Brain Protein "Rescues" Neurons From Atrophy
...entists kept one eye of the infant ferrets closed, which normally results in atrophy of neurons in the brai...ons. The new study indicates that neurotrophins -- which are released from neurons when they are triggered to fire by their neighbors -- are the substances i...Bacterial Toxin Surprises Scientists
... Most scientists thought that similar channels, which respond to voltage changes in the membrane...researchers also remain baffled by exactly which parts of the protein are responsible for triggering channel opening and closing. A...Duke Researchers Discover Central Role Of Nitric Oxide In Hemoglobin Action
...s a largeprotein complex containing "heme" groups, which include a centraliron molecule that serves as a site on which to bind and carry oxygen. Thesame site also destroys "free" NO. Stamler and his team foundthe "new"...Dangerous Chemical Combination Presents Possible Scenario For Gulf War Illnesses
...'s normal ability to inactivatethe two pesticides, which can then travel to and damage the brain and nervoussystem. Such a mechanism could explain the wide array of symptoms reportedby some Gulf War veterans, including memory loss, headache, fatigue, muscleand joint pain, weakness, shortness of breath and ...... spheres, called vesicles,within synaptic "bulbs," which are tiny buds on the nerve cell'ssurface. When a n...ltingmice have no functional dopamine transporter, which means dopamine signalsflood the brain and can't be shut off. Depending on where in the brain suchove...Enzyme's "Magic" May Hold Key to Anticancer and Antimicrobial Drugs
...x-ray structure of yeast topoisomerase II, which is closely related to two forms of topoiso...re that basically proves the mechanism [by which the enzyme works]," said Dr. Wang. "This in turn has implications in the design of a...New Cancer Switch Discovered By Duke Medical Center Pharmacologists
... by the scientists in October and November, all of which point toward new ways to interfere with the malign... a member of the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is supported by the National Cancer Institute. Cortez is a graduate student in the department of mol...Researchers Pinpoint Site For Petit Mal Seizures In Brain
...ds of seconds-long lapses of consciousness, during which they stare blankly and may blink rapidly or sway b...er signal called gamma aminobutyric acid, or GABA, which is one of a dozen or so known neurotransmitter molecules. GABAb receptors are thought to act as a br...Tumor Suppressor Gene Located In Liver Cancer Cells
...vement in liver cancer. "This is an 'old' gene for which we have characterized an important new role," Jirtle said. When working properly, the M6P/IGF2r receptor protein has at least three distinct regulatory -- or "traffic cop" -- roles within a cell, said Jirtle. It is involved in activating a very pote...New 'Twist' In Proteins Offers Possible Route To Improved Antibiotics
...acidsthat folds itself into the compact structure, which constitutes the functioningenzyme. These folded en...ar shapes, or spiralhelices, the known examples of which are "right-handed." Thatis, when viewed end on, the helix spirals away in a clockwise direction. ...Duke Geologists Explore Alternative Way To Measure Ice Age Sea Bottom Temperatures
...ee a strong signal in the magnesium-calcium ratio, which we attribute mainly to temperature change." The...ing has intensified in the past 3.2 million years, which the authors suggest is due to greater influence of bottom currents of colder waters flowing from the......iously believed. Ku dated the limestone caverns in which Peking Man dwelled at Zhoukoudian, not far from Be...o contains minute quantities of dissolved uranium, which gets incorporated into the limestone crystals as they form. The most common form of uranium, U-238,...Computer Program For Quicker, More Detailed Mapping
...s for each set of these DNA signposts tofigure out which one was correct. This method takes a large computer a relativelyshort amount of time if processing only 15 or 20 markers. However, eachof the human chromosomes contains 500 to 1,000 of these markers -- far toomany to map all at once using available c...Duke Researchers Discover Candidate Susceptibility Gene For Autoimmune Disease
...factors in the body that are influenced byinsulin, which regulates sugar levels in the bloodstream, and instead, discovereda gene that appears to regulate the inflammatory response." Working with Duke University Arthritis Center researchers Dr. Bart Haynesand Dr. Dhavalkumar Patel, and with Dr. Gary Gil...Heat-loving Microbe Repairs Its DNA With Light
...ng to this recovery works well atroom temperature, which is far below the temperatures at whichmetabolic pr...s for future work on this topic includedetermining which wavelengths of light are effective andexploring ways in which this phenomenon can be used in thegene...Children Become Gorillas In VR Zoo
...were on hand to try out the virtual realitysystem, which puts them into a real gorilla habitat as a member ... researchers are impressed with the final outcome, which wasn'teasy to achieve. Unlike monkeys, apes are not extremely active animals,and much of their socia...From Corn Rootworms To Art, Cornell's Reactor Is At The Core
...So he started making radiographs of his paintings, which have been exhibited in California, Washington, D.C., and Ithaca. "The painting is just a means of producing the radiographs; the radiographs are the final work," he said. "X-rays only make visible a very few number of elements. Using neutrons, we c...Duke Researchers Show "Editing" Can Fix Faulty Genes In New Approach To Gene Therapy
...proach to gene therapy ignores the defectivegenes, which are encoded in DNA and stored in the chromosomes, ...enetic defect andsplice in the corrected sequence, which Sullenger had produced artificiallyand attached to the ribozyme tail. When he introduced the ribozym...Freshwater Sponges May Pose Threat To Zebra Mussels
... increase is related to the zebra mussel invasion, which began in the late 1980s, said David Kelch, an asso...te by zebra mussels or increases in water clarity, which could also be caused by zebra mussels, may have made the water more hospitable, Kelch said. The r...New Discovery About Genes Has Implications For Genetic Therapy
...itz said. "We were interested in the mechanism by which they do this." He said that the mechanism involves integration of the intron's RNA into the double-stranded DNA of the gene. The information in the RNA is eventually transferred into the DNA through this process. "This is a really surprising fin...