Animals can change genes quickly to keep up with viral ingenuity
... both plants and animals--participate in molecular defenses against viruses by homing in on viral genetic material and directing its enzymatic destruction. Viruses can evolve quickly to out-maneuver RNAi mechanisms, but hosts would be expected to rapidly evolve countermeasures of their own to resist new viral...Researchers seek answers to combat TB epidemic
...ein, called heme oxygenase 1, weakening the body's defenses against TB, said Veena Antony, M.D., a UF professor of pulmonary medicine and division chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine for the College of Medicine. The researchers hope to pinpoint the role of alcoholism in the global epidemic by studyi...New DNA 'fingerprinting' technique separates hemp from marijuana
...bution networks. It also could be used in criminal defenses against claims of conspiracy." The technique chops up DNA and generates numerous fragments of DNA, each defined by particular "marker" DNA sequences that act like bookends. The lengths of the fragments within the bookends were found to vary according...New human retrovirus originated in mice
...ic mutation that compromised some of their natural defenses against viral infection. Thus, the researchers said their discovery raises the possibility that increased susceptibility to viral infection may play a role in development of some cancers. However, they emphasized that their findings by no means impli...Oxidation defense in mosquitoes benefits malaria parasite
...le). The synthesis of XA is one of the biochemical defenses against oxidative stress resulting from 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK) accumulation in mosquitoes and possibly other species as well. "3-HK is oxidized easily under physiological condition, stimulating the production of reactive oxygen species, which can...Stronger evidence found linking Epstein-Barr virus and risk of multiple sclerosis
...s, cells of the immune system that are part of our defenses against infection, seems to fit with the evidence of immune dysfunction in MS, but rigorous work remains to be done to unravel the molecular mechanisms. The authors note that the mounting evidence that relates EBV infection to other autoimmune disea...Front-line immune cells mature in four stages, study shows
...al killer (NK) cells, one of the body's front-line defenses against cancer and infections, mature from progenitor stem cells in four discrete stages. They also found that this happens in secondary lymphoid tissue such as tonsils and lymph glands. Key discoveries made decades ago in animals and humans showed ...Wisconsin scientists discover a master key to microbes' pathogenic lifestyles
... says Klein. "They can remain dormant until immune defenses are lowered. It's a significant medical problem in endemic regions." The discovery of the switch that governs dimorphism and virulence in this prevalent class of fungi provides a target for new therapeutic agents and might even help underpin a vacci...New approach to vaccine development provides potent, long-lasting immunity
... even cancer, in order to efficiently build immune defenses against such intruders. To date, the lentivirus has been overlooked in vaccine research. But, according to Pitt investigators, it has distinct advantages that make it a more promising approach for vaccine development than other viral vector or DNA-ba...Mosquito immune system examined
...te, on the other hand, is capable of evading these defenses to a degree that allows its transmission by the mosquito. Now we have to figure out how to make the mosquito's immune system more effective in killing malaria parasites at multiple stages that would render the development of evasive mechanisms imposs...Cornell researchers find serious fish virus in Northeast for first time
...er can stress fish, thereby lowering their natural defenses and making them more vulnerable....USC researchers investigate protein that protects tumors
...ves as a sentry, guarding the tumor cells from any defenses the body deploys to attack them. "There are means in the body to kill tumor cells," Gill says. "[If] you block those then you give the cells the opportunity to survive and grow." Not only did EphB4 block those defenses, but it helped the cancer ce...UCLA researchers develop T-cells from human embryonic stem cells
...ically targets. T-cells are one of the body's main defenses against disease. The results mark the first time that scientists have been able to derive T-cells out of human embryonic stem cells, said Zoran Galic, assistant research biologist, and lead researcher on the study. "This tells you that you may ...Pitt phage hunter takes on tuberculosis
...dications that similarly break down the bacteria's defenses and thereby increase the effectiveness of antibiotics. "We'd like to have an understanding of M. tuberculosis and what happens during an infection that leads to such difficult, prolonged treatment," said Hatfull, who also codirects the Pittsburgh ...Flick of a protein switches immune response
...d dozens of other illnesses begin when the body's defenses respond at the wrong time or place, the on-off mechanism for the immune system has been the subject of intense study for decades. The USC-Harvard team studied proteins critical to immune tolerance, a term for the healthy balance between a weak immu...Mussels evolve quickly to defend against invasive crabs
...tocks. "Although 15 years is fast to evolve better defenses to your predator, it can be painfully long if you're a shellfisherman," Byers adds. This paper is one chapter of Freeman's doctoral dissertation, which also explores how mussels respond to sea stars and to multiple predators. He anticipates complet...Structure of key enzyme in plague bacterium found
...arious forms may be critical to the development of defenses against plague and other pathogens, including Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax) and Bordetella pertussis (Whooping cough). Beyond that, structural and functional studies of AC-IV, with its unusual shape, may lead to deeper understanding of the cAMP si...Spinal cord bridge bypasses injury to restore mobility
...erves. When an injury occurs, the body's policing defenses put up a roadblock in the form of a scar to preven...s grafts in the limbs, spinal cord injuries put up defenses called inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans that create molecular guardrails within scars a...Case Western Reserve University chemist takes on HIV-1 virus with $1M support from NIH
...of the AIDS virus that robs humans of their immune defenses has stumped her time and again. A pilot study in 2003-04 from the American Foundation for AIDS Research provided the groundwork that led to her recent award from the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Barkley's lab is taking a ......the barrier. Some drugs already target the outer defenses of bacteria. Perhaps best known is penicillin, one of several existing antibiotics that successfully target specific structures required for the barrier function to work, Larsen notes. The outer membrane is stabilized by a grid of sugar polymers, and...