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Tag: "function" at biology news

Experience affects new neuron survival in adult brain; study sheds light on learning, memory

...posed to the same experience later. This change in function may be a mechanism for long-term memory. The findings are published in the March 21 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience . "The results identify a critical period for experience-induced enhancement of new neuron survival in the hippocampus," says...

Study of planarians offers insight into germ cell development

... cells. "This is the first time that nanos gene function has been studied in a non-traditional model organism," Newmark said. "This is important because planarians, like mammals, seem to make their germ cells by an inductive mechanism. So we’re hoping that we can use the molecular biological tools availabl...

Bacteria research offers hope for new vaccine against meningococci

...ow possible to rapidly and effectively monitor the function of various vaccine candidates and new drugs, obviating the numerous costly and time-consuming tests that have been necessary until now. At the same time, the system provides a clear picture of the process of infection. “With these findings as too...

New protein implicated in autism

..., leading to the suggestion that defects in CADPS2 function might predispose individuals to develop autism. ...

MIT biologists solve vitamin puzzle

... substrate," she said. One early clue to BluB's function was that a gene related to it is located near several other genes involved in B12 synthesis in a different bacterium. Still, the researchers were not convinced that one enzyme could perform all of the complicated chemistry needed to produce DMB. "...

Tears reveal some of their deepest secrets to researchers

...pid activity in humans and may also indicate a new function for oleamide and related lipids in cellular signal...adding that researchers don't fully understand the function of oleamide, or the other lipids in the meibum. "Oleamide appears to be a predominate lipid in te...

Pacific Rim researchers to collaborate on distributed bioinformatics analysis of avian flu

... end, researchers intend to: Characterize the function of the influenza viruses using a structure-based approach; Develop simulations of the molecular dynamics involving interactions among major factors that may determine the virulence of a virus; and Test whether the multinational collaboration can...

Cells use 'noise' to make cell-fate decisions

...electrical circuit in an attempt to understand the function of the electrical device in which the circuit is housed. "Our research provides a systems-level view of how gene circuits work as a whole," he said. Dr. Süel said the next step in his research would be to uncover the theoretical design principl...

Boosting brain power -- with chocolate

...nd in chocolate could be useful in enhancing brain function for people fighting fatigue, sleep deprivation, and even the effects of ageing. Ian Macdonald, professor of metabolic physiology at The University of Nottingham, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect increased activity in specific areas ...

New evidence of 'human' culture among primates

...es that could hit the predator below. The main function of the act would appear to be that of a "loudspeaker", however. Partly, this is to advise the predator that it has been spotted. But Dr Moura also speculates that because the Capuchins spread out widely in the dry forested areas of north-east Brazil ...

Moonlighting enzyme linked to neurodegenerative disease

...s continuously synthesized, and it carries out its function before it breaks down. Some proteins degrade more ...atients. Dr. Isaya says: "Understanding protein function is central to being able to provide individualized clinical care to patients who may, for example, c...

Motor protein plays key role in connecting neurons

... molecule," she says. In fact, she suspects the function of myosin X changes as the neuron develops. She ha...on," Dr. Xiong says. She suspects that negative function surfaces when the spinal cord is cut and plans to examine whether the protein is degraded in spinal ...

Scientists unravel clue in cortisol production

... "One of the best ways to try and figure out the function of a protein or a gene is to get rid of it or mutate it so that it's not acting normally. Then you compare it with one that is acting normally," said Sewer. In this study, they focused on a protein known as steriodogenic factor 1 (SF-1), which is ...

MicroRNAs can be tumor suppressors

...ed that microRNAs, a form of genetic material, can function as tumor suppressors in laboratory studies. In the May 1 issue of Genes & Development, UVa researchers Drs. Yong Sun Lee and Anindya Dutta have shown that microRNAs can suppress the overexpression of a gene called HMGA2. This gene is related to...

Study finds mercury prevalent in many western fish

...evels between salmonids and piscivores is likely a function of their diet," Hughes said. "Most of the salmonids we sampled were insect-eaters. Older, very large salmon may respond more like piscivores, but we didn't sample salmonids of that size." In looking at mercury levels in fish across the West, the ...

Army research mission focused on autism

... the root cause of the problems. With sleep and GI function operating optimally, many of the residual behaviors we see in children with autism decrease significantly." Reynolds speaks from experience. With biomedical and behavior intervention, her son is now a well-functioning 11 year old. "We were luck...

How stem cells are regulated

...entified a new group of proteins that regulate the function of stem cells. The results are published in the new issue of Cell. All living organisms, including human beings, consist of a number of specialised cell types that all originate from the same type of primal cell; the embryonic stem cell. Stem cells ...

New dopamine brain target discovered

...ling pathway through which dopamine can impact the function of brain cells", said Dr. George. "This is significant because signalling through calcium release is a major mechanism regulating many important functions in the brain and we have provided the first direct mechanism by which dopamine can activate a ...

Brown team finds crucial protein role in deadly prion spread

... known to be required for prion replication, could function as this protein "crusher," Serio thought. To test these ideas, Serio and members of her lab studied Sup35, a yeast protein similar to the human prion protein PrP. They put Sup35 together with Hsp104, then activated and deactivated Hsp104. They fou...

Blocking immune cell action increases Alzheimer's-associated protein deposits

... author. "This new connection between immune cell function and this debilitating disease suggests potential new therapeutic strategies." While it has been known that the immune system reacts against amyloid-beta in the brain, the relation of that response to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease has not b...

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