Understanding why C. difficile causes disease -- it's hungry
...a much higher toxin production which leads to more destructive and deadly disease, says Vivian Loo of McGill University. Sonenshein is studying a five-gene region of the bacterium’s chromosome known as the tcd locus. Two of the genes code for the toxins the bacterium produces that cause disease and a thir...Common treatment for methamphetamine overdose may damage brain cells
...ation, haloperidol, and methamphetamine causes the destructive effects, not either one alone. Senior author Bryan Yamamoto, PhD, and his team at Boston University School of Medicine suspect the damage results from the exaggerated stimulation of cells by the amino acid glutamate, which proves toxic to cells produ...Massive coral death attributed to earthquake
...rly in the Pulau Banyak, continue to be damaged by destructive fishing including bombing and the use of cyanide. These practices are now illegal in Indonesia, and need immediate attention. Dr Campbell concludes "While reef condition in south-western Aceh is generally poor, we have found some reefs in excellen...Overfishing large sharks impacts entire marine ecosystem, shrinks shellfish supply
...ted that the demise of top predators could trigger destructive consequences. Researching such effects, however, has been a challenge. "This is the first published field experiment to demonstrate that the loss of sharks is cascading through ocean ecosystems and inflicting collateral damage on food fisheries ...Dig deeper to find Martian life
...al shield of hydrogen to protect life on Mars from destructive cosmic radiation particles. Ice also holds an advantage because it is far easier to drill through than rock. Even here, surviving cells would be out of the reach of current drills. Other ideal sites include recent craters, because the surface has bee...Tearing down the fungal cell wall
...ce of Alternaria brassicicola. A. brassicicola, a destructive fungal pathogen that causes black spot disease on ...derstanding the host-pathogen interaction for this destructive plant pathogen." The investigators used a wide range of experimental approaches to look in detail ...Genome info from 'plant destroyers' could save trees, beans and chocolate
...as published the first two genome sequences from a destructive group of plant pathogens called Phytophthora--a name that literally means "plant destroyer." The more than 80 species of fungus-like Phytophthora (pronounced "fy-TOFF-thor-uh") attack a broad range of plants and together cost the agriculture, forestr...A buffet for early human relatives
...the animals' diets. Until now, lasers were too destructive to use on the smaller teeth of human ancestors and their relatives ?even those of Paranthropus, known for relatively large teeth and a strong, heavy jaw. Passey improved the laser technique. "What I did was fine-tune the method to handle very sma...The subtleties of tropical forest demise
...se that are growing rapidly in importance, such as destructive surface fires in tropical forests. (3) Those that are poorly understood, such as the impacts of global warming and other growing atmospheric alterations on tropical ecosystems. (4) Environmental synergisms, where two or more simultaneous threats—such...Fast-freeze snapshot yields new picture of nerve-muscle junction
..., makes ice appear like liquid glass and devoid of destructive crystals. Cross-sections taken of synapses reveal that membrane packets, or vesicles, of neurotransmitter localize in places scientists have never before seen. "It tells us that specific proteins are required to transition vesicles in close apposit...Researchers identify new weapon to fight deadly bacterial sepsis
...psis--an overreaction by the immune system causing destructive inflammation throughout the body, often leading to heart and other organ failure and death. Even the best hospital intensive care units may be helpless to save patients stricken by severe sepsis. According to a 2003 study by Emory University and the ...Plants give up answers in the war on bacteria
...to them. Plant-infecting bacteria, like those most destructive to crops, have figured out a way to reopen the shut-down ports. It appears those plant-based bacteria produce a phytotoxin, a chemical called coronatine, to force the pores back open. For bacteria, entry is crucial to causing disease and probably s...A key antibody, IgG, links cells' capture and disposal of germs
... antigens by flooding the phagosomes with acid and destructive proteins. IgG, Nohturfft and his colleagues rep...e response," Nohturfft says. "But some of the most destructive microbial pathogens, such as those responsible for tuberculosis and salmonellosis, are able to hijac...Scientists discover role for dueling RNAs
...osis, the progeny won't survive. Fortunately, such destructive meiotic division is avoided in haploid cells because they continually produce IME4 antisense RNA, blocking the production of sense RNA. Antisense IME4, then, safeguards against meiosis in cells that can't handle it. "This is the first time that ...Proteins anchor memories in our brain
...us, then there is a better chance that potentially destructive insulin-specific T cells will encounter insulin as self and be filtered out." In the thymus, immature T cells display on their surface many thousands of unique receptors, generated by random gene rearrangements. This strategy allows the receptors...Autoimmune disease triggered if T cells miss a single protein early on
...us, then there is a better chance that potentially destructive insulin-specific T cells will encounter insulin as self and be filtered out." In the thymus, immature T cells display on their surface many thousands of unique receptors, generated by random gene rearrangements. This strategy allows the receptors...Study: Living coral reefs provide better protection from tsunami waves
...ent coasts with substantially more protection from destructive tsunami waves than do unhealthy or dead reefs, a Princeton University study suggests. Initially spurred by the tsunami that devastated the coastlines of the Indian Ocean two years ago, a team of scientists developed the first-ever computer model of...'Killer' B cells demonstrate evolutionary link between fish and mammal immune systems
... more financially attractive to fisherman and less destructive to fish populations." There is little doubt that, despite the behavioral differences, the fish B cells represent a less advanced version of mammalian B cells. Sunyer found the very cellular structures that medical science has used to define B cell...... halt the damage caused by one of the world's most destructive groups of plant pathogens. Root-knot nematodes ar...way to develop crops with broad resistance to this destructive pathogen," Hussey said. "Equally important, our approach makes available a strategy for developing r...