New research questions basic tenet of neuron function
...cal signal is transmitted to other neurons. It is known that synaptic vesicles release their neurotransmitters in two different "modes" ?one when the neuron is stimulated and actively relaying a message, and the other through spontaneous release when the neuron is "at rest," or inactive. Until now it was ...Weill Cornell Research Reveals Secrets Of Trafficking Within Cells
...istry at Weill Cornell Medical College. "It's well known in obesity, for example, that even a tiny change i...lock. As Dr. Ryan explained, scientists have long known how to gauge the importance of particular proteins, using a kind of Òon/offÓ comparison. They do thi...New Study from Affymetrix Laboratories Points to Changing View of How Genome Works
...pping transcription. While the team validated many known protein-coding transcripts that contribute to this complex pool, they also discovered that: Seventy-five percent of all of the RNA that were exclusively found in the nucleus had not been previously detected. Any single base in the genome can be tra...Discovery of key protein's shape could lead to improved bacterial pneumonia vaccine
...ect the body. S. pneumoniae is the only bacterium known to use CbpA to invade humancells by binding to pIgR, according to Richard W. Kriwacki, Ph.D.,associate member of St. Jude Structural Biology. Kriwacki is seniorauthor of the EMBO Journal report.“The fact that we now know the structure of this importa...New comparative toxicogenomics database
...ect the body. S. pneumoniae is the only bacterium known to use CbpA to invade humancells by binding to pIgR, according to Richard W. Kriwacki, Ph.D.,associate member of St. Jude Structural Biology. Kriwacki is seniorauthor of the EMBO Journal report.“The fact that we now know the structure of this importa...Taking Aim With Nanoparticle PEBBLEs
...l from slingshots; they're nanoscale polymer beads known as Photonic Explorers for Biomedical use with Biologically Localized Embedding (PEBBLEs). First developed as sensors to explore and monitor cellular processes, PEBBLEs now hold promise for diagnosing and treating cancer, said Raoul Kopelman, who is ...ASU researchers finds novel chemistry at work to provide parrot's vibrant red colors
...he eye. For more than a century, biochemists have known that parrots use an unusual set of pigments to produce their rainbow of plumage colors, but their biochemical identity has remained elusive. Now, an Arizona State University researcher has uncovered the chemistry behind the colors of parrots, describ...Elephants imitate truck noises, other animals
...s that are not typical of their species, the first known example after humans of vocal learning in a non-primate terrestrial mammal. The discovery, reported in today's Nature, further supports the idea that vocal learning is important for maintaining individual social relationships among animals that separ...Transport System Smuggles Medicines Into Brain
...he eye. For more than a century, biochemists have known that parrots use an unusual set of pigments to produce their rainbow of plumage colors, but their biochemical identity has remained elusive. Now, an Arizona State University researcher has uncovered the chemistry behind the colors of parrots, describ...Placenta Is A Rich Source Of Blood Stem Cells
.... Only the fetal liver, where blood stem cells are known to expand tremendously, had greater numbers of blood stem cells. Children's Hospital Boston is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults for ove...Probing The Promise And Perils Of Nanoparticles
...anaszak Holl's lab has been studying nanoparticles known as dendrimers, tiny spheres whose width is ten thousands times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. Dendrimers have shown promise for precisely delivering drugs to their targets inside the body, but high concentrations of these nanoparticles c...Open microfluidic and nanofluidic systems
...e AFM experiments were first performed, it was not known how to produce a certain liquid morphology since there was no systematic theory for the dependence of this morphology on the materials properties and on the channel design. Such a theory has now been developed. This theory addresses the strong capill...Researchers discover molecule that causes secondary stroke
...red the cause of a deadly type of secondary stroke known as cerebral vasospasm. A constriction of the bloo...s three to 10 days following a massive brain bleed known as hemorrhagic stroke. Sixty percent of patients who survive the initial stroke develop vasospasm, a...Study shows nanoshells ideal as chemical nanosensors
...cademy ofScience finds that tailored nanoparticles known as nanoshells canenhance chemical sensing by as mu...mine theirdetailed chemical makeup. This property, known as Raman scattering, isused by medical researchers, drug designers, chemists and otherscientists to ...Gene Vaccine Protects Mice Against Development Of Her2/neu Breast Cancer
...erentially homes to specialized immunesystem cells known as dendritic cells, and infects them. Inside,VRP-neu produces high levels of the HER2/neu protein, which thedendritic cells then display on the outside of their cell surface. Thisis, in fact, a neat trick, says Lachman, because the function ofdendrit...Elephants imitate sounds as a form of social communication
...s that are not typical of their species, the first known example after humans of vocal learning in a non-primate terrestrial mammal. The discovery, reported in today's Nature, further supports the idea that vocal learning is important for maintaining individual social relationships among animals that separ...Researchers find missing genes of ancient organism
...t Yale focuses on the most ancient organism with a known genome sequence. Nanoarchaeum equitans, is a membe...scripts during the process of tRNA maturation. The known tRNA introns in organisms like yeast, however, appear to have no function. Therefore, modern tRNA in...A comprehensive response to HIV could prevent 10 million AIDS deaths in Africa by 2020
...erentially homes to specialized immunesystem cells known as dendritic cells, and infects them. Inside,VRP-neu produces high levels of the HER2/neu protein, which thedendritic cells then display on the outside of their cell surface. Thisis, in fact, a neat trick, says Lachman, because the function ofdendrit...Ants Genetic Engineering Leads To Species Interdependency
... species ina single individual.It is not currently known whether the ants benefit from having hybridsdo the work, but, as is evident from the researchers' own attempts atselective breeding and genetic engineering, combining genomes is aneasy way to produce novel characteristics that may be highlyadvantageo...Gene Therapy For Parkinson's Disease Moves Forward In Animals
...death of brain cells that produce a vital chemical known as dopamine, which carries messages that tell the body how and when to move. In tests with 31 monkeys, including a control group, scientists inserted copies of a gene to produce GDNF into a region in the front part of the brain called the striatum. T...