Twin molecular scissors link creation of microRNAs with gene-silencing
...lex, called the microprocessor, which controls the earliest steps in the creation of miRNAs in the cell nucleus. In their next study, published in Nature earlier this year, the Wistar group described a three-protein complex that picks up the process in the cell cytoplasm and carries it through to the maturati...UF Researcher: Global warming dramatically changed ancient forests
...st appearance of perissodactlys in the form of the earliest known horse; artiodactyls, a group of even-toed un...erstanding how the movement of plants affected the earliest evolution of modern primates, which first appeared throughout the world during this period. "I would...Why children of parents with type 2 diabetes are at risk themselves
...sion. These results provide new insights into the earliest defects that may be responsible for the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Moreover, reduced mitochondrial content could result in reduced mitochondrial function, which predisposes the offspring of type, 2 diabetic parents to muscle cell lipid accumula...The Origin, Evolution, and Future of Life on Earth
...York, NY 10028 How did life begin? What were its earliest forms? Where did it originate? Was it chance or inevitable? Is a biochemical understanding sufficient to explain creation? How did early molecules evolve into today's humans? What can be said about the development of the mind? What of the pheno...Figuring out the ups and downsand sidewaysof neural development
...e neural tissues. Researchers know that during the earliest embryonic brain development, neural stem cells divide "symmetrically," producing identical immature progenitor cells that continue to proliferate. A bit later, however, when neural tissues need to begin to differentiate, the cells divide "asymmetrica...The earliest animals had human-like genes
...umerlii. "Similar animals are already found in the earliest fossils from the Cambrium, about 600 million years ago," Arendt explains, "arguing that Platynereis could be something like a 'living fossil'" This makes it an ideal model for evolutionary comparisons to find out what the common ancestors of humans, ...Study hints at role of stem cell genes in testicular, breast cancers
...riability of the genes' expression within the very earliest stage of germ cell tumor progression, says Clark, "could tell us something about the potential for these tumors to metastasize." Finally, they examined breast cancer tissue and normal breast tissue. While normal tissue did not express detectable leve...Cancer scientists call for a large-scale human epigenome project
... therapeutic tools will likely produce some of the earliest translational research benefits flowing from large-scale genome initiatives to the bedside," said Frank Rauscher, III, Ph.D., editor-in-chief of Cancer Research. "It is time to create a concerted international effort to unlock the epigenomic informa...Bio-archaeologists pinpoint oldest northern European human activity
... York used a 'protein time capsule' to confirm the earliest record of human activity in Northern Europe. A tea...gnificantly older than 500,000 years, the previous earliest date for humans north of the Alps." Dr Collins said: "The method relies upon measuring the products ...Scientists narrow the time limits for the human and chimpanzee split
...ess this problem because the interpretation of the earliest fossils of humans at the ape/human boundary are controversial and because almost no fossils of chimpanzees have been discovered. "No study before has taken into account all of the error involved in estimating time with the molecular-clock method," s...New view of cancer: 'Epigenetic' changes come before mutations
...f epigenetically disrupted progenitor cells at the earliest stages of new cell growth, such as the rearrangement of chromosomes in the development of leukemia. This mutation normally has been considered the first step in cancer development. The third step is genetic and epigenetic instability, which leads to ...Role of microRNA identified in thyroid cancer
...at increased activity of miR-221 may be one of the earliest signs of carcinogenesis," says de la Chapelle. Some scientists believe miRNAs act like oncogenes, molecules that promote cell growth, and they also feel they may be tumor and tissue specific. For example, in many other forms of cancer, miRNA activit...Researchers discover how a high-fat diet causes type 2 diabetes
...target the early stages of type 2 diabetes. In its earliest phases, the disease causes failure of insulin-secreting beta cells in the pancreas, which leads to elevated blood glucose levels. As the disease progresses, the insulin-secreting beta cells overcompensate for the elevated blood glucose, and eventuall...Common molecular 'signature' identified in solid tumors
...undant, then maybe we can prevent some of the very earliest changes that happen in the development of cancer. There is a lot of work that still needs to be done, but I am convinced that this field will give us more precise and less toxic ways of dealing with cancer than we have today even considering some of...Inside rocks, implications for finding life on Mars
... ancient microorganisms are "pond scum," among the earliest life, much too small to be seen with the naked eye. Schopf's UCLA co-authors include geology graduate students Abhishek Tripathi and Andrew Czaja, and senior scientist Anatoliy Kudryavtsev. The research is funded by NASA. Schopf is editor of "Earth's...Finding life on Mars and outer space begins by examining Earth's inner space
...d in the same way paleontologists explored for the earliest fossils of life on our own planet. The biggest challenge has been adapting these methods for robotic explorers to use." "Earth is the laboratory for future discoveries on Mars. Without examining Earth's extreme environments, we wouldn't understand ...Biologists visualize protein interaction that may initiate viral infection
...ch year, primarily in tropical regions. During the earliest stages of infection, the dengue virus attaches to the "carbohydrate recognition domain," or CRD, of a key binding protein called DC-SIGN, located on a host cell's surface. Using a powerful imaging tool called cryo-electron microscopy, the biologists ...FSU biologist says new dinosaur is oldest cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex
...plete skeletons from China offer a snapshot of the earliest tyrannosauroid just after they morphed into a different branch of the family tree 95 million years before cousin T. rex ruled the roost. Researchers say the identification of the oldest basal (primitive) tyrannosauroid yet will shed light on the ear...Early human ancestors walked on the wild side
...hey walked on the wild side. It seems some of our earliest ancestors possessed a rather unsteady stride due to subtle anatomical differences. Schwartz and Gebo's findings will be published in the April 2006 edition of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, but the article is available online at www3......weigh roughly twice as much as our similarly sized earliest human relative, Homo habilis two million years ago. The big question is which came first the bigger brain or the social, linguistic and tool-making skills we associate with it? But, Dr. Cunnane argues that most anthropologists are ignorant or dismis...