off various genes neededto formspecific anatomical features. L11 has existed for at least 2 billion years, since the time whenhigherorganisms began to diverge from bacteria. By comparison, thesimilar DNA-binding proteins, called homeodomain proteins, first emerg...Scientists Urge Further Study Of Alarming Coral Reef Decline
... the clear tissue of the polyps, coloringthem with various pigments. The algae collect sunlight, providingenergy and nutrients for the corals. The corals, in turn, provideprotection for the algae. One of the most disturbing problems afflicting coral reefsthroughout the world is referred to as "coral ree...Purdue Study Aims To Boost MRI Capabilities
...atients' responses to the strength and duration of various combinations of the fields. Human volunteers in the studies are subjected to a series of electromagnetic pulses, which last less than a quarter-second each. The subjects then rate each pulse zero through 10, with a rating of zero meaning it was not d...First Planned Release Of Captive Lemurs In Madagascar Wilds Expected In Fall
...ffs of fur that frame their faces. Their coats are various pastichesof black and white. Also characteristic are their group vocalizations, abarking roar so evident during feeding times at the Duke Primate Center.Next fall's deployment will be the "first well-planned and monitoredrelease" of captive-born lemu...Enzymes Targeted As Key To Understanding Drug Interactions
...estigators are seeking systematic knowledge of how various enzymes -- biochemical catalysts produced by the body -- metabolize drugs. Their research is producing an understanding of the potential for adverse effects among thousands of drug combinations. "Pharmacists have had to remember hundreds of pairs of...New Evidence For Corn's Ancestry Could Lead To Insect And Drought Resistant Crops
...ted anew each year. Eubanks holds four patents on various Tripsacum -teosinte crossesdeveloped during the past decade. She is also president of Sun Dance Genetics,a Durham, N.C. research company. Corn is "an anomaly in the botanical kingdom," Eubanks said."You have this tremendous ear. The ear has hundred...Cricket And Chemistry Combine To Provide New Understanding Of How Fats Work
...tor and model the effect of particular enzymes on various fats. The research team is using a novel Nuclear Magnetic Resonance approach to tag or label the point at which one of the chains or stumps connects with the "bails" of the fat. This allows them to monitor the difference in effect of enzymes on the...CSIRO Discovery Fights Cell Ageing
...ut the supposedly magicalanti-ageing properties of various creams and lotions. "Dr Holliday, who is renowned for his discoveries in molecular geneticsand ageing, was the first scientist to clearly show in laboratory experimentsthat old human cells can be rejuvenated. "Now, thanks to the work of the CSIRO t...American Academy Of Ophthalmology Sun Microsystems To Present Technology Seminar
...present INFOACCESS '97, a one-day seminar covering various technologies and related issues shaping the future of health care. INFOACCESS '97 is designed to bring together physicians, academicians, information technology specialists, scientists and researchers. Topics include the Internet, telemedicine...