Selective in Biological News

What is wild? Odor attraction among different wildtype Drosophila

... flies ( Drosophila melanogaster ) show a highly selective behavior towards odor stimuli. A series of ... these varieties turned out to be particularly selective and displayed slower and less strong responses to ... Canton-S and both Oregon-R-C and R-S, were not as selective in the experiments as the newly collected Swedish ...

Gene's 'selective signature' aids detection of natural selection in microbial evolution

... evolution. The new method determines the selective signature of a gene, that is, the pattern of fast ... of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The selective signature method also allows us to focus on a single species and better understand the selective pressures on it. Our hope is that other ...

2008 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation awarded to Dr. Marie-Joëlle Rochet from IFREMER

... from France, will compare the impact of selective fishing, in which commercial fishermen ... food webs and degrading the marine ecosystem. selective fishing methods that harvest only the desired ... research and policies that support more selective fishing methods, or, advocating for non-selective ...

After more than 100 years apart, webworms devastate New Zealand parsnips

... less susceptible to that environmental factor, or selective agent, enjoy a reproductive advantage, ... the newly arrived parsnip webworms are a major selective agent, Zangerl said, wiping out a majority of the ... the insect and we have shown that the insect is a selective agent. Berenbaum and Zangerl have spent ...

University of Houston diesel testing center teams with state transportation agency to cut emissions

... researchers will supervise the installation of Nett Technologies' BlueMAX selective catalytic reduction system, which is classified by the EPA as an emerging ... engines, diesel particulate filters and fume diluters. The Nett BlueMAX selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system is designed to control nitrogen oxide ...

Geography and history shape genetic differences in humans

... If the individual populations' environments were exerting strong selective pressure, such differences should have been apparent. Selection may ... people will start figuring out the phenotypes that are associated with selective signals," says lead author Graham Coop. "That will be very important, ...

Neuroscientists discover long-term potentiation in the olfactory bulb

... that damaging olfactory sensory pathways prevents sheep from forming selective bonds with her own lambs, causing them to adopt lambs from other mothers. This cued her curiosity as to how a mother ewe forms such a selective bond with her lamb within several hours of parturition, a bond that is ...

Breaking the barrier: Discovery of anti-resistance factors and novel ocean drugs

... has resulted in thousands of new bacterial isolates producing highly selective antimicrobial compounds yielding highly selective small peptide antibiotics. ...

Compounds could be new class of cancer drugs

... a new class of drugs for treating cancer. The compounds are the first selective inhibitors of the protein phospholipase D (PLD), an enzyme that has been ... like secretion, migration, growth and proliferation. But the absence of selective inhibitors has really interfered with the ability of biologists to study ...

Researchers identify new anti-tumor gene

... The identification of SARI also provides a new potential reagent for the selective killing of tumor cells," said Fisher. "The present study indicates that ... that regulate cancer cell growth. The SARI gene may provide novel and selective gene therapy applications for cancer. It could also prove amenable for ...

New clues to how proteins dissolve and crystallize

... says Uejio. "He wanted me to use liquid microjet technology to measure the selective binding of sodium and potassium to formate and acetate, two simple ... Saykally and his colleague have opened a new path toward probing selective interactions of ions with biological molecules in the aqueous environments ...

Fox Chase researchers discover a method for clamping down on a cancer-promoting enzyme

... IPA-3 represents a proof-of-principle, illustrating a new and highly selective approach to targeting PAK1. PAK1, like all kinases, is an enzyme that ... PAK1 in other ways. The cancer drug Gleevec, for example, is unusually selective for its target by binding to a region outside of the active site that is ...

Mechanism for regulation of growth and differentiation of adult muscle stem cells is revealed

... team was able to pharmacologically separate these two steps, showing that selective interference with either cascade leads to incomplete assembly of protein ... expression. The results point to possible pharmacological avenues for selective control of gene expression in adult muscle stem cells that may have ...

Cancer-resistant mouse discovered

... Rangnekar. "The interesting part of this study is that this killer gene is selective for killing cancer cells. It will not kill normal cells and there are very, very few selective molecules out there like this." To further investigate the potential ...

The key to unlocking the secret of highly specific DNAzyme catalysis

... why this particular lead-specific DNAzyme makes such a sensitive and selective sensor, said U. of I. chemistry professor Yi Lu, a corresponding author of ... In previous work, Lu and his research group fashioned highly sensitive and selective fluorescent, colorimetric and magnetic resonance imaging sensors from the ...

Carnegie donates landmark clones to biology

... mutation can make the transporters work independently. So why did this simpler mutation not succeed? The researchers believe that there must still be selective pressure on the system. The simplest explanation is that the mechanism is still necessary today, probably to control uptake and prevent toxicity. ...

New hope for fisheries

... that a combination of approaches, such as catch quotas and community management coupled with strategically placed fishing closures, ocean zoning, selective fishing gear and economic incentives, offer promise for restoring fisheries and ecosystems. However "lessons from one spot need to be applied very ...

Global curbs on overfishing are beginning to work

... scientists, managers and industry. Management measures included catch quotas coupled with strategically placed fishing closures, ocean zoning, selective fishing gear, community co-management and economic incentives (such as individual transferable quotas). "Exploitation rates have more than halved ...

Nanoparticle-delivered 'suicide' genes slowed ovarian tumor growth

... cancer cells, as scientists were able to deliver diphtheria toxin genes, using a nanoparticle, to the actual tumor site (peritoneum) with a basis for selective activity in the cancer cells (how the toxin genes were regulated once inside the cells). "A real plus of a cancer therapy like this is not just ...

Parasitic worms make sex worthwhile

... reproduction is clearly favored in the lakes' shallows, but why? To test whether worm parasites play a key role in the maintenance of the snails' selective sexual reproduction, the researchers devised an elegant experiment. The scientists exposed snails from each of the two lakes to worm parasites ...

Funxional successfully completes initial clinical trial of FX125L, an anti-inflammatory drug with a novel mechanism of action

... ). About BSCIs BSCIs are anti-inflammatory compounds with an entirely novel mechanism of action that involves the selective interaction with a well-characterized receptor, resulting in a potent inhibition of inflammatory cell migration. The compounds are anticipated to ...

Prostate Cancer Translational Research in Europe meeting: Search for biomarkers continues

... Majority of anti-cancer drugs are equally effective in cancer and control cells. TSA, thiram, disalfiram and monensin (are) identified as cancer selective compounds inhibiting VCaP cell growth at nanomolar concentrations. In vivo studies using VCaP cell xenografts showed reduced tumour growth in ...

Fate in fly sensory organ precursor cells could explain human immune disorder

... behind an immunological disorder called Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. "This finding provides a model for how Wiskott Aldrich syndrome a form of selective immunodeficiency in children occurs," said Dr. Hugo Bellen ( http://www.bcm.edu/db/db_fac-bellen.html ), professor of molecular and human genetics ...

The SIB recognizes the next generation of bioinformaticians

... are limited by the extent they affect the development of an organism, and focused specifically on how the timing of expression in development affects selective pressure on genes. In his own words: "Because embryonic development must proceed correctly for an animal to survive, changes in evolution are ...

Gear bans 'can help save reefs'

... "One key issue may be educating fishers about the importance of reef habitat and the species that help to maintain reef quality and the need to be selective in what they shoot. This would mean fishers could still use this cheap and effective fishing tool without necessarily damaging habitat and reef ...

Common fish species has 'human' ability to learn

... preferences, and learn how to evade predators. But it is not always a recipe for success to simply copy someone. Animals are often better off being selective about when and who they copy. "These fish are obviously not at all closely related to humans, yet they have this human ability to only copy when ...

Help for climate-stressed corals

... "One key issue may be educating fishers about the importance of reef habitat and the species that help to maintain reef quality and the need to be selective in what they shoot. This would mean fishers could still use this cheap and effective fishing tool without necessarily damaging habitat and reef ...

New piece found in the puzzle of epigenetics

... kinds of RNA molecules or not. In their latest research, the scientists led by Dirk Eick showed that the enzyme TFIIH kinase is responsible for the selective phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II. "With these findings another building block has been identified that plays a key role in epigenetic regulation ...

Researcher garners major award from NIH for further exploration into the mechanisms of obesity

... of doing cutting-edge and quality work. Georgia State is very proud to have him as a member of our research faculty." MERIT is among the most selective research grants given by the NIH, with less than 5 percent of NIH-funded investigators selected as recipients. Previously, 10 researchers from ...

Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test measures microbial nitrogen

... (C-FAR). Recovery tests did not support the concept that the ISNT estimates total soil nitrogen. Rather, the results confirmed that the ISNT is selective for certain forms of microbial nitrogen, and differs from conventional acid-hydrolyzable fractions in the proportions of these compounds that are ...

American Chemical Society's weekly PressPac -- May 6, 2009

... In the study, the researchers created an adsorbent material that unlike conventional ion-exchange resins that are frequently used in reactors is selective for cobalt but has the unique ability of disregarding iron-based ions. The polymer's high selectivity increases its appeal, the researchers add, for ...

MIT: Making waves in the brain

... over the brain," explains co-lead author Marie Carln, a postdoctoral fellow at the Picower Institute. The trick for inducing gamma waves was the selective activation of the "fast-spiking" interneurons, named for their characteristic pattern of electrical activity. When these cells were driven with high ...

DNA blueprint for healthier and more efficient cows

... in the genetic blueprint) has allowed the development of gene chips that measure genetic variation in cattle populations and will allow the rapid selective breeding of animals with higher value commercial traits. "This technology is quickly transforming the dairy genetics industry and has the ...

New hope for advances in treating malaria

... without any major side-effects to the human host. In effect we are exploiting a biological difference, and this will allow us to develop potent, selective inhibitors." According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), malaria kills a million people across the globe each year, with forty per cent of ...

EPA's P3 award winners celebrate a green future

... of Environmental, Social, and Economic Implications Columbia University - Multifunction Energy Platform Pilot Drexel University, Syntactic selective Near Infrared Scattering Architectural Coatings University of South Florida - Water Awareness, Research and Education in east Tampa: A Pilot ...

New light on bipolar treatment drugs

... possible pathway for its operation. By better understanding Lithium, we can learn about the genetics of bipolar disorder and develop more potent and selective drugs. "Further, altered PIP3 signalling is linked to other disorders, including epilepsy and autism, so this well established drug could be used ...

Alzheimer cell death in Zebrafish: Demise of neurons observed live for the first time

... of Alzheimer's in people into zebrafish, with great success. The animals showed the characteristic symptoms, such as deposits in nerve cells and the selective loss of neurons. They were even able to observe this while it was happening. "The translucent larvae of the zebrafish can be studied under a ...

American Chemical Society Weekly PressPac -- April 8, 2009

... (one-billionth of a gram) amounts of ricin in minutes, they note. In the other, John Barr and Suzanne Kalb describe development of a highly selective three-part test that involves capturing the ricin protein using special antibodies, evaluating the enzymatic activity of the ricin protein by mass ...

University of Kansas graduate student researcher takes aim at deadly brain tumors

... "There's something the ATF5 is doing in the cancer. And if you stop ATF5, the cancer cells die and the tumor shrinks. It seems to be something very selective that we can use to target the cancer and not affect the normal cells of the brain." Cicaccio believes that ATF5 helps growth and proliferation of ...

Mollusks taste memories to build shells

... the right shaped shell, and is only an epiphenomenon reflecting neural activity," Oster said. "It is incidental to the snail." "There is no strong selective pressure to drive patterns, so evolution can explore the entire parameter space" of possible shells, Boettiger added. "That was one rewarding thing ...