Understanding why C. difficile causes disease -- it's hungry
...ards. The bacteria don't cause problems until they grow in abnormally large numbers in the intestinal tract. This can happen when the benign bacteria that normally inhabit the intestinal tract are reduced such as when people take antibiotics or other antimicrobial drugs. Then, C. difficile can cause sympt...Flexible genes allow ants to change destiny
...at despite an inherited genetic pre-disposition to grow into a particular worker caste, ant larvae can be triggered by environmental stimuli to switch development depending on colony's workforce needs. "Our previous research suggested that genetics did indeed play a part in caste determination - but no...Story ideas from the Journal of Biological Chemistry
...t cells in which tau proteins aggregated could not grow and function properly. These results suggest that tau aggregation is toxic to cells and could directly contribute to the progressive damage or death of neurons in AD. The results also show that by further understanding the toxic effects of tau aggreg...New genetic data overturn long-held theory of limb development
...ady possessed the genes associated with helping to grow hands and feet (autopods) report University of Chicago researchers in the May 24, 2007, issue of Nature. This finding overturns a long-held, but much-debated, theory that limb acquisition was a novel evolutionary event, requiring the descendents of l...Bacteria show promise in fending off global amphibian killer
...isolate the most effective antifungal bacteria and grow them in the lab. Of the two he has tested so far, one (Pedobacter cryoconitis) has speeded the recovery of infected animals while the other (Pseudomonas reactans) has tended to slow the process, at least on the salamanders. "There will have to be c...Stem cells may look malignant, not act it
...th growth factors or proteins that help the cancer grow and survive. At the very least, these marrow cells are just being tricked into coming into the cancerous environment and then made to walk and talk like they don't usually do." The researchers have coined the term "developmental mimicry" to describ...Plants that produce more vitamin C may result from UCLA-Dartmouth discovery
...sistance of plants to oxidative stress. Plants may grow better with more vitamin C, especially with more ozone in the atmosphere due to pollution." Carole Linster, a UCLA postdoctoral fellow in chemistry and biochemistry and lead author of the study, discovered the controlling enzyme, GDP-L-galactose ph...A close-up on pancreatic disease: How do we improve the odds?
...t especially in pancreatic cancer, when tumors can grow aggressively, it is critically important to watch for any signs of growth or change. Recent international guidelines have suggested that all cystic pancreatic tumors less than three centimeters (cm) in asymptomatic patients with no radiographic feat...Tropical birds have slow pace of life compared to northern species, study finds
...birds live longer, lay fewer eggs and their chicks grow slower than those of temperate birds. The researchers traveled to Panama where they captured 69 species of tropical birds and measured their basal metabolic rate (BMR) the minimum amount of energy they expend at rest, solely to maintain their vita...ACS News Service Weekly PressPac -- May 16, 2007
...toxic to microorganisms) and more OC, microbes can grow in crusts on buildings and transform compounds contributing a color change. "In particular, one should note that modern deposits have taken on a slightly different color and now appear more brownish," the reports states. "These changes may arise fr...Left-right wiring determined by neural communication in the embryonic worm
...gmann, who is also an HHMI Investigator. "They all grow to the midline, communicate with each other, and create a conduit of information that links together these two different sides of the brain." Then, after the gap junctions do their job, they disappear. "This network is transient; we only know about i...Growing nerve cells in 3-D dramatically affects gene expression
...out as they multiply. But in the body, cells don't grow that way. They are suspended in fluids and gels an...-D and in 3-D. Cells cultured in 3-D, for example, grow faster. Hoffman-Kim, an assistant professor of medical science and engineering at Brown, wants to ...Scientists seek useful traits in wild cottons
...nes, Gannaway said. "Many of the cottons we grow for more seed are photoperiodic," Gannaway said. "...days of temperate winter." As these cottons grow and mature, scientists keep a log of their physical, or phenotypic, characteristics. Remember Mom's ...Study of unexplained respiratory infections leads researchers to new virus
...eone who's sick. Then you have to develop a way to grow the new microorganism in the laboratory. Finally, you have to show that you can make an animal model sick by exposing it to the microorganism." These steps, known to microbiologists as Koch's postulates, were established in the 19th century. Wang sa...Rare soft-shell turtle, nesting ground found in Cambodia
...bodia in 2003, Cantors giant softshell turtles can grow up to 2 meters (6 feet) in length and weigh more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds). Only a few records of the species exist for Laos, and it appears to have disappeared across much of its former range in Vietnam and Thailand. It is currently classifi...Reproductive speed protects large animals from being hunted to extinction
...at change while the white-tailed deer continues to grow in number despite hunting and suburban sprawl. The bison nurses its young for 283 days on average; the deer just 80, Price notes. Price reported her findings online Wednesday, May 16, in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The work, sup...Spud origin controversy solved
...he remnant landraces of these early potatoes still grow in on the Canary Islands. For years, researchers have debated the birthplace of the European potato. While some scientists hypothesized that landrace introductions originated in the Andes, others believed that the introductions came from Chile. Whi...Researchers attach genes to minichromosomes in maize
...maize kernels (called an endosperm) can be used to grow animal proteins and human antibodies that treat diseases and disease symptoms. Minichromosomes could enable new and better production of these foreign proteins and antibodies. In addition, scientists also may be able to use them to develop plants bet...Christian Paradis announces $4 million for renewable energies
...) -- Transforming garbage into renewable energy to grow tomatoes now thats a sustainable solution. Christian Paradis, Secretary of State (Agriculture), announced today that a $4-million grant would be awarded to Les Serres du Saint-Laurent, Inc. (Savoura tomatoes) for the construction of a network to cap......nts that causes patches of red or purple tissue to grow under peoples skin. Writing today (May 11) in PLOS Pathogens, the scientists are the first to name human genes that are actually hijacked by a virus wielding minimolecules called microRNAs. Apparently the viral microRNAs silence genes known to in...