Tag: "active" at biology news

Critical step traced in anthrax infection

... antigen component of the bacterial toxin plays an active role in transferring the other two components of t...y as a passive conduit, or alternatively, plays an active role in shepherding the unfolded LF and EF molecules through," he said. The findings show that it is...

Protein synthesis can be controlled by light, opening way for new scientific, medical applications

...ged compound to light releases the effector in its active form. "It's analogous to placing an animal in a cage to restrict its activity," said Dore, "but the term 'cage' is really a misnomer because we are not actually placing a molecule inside of a molecule." The team developed a caged anisomycin compoun...

Moffitt-USF head toward first human trials of anti-cancer drug that targets protein AKT

...ith ovarian cancer have tumors with high levels of active Akt," according to Sebti. "To our knowledge, this is the first Akt inhibitor headed toward clinical trials," said Jin Cheng, MD, PhD, USF Professor of Pathology and Interdisciplinary Oncology. Cheng and Sebti's study results were published in the j...

The making and breaking of microtubules

Microtubules are active protein polymers critical to the structure and function of cells and the process of cell division. In a living cell their growing ends constantly elongate and retreat in a thrashing frenzy of polymerization and depolymerization, like the writhing sna...

Amazon source of 5-year-old river breath

...imate change." For example, data from a region of active deforestation in the southern Amazon already shows that the carbon leaving rivers has an identifiable isotopic signature of pasture grasses. "You're changing the land use, changing vegetation and other conditions. In terms of what's being respired, ...

Scientists inhibit cancer gene

...red to have a highly "expressed" -- meaning highly active -- mutant of the Ras oncogene. Such mice were first developed years ago. Prior studies had demonstrated that these mice were very prone to tumors. For the new study, the Hunstman Cancer Institute team deleted the DGK iota gene in these mice and found...

Any exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy is risky

...nmental and occupational health, reports that both active maternal smoking and secondary maternal exposure r... secondary ?exposure causes just as much damage as active smoking, and it is the same kind of damage," said Dr. Grant, whose primary area of study is genotoxi...

Researchers discover mechanism for multiplying adult stem cells

...a gene called Oct4, a molecule that is known to be active in the early embryonic stage of an organism. Oct4'...or was unexpected, even though Oct4 is known to be active in certain forms of testicular and ovarian cancer. Still, the most provocative finding was that "Oct...

Deep thinking: Scientists sequence a cold-loving marine microbe

..., cold-adapted enzymes hold industrial promise, as active ingredients in coldwater detergents, clean-up for industrial contaminants, and food treatments. Psychrophiles could hold clues to microbial life on other planets, as well, such as the frozen surface of Mars or one of Jupiter's moons, Europa. As yet, ...

Study shows humans have ability to track odors, much like bloodhounds

...ientists to see which areas of the brain were most active during sniffing and attempts to identify and local...of the brain outside the olfactory cortex was very active during successful localization. This area, the superior temporal gyrus, is also involved in the loca...

Scripps research scientists identify infertility molecule

...s "lysophospholipids." These molecules play a more active role in the mammalian body, acting as signals for many different developmental events and adult physiology. Chun and his colleagues identified the first lysophospholipid receptor about ten years ago, when he was at the University of California, San ...

Scientists discover the body's marijuana-like compounds are crucial for stress-induced pain relief

...uptake of the compound serotonin, causing it to be active longer, Hohmann said. Apparently, several parts of the brain are involved in the effect, most notably a structure in the midbrain known as the periaqueductal gray. In this region, stress causes the release of the naturally occurring marijuana-like c...

Scripps research scientists solve structure of a critical innate immune system protein

... mechanism known as innate immune system, which is active in eukaryotic organisms as diverse as humans and fruit flies. Broadly speaking, the innate immune system works something like this. Certain cells have the ability to recognize foreign molecules such as components of membrane like LPS or other protein...

Newly discovered genetic disease sheds light on body's water balance

...ly. To test the hypothesis that V2 receptors were active in their patients even though vasopressin was absent, Feldman developed an assay for receptor activity. One marker of this activity is an increase in the amount of cyclic AMP (cAMP) within the cell. He worked in the laboratory of pediatric endocrinol...

Decisions, decisions: Male or female?

...unication, Van Doren said the same conduit also is active in humans and mice. When communication via the JAK/STAT pathway misfires, diseases such as cancer can result, he said. "Evolutionarily, germ cells are one of the most ancient cell types, needed by every type of animal to reproduce," Van Doren said. ...

Discoveries by UAB and Florida scientists may help transplanted organs survive longer

...of the report, said the group found that IL-10 was active through the heme oxygenase-dependent (HO-1) biological pathway between cells. "We found that one dose of IL-10 delivered using a viral vector delays the vascular disease from occurring," Agarwal said. "If the HO-1 pathway is blocked, the protective ...

Unexpected lock and key mechanism found for the assembly of tumor blood vessels

..., both cell types receive survival signals at this active stage of blood vessel development, which occurs mainly in tumors in adults," said Varner. "This was a chance discovery, which was exciting, and we think it may have important clinical significance." In their current studies of breast cancer patients...

Compound might defeat African sleeping sickness, clinical trial beginning this month

...me enters the brain." The new drug candidates are active because they can cross the blood-brain barrier, a biological wall that protects the nervous system naturally but can block beneficial drugs, he said. Work is also progressing rapidly on a new drug for drug-resistant malaria, another major threat in d...

Gene expands malaria's invasion options

...found that the two genes were 60- to-80 times more active in the sialic acid-independent parasites than in those that needed the sugar for cell entry. These results suggested that activation of the PfRh4 gene was required for the parasite to make the switch to sialic acid-independent invasion. Indeed, ...

Scientists track stealth DNA elements in primate evolution

...ific Alu elements and is currently one of the most active Alu lineages in the human genome. Some AluYb elements are still actively mobilizing in the human genome, causing insertion mutations that have led to the development of a number of heritable diseases. Dr. Batzer's team demonstrated that some AluYb s...

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