Yale Scientists Find MicroRNA Regulates Ras Cancer Gene
Research in the laboratory of Assistant Professor Frank J. Slack at Yale University has identified a new way that a familiar gene is regulated in lung cancer, presenting new possibilities for diagnosis and treatment. The work is reported in March issues of the journals Cell and Developmental Cell. . The oncogene Ras is out of control in about 20 percent of cancers where it is over-expressed or ac...Yale researchers identify molecule for detecting parasitic infection in humans
Researchers at Yale, in collaboration with NIH researchers, have identified a specific protein molecule that is used by the immune system for detection of parasitic infections, leading the way for development of future vaccines to combat these infections. . .. Most infections are caused by bacterial or viral microorganisms that produce molecules quite different from those pr...$6.5 Million Grant for Microarray Center at Yale School of Medicine
In 1909, while harvesting a typical corn crop (Zea mays) in Illinois, a field worker noticed a plant so unusual that it was initially believed to be a new species. Its "peculiarly shaped ear" was "laid aside as a curiosity" and the specimen was designated Zea ramosa (from the Latin ramosus, "having many branches"). Due to the alteration of a single gene, later named ramosa1, both the ear and the...Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative funds Yale project
Yale has been offered $17 million from the Grand Challenges in Global health initiative to genetically engineer mice with immune systems similar enough to humans to aid in testing the safety and effectiveness of potential vaccines. . .. Flavell and his team will study a novel solution to a problem facing many vaccine developers. Some of the...Yale scientists identify structure for RNA quality control
A report by Yale scientists in the journal Cell sheds new light on how the protein Ro, a major autoantigen in patients with autoimmune disease, recognizes misfolded RNAs, creating a RNA quality control system for cells. . The quality control process in the cell has been well-studied for the DNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) components for making proteins. However, little was known about what cells do...MicroRNA gene that regulates lifespan found by Yale scientists
Genes that control the timing of organ formation during development also control timing of aging and death, and provide evidence of a biological timing mechanism for aging, Yale researchers report in the journal Science. . and senior author of the paper. "We used the simple, but g...Yale participates in global human genome initiative
Yale is a founding member of the Genome-Wide RNAi Global Initiative, an alliance of top international biomedical research centers formed to speed scientific and medical discoveries that target genes of the entire human genome. The initiative is sponsored by , manufacturer of the first complete human genome siRNA library, or compilation of short, interfering ribonucleic acid sequences. The librar...Yale scientists decipher 'wiring pattern' of cell signaling networks
A team of scientists at Yale University has completed the first comprehensive map of the proteins and kinase signaling network that controls how cells of higher organisms operate, according to a report this week in the journal Nature. . The study is a breakthrough in understanding mechanisms of how proteins operate in different cell types under the control of master regulator molecules called pr...Yale researchers find environmental toxins disruptive to hearing in mammals
Yale School of Medicine researchers have new data showing chloride ions are critical to hearing in mammals, which builds on previous research showing a chemical used to keep barnacles off boats might disrupt the balance of these ions in ear cells. . "Our data are the first to directly show that chloride ions are crucial for our exquisite sense of hearing," said Joseph Santos-Sacchi, professor in...Yale biologists 'trick' viruses into extinction
While human changes to the environment cause conservation biologists to worry about species extinction, Yale biologists are reversing the logic by trying to trap viruses in habitats that force their extinction, according to a report in Ecology Letters. . at Yale, tested the practicality of luring a virus population into the wrong cells within...Autism gene identified by researchers at Yale working with a global research consortium
Yale School of Medicine autism experts Fred Volkmar, M.D. and Ami Klin are part of a global research consortium from 19 countries to identify a gene and a region of a chromosome that may lead to autism in children. . The findings are published online today in Nature Genetics and also will be published in the journal’s March print edition. They are based on the largest-ever autism genome scan. Ove...