Identifying genes that contribute to a low level of response to alcohol
...pe and breadth of the area rather than immediately homing in on just one narrow purpose, which might then preoccupy us for a long time while we miss the opportunity that's out there. Alcoholism is a complex puzzle of etiology; discovering the genes that contribute to level of response to alcohol would help...An old adage about apples finds scientific backing
... apples but, in recent years, scientists have been homing in on specific antioxidants like polyphenols concentrated largely in the apple's skin. An antioxidant is one of many chemicals that reduce or prevent oxidation, thus preventing DNA, cell and tissue damage triggered by free radicals in the body. As p...Study: Pigeons can sense the Earth's magnetic field; ability might allow them to return home
...t as sea turtles do. "Because of their amazing homing ability, pigeons have been used to transport messa...ascinating study in which Cordula managed to train homing pigeons to respond to magnetic fields," said Dr. Kenneth J. Lohmann, Hoggard Distinguished professor...Stem cells may hold promise as multiple sclerosis cure
...ble." Using MRI, the researchers observed homing of the transplanted cells at lesions in the EAE-damaged brain regions as early as one day after injection. As the myelin was repaired, symptoms in the mice improved. The ability to monitor the migration of the transplanted cells is vital if t...Study in Royal Society journal on first evidence for magnetic field detection in sharks
...ains unsolved. We investigated local navigation by homing pigeons, by using recently available GPS tracking technology, which provides details of a bird's route over the landscape with extraordinary precision. We find that birds develop and stick to individually distinctive routes home, which remain surpri...UCLA scientists store materials in cells' natural vaults
...ations, including: Therapeutic delivery, such as homing cancer drugs directly to a tumor cell without harming healthy tissue Enzyme delivery to replace missing or defective enzymes, such as those that cause Tay Sachs disease DNA delivery to correct genetic mutations Timed release of drugs, enzymes and ...Mouse with designer liver has enhanced glucose tolerance and improved insulin response
...m conducted biochemical analyses on the LGKO mice, homing in on enzymatic pathways critical to insulin response in cells. Upon stimulation with insulin, they found an elevated level of Akt/PkB kinase, an enzyme needed for insulin signaling, and elevated activity of IRS proteins. There was no activation of ...To sea or not to sea: When it comes to salmon sex, size sometimes doesn't matter
...." From an evolutionary perspective, a mixture of homing and straying by offspring is a way that parents can spread the risk because offspring don't spawn in the same place. One of Quinn's hypotheses is that adults spawning in less predictable streams and rivers ones where conditions are good some years a...Turning viruses into allies against cancer
...t" protein attached to the virus acts as a kind of homing beacon for radioactive iodine, providing a second line of attack against the cancer cells, technically known as radio-virotherapy. "These results clearly demonstrate the high potential of this modified virus to serve as a novel vector for cancer gen...Prenatal cocaine exposure exerts subtle effects on schoolchildren
... to more precisely assess the children's progress, homing in on the areas of the brain more involved with planning and thinking strategically - the regions that cocaine, in theory, would most likely affect. In this next arm of the study, all will undergo intelligence and achievement tests, including assessm......vestigate the neural basis of executive control in homing pigeons by recording from the nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL), a region of the avian brain considered analogous to the mammalian prefrontal cortex. They show that neurons in the NCL selectively fire when the birds are told to remember and stop firin...Tiny zebrafish teaches researchers how to fight off a deadly cancer
...gested that the zebrafish embryo contains possible homing cues that can be interpreted by normal human cells. Results of this study demonstrate the utility of the zebrafish embryonic model for the study of tumor cell plasticity and suggest that this experimental paradigm can be a powerful one in which to i...Study in Royal Society journal on world's only horned rodent
...are known for spectacular marine migrations before homing to spawn in native rivers. However, some males become reproductively active sneakers at greatly reduced sizes without leaving freshwater. We monitored activity of thousands of genes in wild Atlantic salmon brains and demonstrate that these profound l...JCI table of contents September 1, 2005
...l of EBV infection requires appropriate CD8 T cell homing to oropharyngeal sites. Title: Tonsillar homing of Epstein-Barr virus-specific CD8 T cells and the virus-host balance AUTHOR CONTACT: Alan Rickins...UCLA researchers identify how antibody blocks prostate cancer growth in animal models
...eted therapies are the new wave of cancer therapy, homing in on what is broken or mutated in the cancer cells and leaving the healthy cells alone. Because they only target the cancer cells, these therapies typically cause few side effects, if any, and are much easier for patients to tolerate. The next step,...Robo-rodent gets 'touchy-feely'
... appeared to be emergent behaviour: it developed a homing instinct without any pre-programming of any kind. "Essentially we put in the sensors and then wire them up through the robots 'brain', its CPU. We just switch it on without giving it instructions of any kind," says Simon Bovet, a Ph.D. student at the...Bacteria which sense the Earth's magnetic field
...s that certain animals -- like migratory salmon or homing pigeons -- have magnetite crystal chains in particular tissue. These chains are astoundingly similar to those in bacteria, and possibly develop through a related mechanism....... and then disperse again, which would require some homing ability or knowledge but I can't even speculate yet on what the trigger would be." Adding further to the idea of the ridge as a saltwater desert oasis, the MAR-ECO team was surprised to find lush growth on many parts of the ridge. "The bottom was st...JCI table of contents, February 23, 2006
...lled alpha4-beta1 integrin (or VLA-4) promotes the homing of these progenitor cells to VLA-4binding molecule...igration. The authors suggest that inhibiting this homing process could be useful in suppressing new blood vessel formation in tumors. TITLE: A homing mechani...Drawing a crowd: How progenitor cells are recruited to tumor blood vessels from the bone marrow
...lled alpha4-beta1 integrin (or VLA-4) promotes the homing of these progenitor cells to VLA-4binding molecule...gration. The authors suggest that inhibiting this homing process could be useful in suppressing new blood vessel formation in tumors....