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Tag: "act" at biology news

Genetic study shows humans have pushed orangutans to the brink of extinction

...esults of our genetic study underscore the need to act now to protect the long-term survival of the species. The animals still show enough genetic diversity to stabilize, if immediate steps are taken to reconnect remnant forest patches and halt further deforestation." ...

Hooked on fishing, and we're heading for the bottom, says scientist

...ative to other political action. We know enough to act to prevent the continued decimation of global fisheries." Dr. Pauly will be presenting his views as part of a symposium on international scientific cooperation for the transition to sustainable development at the annual meeting of the American Assoc...

Scientists design potent anthrax toxin inhibitor

...combining antibiotics with a toxin inhibitor might act synergistically to lessen or halt anthrax symptoms, notes Dr. Kane. Using the same technique of placing multiple peptides on a liposome, the researchers also created a polyvalent inhibitor of cholera toxin that functioned well in test-tube experimen...

Cell barrier shows why bird flu not so easily spread among humans

...ceptors are molecules on the surface of cells that act like a lock. A virus with a complementary binding molecule -- the key -- can use the surface receptor to gain access to the cell. Once inside, it can multiply and infect other cells. "Deep in the respiratory system, (cell) receptors for avian viruse...

Nanotechnology may find disease before it starts

...to deliver toxic chemotherapeutic drugs that would act locally on a tissue, at the site of a tumor, and not have such a pronounced affect on the rest of the body," Rosol said. "The problem with chemotherapy is that the drug affects the whole body, causing a host of problems such as hair loss, diarrhea an...

Relic of life in that Martian meteorite? A fresh look

...ciation is important because magnetite is known to act as a catalyst in the formation of MMC. Macromolecular carbon present within the carbonate globules in ALH84001 may represent the first evidence of non-biological synthesis of organic molecules on Mars. "Although we haven't settled the debate on whe...

New DNA 'fingerprinting' technique separates hemp from marijuana

... defined by particular "marker" DNA sequences that act like bookends. The lengths of the fragments within the bookends were found to vary according to the cultivar. Thus, the pattern of fragment lengths adds up to a composite picture of each cultivar. "With this technique, we find hundreds of markers sc...

Sweet 'water taste' paradoxically predicts sweet taste inhibitors

...understand how sweet 'water taste' compounds could act both as a sweetener and as a sweet inhibitor, collaborators Marcel Winnig, Bernd Bufe, and Wolfgang Meyerhof of the German Institute of Human Nutrition conducted a series of molecular studies using cultured cells expressing the human sweet taste rece...

Potential vaccine developed for deadly leishmaniasis disease

...ia responsible for the diseases. The carbohydrates act as antigens, which stimulate the immune system to deploy a protective shield against disease. "Right now there is a major push to utilize synthetic carbohydrates as antigens in order to control the purity and composition and avoid possible contamina...

Butterflies lose body fat during metamorphosis

...says Connor. "The polyunsaturated fatty acids can act as precursor substances for prostaglandin and other ferments that may be very necessary in the health of both the larva and the butterfly and, in particular, the transformation during metamorphosis. The mantra is that every organism has a specific d...

Formation of cellulose fibers tracked for the first time

...ard to pinpoint," Ehrhardt said. "The microtubules act as more than a general scaffold for organizing the cell wall; individual elements of the microtubule array appear to actively direct the pattern of the cellulose fibers. This work should set a long-standing discussion to rest." ...

Botox could help target resistant tumors for treatment

...rsistence for a longer time than other agents that act on tumor vasculature. Further research may help us determine whether this approach would be useful to treating cancer in humans." The Gallez study was conducted by Réginald Ansiaux, Christine Baudelet, Greg Cron, Jérôme Segers, Chantal Dessy, Philip...

Protein 'nanosprings' most resilient found in nature

...nth of a meter. "Whereas other known proteins can act like floppy springs, ankyrin molecules behave more...n seen in any other protein." The ankyrin repeats act like linear springs, meaning that their tension is directly proportional to their extension, Marszal...

A new focus for the mechanism of nerve growth

...tend growth cones, highly flexible extensions that act as environmental sensors. Growth cones use the information they gather to direct advance of the nerve cells and it has long been known that such advance depends on the coordinated assembly of actin filament networks. This study implicates the molec...

Watching the brain switch off 'self'

...ion. Now, researchers have caught the brain in the act of losing "self" as it shuts down introspection during a demanding sensory task. The researchers--led by Rafael Malach and Ilan Goldberg of the Weizmann Institute of Science reporting in the April 20, 2006, issue of Neuron--say their findings show ...

Team discovers possible 'universal strategy' to combat addiction

... drug addiction," Zhang says. "Most drugs of abuse act on the neurons in this area." He cautions that much work remains to be done before a treatment based on the discovery could be developed to help drug addicts. This includes several years of further testing, including animal and, finally, human trial...

Scientists seek to unwrap the sweet mystery of the sugar coat on bacteria

...r-binding proteins called lectins. The lectin dots act like microbe Velcro. Bacteria with a surface sugar that matches a specific lectin stick to that lectin dot. Because the bacteria are fluorescently labeled, Mahal and her colleagues can read the patterns of glowing dots and determine which sugars coat...

World shark attacks dipped in 2005, part of long-term trend

...Burgess said. "A person who is under attack should act aggressively toward the shark and not follow the advice given to women who are having their purses snatched in New York City, which is to lie on the ground, play dead and give up the purse." Despite the worldwide decline, the number of attacks in th...

Scientists reveal how deadly toxin hijacks cells

...death. By capitalizing on the ability of botox to act on a localized group of muscles, doctors have strategically used the toxin to treat an array of medical troubles, including migraine headaches, chronic inflammation and even stuttering. "I don't think there's a neuromuscular junction that hasn't been...

Single microRNA causes cancer in transgenic mouse

...revious study findings. "We know that miRNAs often act just like oncogenes, in that they promote abnormal cell growth that leads to cancer. Others, however, behave more like tumor suppressors, because they block genes that keep abnormal cell division in check or induce prolonged survival. Our transgenic ...

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