Biologists ID molecular block for social 'cheaters'
...an one gene, we believe the absence of dimA may be interfering with an unknown recognition pathway that is essential for spore selection." The results are the first published by a unique Rice-Baylor collaborative that won $5 million from the National Science Foundation last year to apply the latest techniques of...Channel protein converts vibrations to electrical signal
...ned without TRPA1, which the researchers tested by interfering with the production of the protein in both zebrafish embryos and hair cells from mice. To test function, the researchers bathed the embryos or the mouse cells in a solution containing a dye either yellow or red that can pass through the ion channel...Gladstone researchers resolve key Huntington's disease mystery in Nature cover story
...ntingtin in other parts of a cell and keep it from interfering with the rest of the neuron in ways that can trigger cell death. These findings provide evidence that inclusion bodies in Huntington's disease, and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases, help neurons cope with toxic proteins and prevent neurodege...Study using robotic microscope shows how mutant Huntington's protein affects neurons
... bodies lock up mutant huntingtin and keep it from interfering with the rest of the neuron in ways that can trigg...y researchers have been working to develop ways of interfering with inclusion body formation as potential treatments for HD and other disorders. This study sugges...Muscling in on a deadly cancer
...how the fusion gene turns various genes on or off, interfering with normal muscle development and providing clues to the complex series of steps by which the gene causes alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. "If you know the steps involved, then you can look at each of them and ask, 'Are there drugs that wou...S1P1 essential for tumor growth and is blocked by RNA interference
...and that when they injec-tion of the S1P1-specific interfering RNA into tumors in mice, these also showed repressed S1P1 expres-sion. In conjunction with loss of S1P1 expression, new blood vessel stabilization and growth were compromised and tumor growth suppressed in vivo. This study indicates both that S1P1 is...New version of tumor-suppressor linked to progression of childhood cancer
...t TrkIII stimulated advancement of NB, in part, by interfering with the normal anti-oncogenic function of TrkA. The researchers conclude that formation of TrkIII represents a tumor-promoting switch in NB. Preventing generation of TrkIII may serve to inhibit NB progression. "A potential mechanism for regulating N...Clues to improving TB treatment
...t step for Baulard and colleagues was to show that interfering with EthR function could increase drug sensitivity in Mycobacterium smegmatis, a close relative of tuberculosis bacterium. Using a compound called benzylacetone in place of HexOc to alter EthR's structure, the researchers found that a combination of ...Pesticides may promote Parkinson's disease and exercise may offer protection
...the cells implicated in the control of movement by interfering with the programmed cell death process." Przedborski intends to confirm this role for the COX-2 protein by investigating whether the intensity of cell death increases in mice that possess an excess of COX-2 protein. "Understanding how this protein i...UCSD biologists discover chemical important in guiding visual system development
...-convulsant syndrome could result from these drugs interfering with the spontaneous activity necessary for patterning the developing nervous system." A previous study by Feller and her colleagues showed that the pattern of neural activity is essential for the retinal ganglion cells--which extend project...Common household fragrances may be harming aquatic wildlife, study finds
...long-term damage to aquatic wildlife downstream by interfering with the animals' natural ability to eliminate toxins from their system, according to a new Stanford University study published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Writing in the NIH journal Environmental Health Perspectives, Stanford scienti...Trojan-horse therapy blocks buildup of Alzheimer's plaque
...ly important protein-protein interactions, such as interfering with protein enzymes critical to replication of HIV. "HIV proteins are difficult drug targets because they can mutate rapidly to render small-molecule inhibitors inefficient," he said. "Such drugs typically bind only to a few amino acids in the prote...Researchers uncover how infections combat plant immune responses
...vel as it inhibits spread of RNA silencing without interfering with intracellular RNA silencing." As a result, that type of suppressor cannot be identified by the methods in wide use today by labs around the world....UCSD discovery opens new avenues for design of anti-tumor medications
...gen should be relatively safe. One caveat is that interfering with blood vessels' response to low oxygen may also inhibit wound healing, as was observed in the mice lacking HIF-1alpha. According to the researchers, further work will be needed before their discovery can be applied to actually design new anti-tu...Oral saline spray may slash spread of exhaled pathogens
...matically reduce spread of these pathogens without interfering with any other treatments," Edwards says. "This work could also point the way to new hygiene protocols in clinical settings as well as enclosed spaces." It has long been known that exhaled bioaerosol particles constitute an important vector for t...Cloned gene from sea animal may prove key in cancer drug development
...rk by killing rapidly growing cells, in many cases interfering with the body's normal processes. Bryostatin seems to be effective by "flipping a switch" that controls how cells behave in the body.In the case of leukemia, for example, it seems to bring the cells "to their senses" and make them behave like normal ...Alcohol vulnerability linked to action of insulin
...ity did not affect other behavior, suggesting that interfering with the brain insulin pathway may not pose any serious side effects. Lead author on the paper is Ammon Corl, a PhD student in Heberlein's lab. Aylin D. Rodan, MD and PhD, a former PhD student in the lab was a collaborator on the research a...Antibiotic resistant bacterium uses Sonar-like strategy to 'see' enemies or prey
...o the design of new toxin inhibitors. "Blocking or interfering with a bacterium's "detection" mechanism, should prevent toxin production and limit the severity of infection," says Michael Gilmore, PhD, lead author of the study, and currently director of research at the Schepens Eye Research Institute and profess......at childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) by interfering with folic acid activation and preventing cell reproduction. However, the formation and accumulation of MTX polyglutamates (MTXPGs) within cells can be toxic. In the January 3 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, William Evans and colleagu......oach "may serve to turn the tables on the virus by interfering with the very pathways that are required for viral replication and extrusion." This study demonstrates, for the first time, that chemical inhibition of host cell signaling pathways exploited by infectious agents represents a new avenue for developmen...