Squeeze play: Protein's grip like a baseball bunter's
...One of calmodulin's roles in muscle cells comes in regulating the flow of calcium ions into the cell. When your nerve sends a signal to your heart to beat or your arm to move, the signal causes tiny compartments of calcium inside the muscle cells to open briefly and release a burst of calcium ions that cause th...Three UCSF faculty elected to Institute of Medicine
...lab has demonstrated the role of specific genes in regulating neuronal specification, differentiation, migration and axon growth during embryonic development and on through adult life. His work may help to explain some of the mechanisms underlying human neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism....Fruit fly study identifies gene mutation that regulates sensitivity to alcohol
... that the RhoGAP18B gene is intimately involved in regulating behavioral responses to alcohol exposure. The findings have implications for researchers seeking corresponding genes and molecular pathways in other animal models and humans. Antonio Noronha, Ph.D., director of NIAAA's Division of Neuroscience and ...Researchers lift a corner of the veil of depression
...ssion. Because the TPH2 protein is instrumental in regulating the serotonin level, scientists suspect that TPH2 plays a role in the development of psychiatric disorders. Genetic study Ann Van Den Bogaert and her colleagues from the research group of Jurgen Del-Favero have also been studying the role of TPH2 i...A tumor suppressor that promotes cancer cell growth?
...of Pathology. Tumor suppressor genes function by regulating normal cell growth and proliferation. When a tumor suppressor gene is turned off, by mutation, deletion, or blocked expression, cell growth can proceed without safeguards, contributing to cancer cell proliferation. However, this appears not to be the...Researchers discover misfolded protein clumps common to dementia, Lou Gehrig's disease
...nvolved in the complex process of transcribing and regulating genetic information in the nucleus of the cell. "There is much more to learn about how this nuclear protein is clumped in the cytoplasm of cells and about the mechanism by which it is implicated in two distinctly different diseases," says Stephen Sn...Animals resistant to drunken behavior offer clues to alcoholism's roots
...he mutations white rabbit (whir) for their role in regulating responses to abused drugs as described in the song "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane. "Normally when you expose flies to ethanol vapor, they become hyperactive at first," Rothenfluh said. "Within five to ten minutes, they start to keel over." By...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...eek, Charych et al demonstrate an effect of PSD in regulating dendrite branching. When the authors overexpressed...s. These neurons had previously been implicated in regulating wakefulness. Takahashi et al. used extracellular single-unit recordings combined with neurobiotin ju...New angiogenesis finding may help fight cancer growth
...gene for a compound that is supposedly involved in regulating the nervous system?" The researchers searched for NK-B receptors - molecules that can "recognize" and respond to NK-B - and found great numbers of them on endothelial cells, which line the inside of blood vessels. Endothelial cells form the inte...JCI table of contents: September 21, 2006
...s cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2). However, the mechanisms regulating COX2 expression have not been well defined. Now, in a study appearing online on September 21 in advance of publication in the October print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Dan Dixon and colleagues from the University of South Carolina...Squid skin reveals hidden messages
...ors. Squid also produce polarized skin patterns by regulating the iridescence of their skin, possibly creating a "hidden communication channel" visible only to animals that are sensitive to polarized light. In research published today in the journal Biology Letters, MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) research...UT Southwestern scientist receives NIH Director's Pioneer Award
...rk focuses on genes that control the body's clock, regulating such processes as sleep, wakefulness and hunger. The other 2006 winner from Texas is Dr. Cheng Chi Lee of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Eleven other winners were named from around the nation....UCI scientists discover a new healthy role for fat
...o have an intriguing role to play when it comes to regulating excess proteins in the body. In a study with fruit flies, developmental biologist Steven Gross and colleagues found that these fat droplets served as storage depots for a type of protein used primarily by the cell to bind DNA and organize it in the n...Experimental cancer drugs counter muscle deterioration seen in muscular dystrophy
...at NIH, on the biochemical and molecular mechanism regulating the expression of genes that coordinate muscle regeneration. These studies led to the identification of different enzymes (called acetyltransferases and deacetylases) that promote or inhibit the expression of regeneration genes, and have the potentia...Define 'precautionary principle' to avoid clashes over biotechnology under World Trade rules
... about what constitutes legitimate precaution when regulating biotechnology. Should a country have the unfettered right to refuse trade in such products as genetically-modified grain or hormone-injected beef based on doubts about their safety? Or is such "precautionary" action trumped by World Trade Organ...Researchers create mouse lacking key inflammation gene
...studied NF-kB transcriptional regulator. Drugs regulating TNF-alpha through the better-known NF-kB pathway such as Remicade, Embrel, and Humira represent a multibillion market. The LITAF transcription factor offers a new approach to treating inflammatory disorders along with other immunological conditions....Environmental toxins may cause body's defenses to worsen lung disease
...ists determine which lymphocytes are important for regulating damage in the lungs, so they can develop ways to "tweak" the immune system and prevent the lymphocytes from causing additional damage to already-injured tissue. Borchers says understanding these pathways could play an important role in future drug ...NASA study solves ocean plant mystery
... ocean that plays a particularly important role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide and the world's climate. This area of the ocean is the largest natural source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. "We concluded that nitrogen is the primary element missing for algae growth and photosynthesis in the nort...NASA announces media briefing about ocean plant growth
... ocean that plays a particularly important role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide and the world's climate. This study solved the mystery why healthy looking ocean plants, or phytoplankton, are actually not so healthy. An article on this technique appears in the Aug. 31 issue of Nature. Reporters should......ces. "Our laboratory was initially interested in regulating the development of insect larvae," said Hammock, a distinguished professor of entomology and member of the National Academy of Sciences. The discovery switched the focus of the research from "pest control to pain control." M. Eric Gershwin, chief o...