Navigation Links
Study may help slay 'Yellow Monster'

Low-grade uranium ore is nicknamed "yellowcake" for its color and powdered consistency. The Navajo have another name: Leetso, or "yellow monster."

The yellow monster surfaced on the Navajo Nation with uranium mining that started in the 1940s and continued for the next several decades. In its aftermath came illnesses such as lung cancer among mine workers and worries about environmental contamination among people who live on that land.

The Navajos believe you must gain knowledge of a monster to slay it and restore nature's balance.Northern Arizona University biochemist Diane Stearns and her Navajo students are not only gaining knowledge, they are adding to that knowledge with new discoveries about uranium.

The fact that uranium, as a radioactive metal, can damage DNA is well documented. But what Stearns and her collaborators recently have found is that uranium can also damage DNA as a heavy metal, independent of its radioactive properties.

Stearns and her team are the first to show that when cells are exposed to uranium, the uranium binds to DNA and the cells acquire mutations. When uranium attaches to DNA, the genetic code in the cells of living organisms, it can change that code. As a result, the DNA can make the wrong protein or wrong amounts of protein, which affects how the cells grow. Some of these cells can grow to become cancer.

"Essentially, if you get a heavy metal stuck on DNA, you can get a mutation," Stearns explained. Other heavy metals are known to bind to DNA, but Stearns and her colleagues are the first to identify this trait with uranium. Their results were published recently in the journals Mutagenesis and Molecular Carcinogenesis.

Their findings have far-reaching implications for people living near abandoned mine tailings in the Four Corners area of the Southwest and for war-torn countries and the military, which uses depleted uranium for anti-tank weapons, tank armor and ammunition rounds. Deplet
'"/>

Source:Northern Arizona University


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Novel Asthma Study Shows Multiple Genetic Input Required; Single-gene Solution Shot Down
2. Emory Study Tests Bone Marrow Stem Cells to Improve Circulation in Legs
3. UCLA Study Shows One-Third of Drug Ads in Medical Journals Do Not Contain References Supporting Medical Claims
4. Study Demonstrates Gene Expression Microarrays are Comparable and Reproducible
5. Study Links Ebola Outbreaks To Animal Carcasses
6. Breakthrough Microarray-based Technology for the Study of Cancer
7. NYU Study Reveals How Brains Immune System Fights Viral Encephalitis
8. Study finds more than one-third of human genome regulated by RNA
9. Leukemia Drug Breakthrough Study In New England Journal Of Medicine
10. Study identifies predictors of HIV drug resistance in patients beginning triple therapy
11. New Study from Affymetrix Laboratories Points to Changing View of How Genome Works
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Study may help slay Yellow Monster

(Date:5/17/2013)... Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) released ... Health (NIH) funding trends highlighting the devastating impact of ... The FASEB analysis follows a May 15th Senate Appropriations ... who testified that the $1.6 billion cut the agency ... a substantial impact on the scientific community." , ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... a fast food restaurant had a higher body mass ... fast food, according to researchers at The University of ... particularly strong among those with a lower income. ... American Journal of Public Health indicates higher BMI ... and among lower-income African-Americans, the density, or number, of ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... May 16, 2013 The relationship between the ... has not been clear. Schizophrenia is commonly associated ... There are clues that reduced IQ may be ... example, reduced cognitive ability may precede the onset ... present in healthy relatives of people diagnosed with ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Body mass index of low income African-Americans linked to proximity of fast food restaurants 2Body mass index of low income African-Americans linked to proximity of fast food restaurants 3Genetic risk for schizophrenia is connected to reduced IQ 2
... it was the Pied Piper's tune. For the destructive sea ... pheromone, released by lamprey larvae living in streambeds. Following the ... Researchers have long wanted to identify the pheromone so it ... which laid waste to Great Lakes fisheries of lake trout ...
... Researchers in India and from The Earth Institute at ... remaining populations of Asian elephants in India is actually ... which appear in the current issue of the journal ... for the endangered elephants as well as other species ...
... treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be ... ?a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims. ... that human umbilical cord blood cells administered to rats ... inflammatory response, reducing the size of the stroke and ...
Cached Biology News:Leading lampreys to slaughter: Pheromone for scourge of Great Lakes identified 2Leading lampreys to slaughter: Pheromone for scourge of Great Lakes identified 3Genetic analysis of Asian elephants in India reveals some surprises 2Cord blood cells may widen treatment window for stroke 2
(Date:5/16/2013)... , May 16, 2013  HealthSparq, a trusted ... the nation,s largest regional health plans, will debut ... Insurance Plans (AHIP) Institute 2013 conference on June ... results showing how health insurance companies across the ... consumer and marketplace demands for increased healthcare transparency. ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... , May 16, 2013 Scientists at ... Beijing , and the California ... have demonstrated a novel therapy for reversing memory decline ... levels, they find significant cognitive improvement in advanced stage ... a mechanism for reversing cognitive decline for advanced stage ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... 2013 On average, developing a new ... billion dollars. Despite this investment, less than 10% of ... is your clinical trial design optimally structured to balance ... , Dr. Frederic Sax, Global Head of the Center ... of data, information and technology in upfront clinical trial ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... , May 16, 2013 ... research report is available in its ... Cardiac Biomarkers for Acute Coronary Syndromes ... http://www.reportlinker.com/p01182969/MediPoint-Diagnostic-Cardiac-Biomarkers-for-Acute-Coronary-Syndromes---APAC-Analysis-and-Market-Forecasts.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=In_Vitro_Diagnostic ... Acute Coronary Syndromes - APAC Analysis ...
Breaking Biology Technology:HealthSparq to Reveal New Healthcare Transparency Benchmark Study at AHIP Institute 2013 2HealthSparq to Reveal New Healthcare Transparency Benchmark Study at AHIP Institute 2013 3Elevation of Brain Magnesium Reverses Memory Deficits in Alzheimer Mice 2Elevation of Brain Magnesium Reverses Memory Deficits in Alzheimer Mice 3Optimizing Clinical Trials Outcomes through Computer Assisted Design, New Life Science Webinar Hosted by Xtalks 2MediPoint: Diagnostic Cardiac Biomarkers for Acute Coronary Syndromes - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts 2MediPoint: Diagnostic Cardiac Biomarkers for Acute Coronary Syndromes - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts 3MediPoint: Diagnostic Cardiac Biomarkers for Acute Coronary Syndromes - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts 4MediPoint: Diagnostic Cardiac Biomarkers for Acute Coronary Syndromes - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts 5MediPoint: Diagnostic Cardiac Biomarkers for Acute Coronary Syndromes - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts 6MediPoint: Diagnostic Cardiac Biomarkers for Acute Coronary Syndromes - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts 7MediPoint: Diagnostic Cardiac Biomarkers for Acute Coronary Syndromes - APAC Analysis and Market Forecasts 8
... a thousand atoms, the electronic devices on semiconductor chips have ... Now for the first time, engineers have demonstrated a way ... , ,In a study published in the Aug. 1 issue ... professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Keith Thompson, David ...
... -- Brady Corp., a Milwaukee-based identification, safety, ... California visitor security software developer. , ,Brady did ... STOPware, Inc. , of San Jose. , ,STOPware, ... to identify and track visitors in a variety of ...
... The Illinois Biotechnology Industry Association (iBIO) recently held its ... Capitalists at the new Illinois Science & Technology Park in ... of reasons: , All of the VCs present were Midwest ... first event held at the new park, which many people ...
Cached Biology Technology:Engineers chart semiconductors on the scale of atoms 2Engineers chart semiconductors on the scale of atoms 3Engineers chart semiconductors on the scale of atoms 4Midwest venture capital funding declines in first half of 2005 2Midwest venture capital funding declines in first half of 2005 3
2'-Fluorine-CTP (2'-F-CTP) is readily incorporated into transcripts by T7 and SP6 R&DNA™ Polymerase and is available separately....
Monkey IL-2 ELISPOT Kit with white/opague microtiter plates...
Human BMP 2 Construction Kit provides antigen affinity purified polyclonal capture and tracer antibodies, and antigen standard for development of approximately ten microplate assays....
... lowest priced, full ring small animal imaging ... the microPET R4 low retail price, it ... categories; count rate performance, energy resolution, timing ... dedicated small animal PET (Positron Emission Tomography) ...
Biology Products: