Tag: "fitting" at biology news

World's largest flower evolved from family of much tinier blooms

...ugh that it's frankly been difficult to imagine it fitting neatly into any plant family," Davis says. "Many botanists had refused to even speculate on where this botanical outlier might fit into the tree of life." Rafflesia was first discovered in the Sumatran rain forest some 180 years ago by Sir Stamford...

Loosen up, DNA: Leukemia gene changes genetic packaging

...ectly turning on genes that make tumor cells grow, fitting a more traditional view of how genes are turned on and off. The new findings make the molecule something of a super-oncogene with more global control than scientists had considered. The signaling system thus seems unique because it can both cause can...

Scientist warns of threat to last stronghold of endangered turtle

...ide the basis for efforts to safeguard them. After fitting them with satellite trackers the team are using the internet to follow their journeys, which are among the longest in the animal kingdom. Dr Brendan Godley, of the University of Exeter, said: "Pacific leatherbacks have been decimated by incidental ...

Worm hormone discovery may aid fight against parasitic disease

...monal ligand identified in C. elegans. Like a key fitting into a lock, the newfound ligand binds to a protein in the cell's nucleus called a nuclear receptor, a receptor designated DAF-12. Once that binding occurs, DAF-12 activates other genes that allow the worm to develop through its normal stages, reach ...

Researchers unravel DNA tangles and enzyme seamstresses

... to touch in an easily recognizable hook-like way, fitting together perfectly; whereas strands of unlinked DNA molecules tend to curve away when they touch each other. The findings could have implications in designing new drugs to treat cancer and infectious diseases as uncontrolled DNA linking and tangling ...

Ancient DNA provides clues to the evolution of social behavior

...to a small number of individuals,'' Chan says. By fitting modern and ancient DNA data into a standard population genetics model, Chan was able to pinpoint the drastic decline of C. sociabilis to about 2,600 years ago, when the population was likely reduced to less than 300 individuals. When a population bec...

In the mind's eye: How the brain makes a whole out of parts

...t components of that shape, almost instantaneously fitting them together like a puzzle to create an image that the individual then "sees" and understands, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University report. A team from the university's Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute describes the complex but speedy pro...

'Nanospheres' that block pain of sensitive teeth

...patite become smaller and more rounded, better for fitting inside the tiny channels in teeth. To see whether nanospheres would be successful at filling the channels they used commercially available silica nanospheres of around 40nm in diameter. Earl said: "We found these tiny spheres are really good at fi...

Genome Sequence for Haemophilus Influenzae Completed

...ped to interlock, with wedge-shaped fins or petals fitting into wedge-shaped grooves between fins of adjacent hairs. Weisel and colleagues report their findings in the Canadian Journal of Zoology. Weisel and Research Specialist Chandrasekaran Nagaswami, MD, also in Penn's Department of Cell and Developmenta...

Otter adaptations: How do otters remain sleek and warm

...ped to interlock, with wedge-shaped fins or petals fitting into wedge-shaped grooves between fins of adjacent hairs. Weisel and colleagues report their findings in the Canadian Journal of Zoology. Weisel and Research Specialist Chandrasekaran Nagaswami, MD, also in Penn's Department of Cell and Developmenta...

Stem cell training program to make its Stanford debut

... specific molecule to interact with it, like a key fitting into a lock. But the scientists found that Orf2’s active site is a surprisingly spacious barrel-like structure, unlike any protein fold ever seen before. Not only does this wide barrel allow Orf2 to act on such a wide range of aromatic molecules, its...

Promiscuous Catalytic Activity Possessed by Novel Enzyme Structure

... specific molecule to interact with it, like a key fitting into a lock. But the scientists found that Orf2’s active site is a surprisingly spacious barrel-like structure, unlike any protein fold ever seen before. Not only does this wide barrel allow Orf2 to act on such a wide range of aromatic molecules, its...

Radio-tracking associated with 'dramatic shift' in water vole sex ratio

...h Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, fitting radio-collars to water voles was associated with a "dramatic shift" in the sex ratio of the animals' offspring, casting doubt on the assumption that radio-tracking does not fundamentally affect the biology of radio-collared water voles. The water vo...

New component of the 'brakes' on nerve regeneration found

...that accepted the inhibitory molecules--like a key fitting a lock--and switched-on inhibitory signaling within the neuron. They had also shown that a protein called p75 could function as a component of the complex of proteins that make up this receptor. The puzzle, however, was that p75 is not widely made in...

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