Insignia -- A new way to identify viruses and bacteria
...f its successful application on 46 Vibrio cholerae strains this week in the Open Access journal PLoS Computational Biology. Insignia uses highly efficient algorithms to compare known bacterial and viral genomes against each other and to background genomes including plants, animals, and humans. These comp...Herpes infection may be symbiotic, help beat back some bacteria
...ing herpes infections. But they noted that several strains of herpes viruses found in much of the human popul... or in clinical trials for several disease-causing strains of herpes. Human herpes viruses include oral and genital herpes, the chickenpox virus, cytomegalovi...Sleepless for science: Flies show link between sleep, immune system in Stanford study
...ven better way would be to turn to established fly strains isolated decades ago that possess disruptions in their genes controlling circadian rhythm. In this case, these mutant flies could be kept under exactly the same light and temperature conditions as the normal flies. They looked at flies that were de...New host species for avian influenza identified
...een the ecology and epidemiology of various global strains of the virus. An eight-year surveillance study, which included more than 36,000 wild migratory birds tested for low pathogenic avian influenza, details new data on host species, prevalence, and temporal and geographical variation of avian influenza...Survival of the rarest: Fruit flies shed light on the evolution of behavior
...a population that is already immune to more common strains of the virus. In this case, flies carry one of two versions of the foraging gene (either the "rover" or "sitter" type). Rover larvae move around more than sitter larvae while feeding and they are also more likely to explore new food patches than sitt...Gene malfunctions cause schizophrenia, depression symptoms in mice
... They found that, indeed, one of the mutant mouse strains exhibited behavioral abnormalities and memory defi...ychotic and antidepressant drugs on the two mutant strains "might provide clues to effective medications for these patient groups. Indeed, these mice could rep...'Supermap' of avian flu yields new info on source/spread
...lso tested hypotheses about the nature of specific strains of the virus that appear to be heading westward and have the ability to infect humans. A team of biomedical experts, led by Daniel Janies, an assistant professor in the department of biomedical informatics, used special software to create an evolu...Researchers create interactive map with Google technology to track avian flu spread
... test hypotheses on the geographic distribution of strains that contain what laboratory studies have suggested are the key genotypes that allow avian strains of the influenza virus to infect mammals," Hill said. The team studied genomic sequence data from...Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes similar at molecular level
... Nature paper sheds light is what causes different strains of prions (infectious proteins) in which the prote...gives a strong hypothesis that the origin of prion strains is encoded in the packing of the molecules in the fibrils which we are seeing in the crystals," Ivan...Arming the fight against resistant bacteria
...ht as a serious concern, Blackwell says. Virulent strains like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, ...h urgency is compounded by the speed at which some strains are capable of developing resistance, she adds. For example, bacteria resistant to one of the newes...Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology
...dels could be useful in comparative studies of TSE strains in vivo as well as for testing potential anti-TSE therapeutic agents. (G.J. Raymond, L.D. Raymond, K.D. Meade-White, A.G. Hughson, C. Favara, D. Gardner, E.S. Williams, M.W. Miller, R.E. Race, B. Caughey. 2007. Transmission and adaptation of chro...Vaccine to cope with viral diversity in HIV
... clarifies and analyzes the variation found in the strains of the virus by describing the molecules which sti...ntigens compress the variation found in many viral strains into lengths suitable for vaccine immunogens. "We can capture 62% of the variation found in the Nef ...ACS News Service Weekly PressPac -- April 11, 2007
... inconsistent study outcomes, including the use of strains of rats that are insensitive to estrogen and choosing batches of animal feed that vary widely in their estrogenic activities. Bias is even evident in the National Toxicology Programs assessment of BPA, the writer notes. A panel chosen to review th...DNA sequence of Rhesus macaque has evolutionary, medical implications
...ook at the virulence and pathogenicity of pandemic strains of the influenza virus," said Dr. George Weinstock, co-director of the BCM Center. "For example, a complete description of all the different macaque immune function components will enable an even more thoughtful use of rhesus macaques in areas su......sure to 35 C temperature, some of their laboratory strains of Buchnera upregulated the heat-shock genes, but others did not. Further analysis showed the genetic basis for the difference: a single missing nucleotide in an adenine-filled stretch of DNA, called a promoter, that's involved in activating the heat...'Combination' Lyme disease vaccine proteins patented
...agnostic reagents that distinguish disease-causing strains of bacteria from relatively harmless ones, and help assess the severity of an infection," Dunn said. Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the U.S., causing approximately 25,000 new cases each year a rate that is expected to incr...Disease can be our ally, not just our enemy, says new book by UCR evolutionary biologist
... typhoid, gonorrhea all have antibiotic-resistant strains in some parts of the world. Because of the frequent use of antibiotics in hospitals, infections acquired there are particularly problematic; more than 70% of the bacteria causing infections in people while they are patients in hospitals are resistan...In young mice, gregariousness seems to reside in the genes
...new study, which was conducted using two different strains of young mice, one gregarious in nature, the other...ung mice approach social situations." The inbred strains of mice used in the study, once weaned, display markedly different social aptitudes. Young mice from...UC Davis wins new national center for avian flu research
...s well as reduce the effects of common, "seasonal" strains ofinfluenza. Walter Boyce, a research veterinari...eld. "Clearly it's important to know if and when strains of flu like AsianH5N1 make it to the U.S. But we can't stop there," said Boyce. "Weneed to know how ...U OF M awarded $22.5 million NIH contract to study avian influenza
....S. wetlands; identifying low pathologic influenza strains in Minnesota poultry; characterizing swine viruses in animal populations from Minnesota to North Carolina; and conducting virologic surveillance in live bird markets in the Midwest and Northeast.Internationally, the center will conduct avian influenz...