U-M researcher examines the cell's housekeeping habits
...es a gene that blocks autophagy. The bacteria that cause Legionnaire's Disease actually hide inside the vesicles to reproduce. Autophagy may even provide a clue to the mythical fountain of youth. Autophagy activity is known to decrease with aging, and experiments in which autophagy was blocked in the C. ...UNC Lineberger researchers identify molecular markers of aging
...se proteins to limit cellular growth might in turn cause aging. "Proliferation of cells is important in the repair and regrowth of tissues. In fact, we grow old in part because our bodies' ability to regenerate tissues decreases as we age," Sharpless said. "We believe an untoward effect of in...National Eye Institute funds search for genetic key to corneal disease
...ornea will allow researchers to narrow the genetic cause of one type of corneal dystrophy and to offer impr...i Sullivan, Ph.D., previously narrowed the genetic cause of Thiel-Behnke to a short portion of DNA on chromosome 10. The NEI grant will fund an intensive eff...New study reveals locations of possible Alzheimer's genes
...t region," Dr. Mayeux says. "Human diseases should cause disease in every ethnic group."...Virginia Tech, TIGR sign memorandum for new alliance
...any disease-causing microbes, including those that cause cholera, tuberculosis, malaria, meningitis, syphilis, Lyme disease, anthrax, Q Fever, ulcers, and African sleeping sickness, as well as a number of environmentally important microorganisms. TIGR also played a key role in sequencing the first plant ge...Look at past sea-level rise points to troubling future
...ing worldwide for at least 10,000 years. The exact cause is unknown, but the rates of rise for specific eras have been well documented from marine sedimentary records worldwide. Scientists know, for example, that rates of sea level rise have gradually fallen from more than 100 centimeters per century 10,00......scapes have been implicated worldwide as a primary cause for the loss of native flora and fauna. Corridors and stepping stones have been proposed as strategies to increase landscape connectivity for fragmented populations. However, animals also move through the matrix, or habitat between patches, and the ...Molecular switch provides clues to remarkable adaptability of human pathogen
...ition, infection with P. aeruginosa is the primary cause of death for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), who often become infected shortly after birth and are afflicted with chronic persistent infection throughout their lives. Dr. Stephen Lory and colleagues from the Department of Microbiology and Molecul...High-predator environment has unexpected impact on aging in fish
... these results and the classical predictions gives cause to take the new, more derived, theories for the evolution of the aging process more seriously. ...Neuronal excitability may hold key to age-related decline in learning and memory
...e sort of age-related cognitive decline. The exact cause of these age-related deficits in learning and memory is not currently known, but there have been numerous studies in the past that have implicated age-related changes in two neuronal attributes: a decrease in neuronal excitability, or the ability of ...Elevated inflammatory enzyme, Lp-PLA2, significantly linked to ischemic stroke
...cular disease. Atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of heart attacks, strokes and peripheral vascular ..., heart disease and stroke will become the leading cause of both death and disability worldwide, accounting for more than 20 million deaths annually, WHO pre...Sex-determining genes of infectious fungus resemble human Y chromosome
.... neoformans invades the central nervous system to cause disease, most commonly in patients who lack a functioning immune system, such as organ transplant recipients and those with HIV/AIDS, Heitman added. A single fungal mating type spurs the vast majority of all C. neoformans infections, he explained, su...Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory
...increasing levels of nitrogen in rainfall that can cause algal blooms and degradation of drinking water. Combining computer simulations and data from 12 years of field measurements, Patrick Mulholland of Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that biological organisms in the stream removed about one-fourth of...MIDI, Inc receives Official Methods(SM) status for the confirmatory ID of the anthrax pathogen
...tries for other potential bioterrorism agents that cause diseases such as bubonic plague, tularemia, brucellosis, glanders and melioidosis. The Sherlock Microbial Identification System identifies over 1,500 species of bacteriaby automated analysis of the fatty acids in the bacterial cell membrane. The b...In a tiny squid, bacterial toxin governs organ development
...probably no more than 100 species of bacteria that cause serious illness in humans. The imp... McFall-Ngai argues that the new finding should be cause for yet more caution in the administration of antibiotics. The ability of pathogenic microbes to acq...Extinction in ocean's mud presages key ecological changes
...is important because it argues that the particular cause of extinction ultimately governs the ecosystem-level consequences of biodiversity loss," the researchers conclude. In short, predicting how coastal environments will cope as animal species decline as a result of human activity will depend o...Rethinking new therapies for Crohn's disease at U.Va.
...atory bowel disease. Although the underlying cause of Crohn's remains unclear, Cominelli describes an intriguing hypothesis in which a defective innate immune system may be an important player. This could mean that blocking specific type 1 cytokines in the initial phases of Crohn's "may not be benefi...Reduced fish stocks linked to increased bushmeat trade, wildlife declines in W. Africa
...f large-scale economic policies and pressures that cause the over-exploitation of natural resources, including marine fishes, then small-scale development projects that sometimes encourage the reliance of local people on wildlife harvest are unlikely to have a positive impact on the rate of wildlife declin...By impounding iron, FHC foils cell suicide, fuels inflammation
...es to influence immunity and a different subset to cause programmed cell death. To map out those genes, Franzoso and colleagues used a "death-trap" screen. They exposed cells to TNF-, a biochemical signal that can trigger cell death, then collected DNA from cells that survived. Several rounds of this pro...Tropical birds sensitive to environmental cues that can be impacted by global warming
...d change the brain functions of tropical birds and cause problems with the timing of their mating seasons. "We're not going to change day length," he said. "We can change weather patterns. Studies show changes in the timing of breeding and migration in birds." Global warming could be the reason, he said, a...