Can the tonsils influence oral HIV transmission?
...gely protected by their thickened exterior and the defensive proteins present in saliva, it is speculated that a low number of infections may occur via oral sexual contact. Researchers have questioned whether such transmission is facilitated by the tonsils, which contain high numbers of immune cells that may b...A brain chemical that battles despair
... region involved in processing of pain signals and defensive responses. In contrast, animals with either longer escape lag times or failure to escape showed lower ∆FosB levels. What's more, when the researchers introduced higher levels of the gene for ∆FosB into mice, they found it reduced the le...Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology
...e and hemolytic anemia. Antimcrobial peptides are defensive molecules found in the innate immune system of animals. Less toxic and more effective against multi-drug resistant bacteria, they are showing promise as a better choice for treatment of some bacterial and fungal infectious diseases. In the study r...Elevated CO2 in atmosphere weakens defenses of soybeans to herbivores
...ression of genes that regulate two of the soybeans defensive hormones, jasmonic acid and ethylene. The results...ased CO2 lowers the plants ability to regulate its defensive hormones. The relevancy of this study is far-reaching since soybeans are an important crop to many...Marine phytoplankton changes form to protect itself from different predators
...oductivity during some time periods. This complex defensive behavior also shows how environmental factors can ...ects scientists may find other examples of complex defensive strategies when they look more closely at other single-celled organisms. The response of Phaeocyst......w how an animal species uses acoustic mimicry as a defensive strategy. The research was conducted by Jesse Barber, a doctoral student in biology at Wake Forest. William E. Conner, professor of biology at Wake Forest, co-authored the study. In response to the sonar that bats use to locate prey, the tiger m...Plants tag insect herbivores with an alarm
...ttract the pest's natural enemies, or launch other defensive tactics. Now, for the first time, researchers r...ecreted elicitor as a kind of "SOS," plants launch defensive chemistry. This defense discovery opens the door for the development and genetic manipulation of pla...Nonvenomous Asian snakes 'borrow' defensive poison from toxic toads
...to hold their ground and perform a toxin-releasing defensive maneuver. "Sequestration of toxins in a specialized [neck gland] structure in a vertebrate is a remarkable finding," said William Zamer, IOS deputy director at NSF. "This finding offers new insights into the complex mechanisms underlying ecological...How many genes does it take to learn? Lessons from sea slugs
...tion with specific networks controlling feeding or defensive reflexes in the sea slug. To their surprise, they identified more than 100 genes similar to those associated with all major human neurological diseases and more than 600 genes controlling development, confirming that molecular and genomic events unde...Study gives clues about how deadly bacterium gains foothold
...ibit the ability of the neutrophils to perform two defensive functions that otherwise would kill the bacteria," Allen said. One of the defensive functions is dependent on oxygen, and the other is oxygen-independent. Ideally, the two functions wi...Research upsetting some notions about honey bees
...ate genes that could be responsible for the overly defensive behavior in Africanized honey bees. "It will be a race among researchers to find out which specific genes are involved in behavior," he said....Cincinnnati scientists pursue new target for asthma treatment
...cientists have found further evidence that certain defensive white cells in the body cause or play a major role in the symptoms experienced by asthma patients. Their findings, scientists say, could lead to the identification of a new treatment "target" to help the estimated 17 million asthma sufferers in the...New moth variety disarms plants guarded by selenium
...is proposes that hyperaccumulated elements serve a defensive function against herbivory, the predation of plants by animals. In their new work, the researchers showed that the selenium in the hyperaccumulator plant species known as prince's plume (Stanleya pinnata) protects it from caterpillar herbivory bot...Common cause of heart disease, diabetes may be treatable with malaria drug
...ignaling molecule that activates a class of immune defensive cells known as macrophages. "The data are starting to suggest that some of the metabolic dysfunctions triggered by obesity may be linked to the inflammatory responses that go awry in autoimmune disorders like arthritis," notes Semenkovich. "Chloroq...Bee genome information housed at Texas A&M University
... important to crop production, and even modify the defensive response of the Africanized honey bee making it a less significant threat to human welfare," he said. Genes could literally be "turned on or off" in honey bees or in pathogens, Weaver said. That is a significant advance, he added. "One of the cha...Different strategies underlie the ecology of microbial invasions
...s explored the relative value to both invading and defensive bacteria of two distinct microbial mechanisms of killing competitors: through the release of chemicals (for example, antibiotics or bacteriocins) and through the release of parasites (for example, bacterial viruses, known as phages). Focusing on the ...Tiny Tampa Bay fish key to evolution of immune system
...nism we are trying to target may have an elaborate defensive system of its own, with features that neutralize w...lpox or bird flu, we have to take into account the defensive measures those and other organisms might have." Organisms such as plants, fungi and primitive anima...American Andrew Z. Fire shares Nobel Prize for discovering RNAi
...ts down the gene. RNAi also exists naturally as a defensive mechanism in cells. Since its discovery it has become a powerful tool to understand developmental processes, and it is now commonly used to investigate gene function. Using RNAi, scientists now routinely "knock out" specific genes to prevent their ex...One-of-a-kind imaging probe reveals secrets useful for drug discovery
...s of walking sticks, which are well known to spray defensive venom," Dossey said. "We thought if this technique really can look at small samples, well, a milking of a single walking stick is very small. It's worth a try." They discovered compounds not previously known to be present in these animals, as well a......l receptors involved. They are also examining the defensive mechanisms by which host plants respond to attack by parasitic plants....