Mechanism of nicotine's learning effects explored
...nsmitters are the chemical signals that one neuron launches at another to trigger a nerve impulse in the receiving neuron. In their studies, Mansvelder and colleagues found that by activating acetylcholine receptors, nicotine affects a process called “spike-timing-dependent potentiation?that governs change...Nerve cell software keeps track of brain change
...ch will get a boost tomorrow (14 October) as CSIRO launches in the United States its HCA-Vision nerve cell analysis software at Neuroscience 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia, the world's largest conference for brain researchers. HCA-Vision is based on a proprietary mathematical method, patented by Australia's CSIRO,...PLoS ONE is launched by the Public Library of Science
...ceives in excess of 100 submissions each month and launches with the publication of 100 peer-reviewed research articles. The volume of articles is unprecedented for a journal launch, and is an indication of the strong support within the research community for the PLoS ONE approach. The articles published to...NASA study: Alaskan fires affected Houston air quality in 2004
...ell Center for Sustainability. TOPP involved daily launches of weather balloons from Rice's campus south of downtown. The balloons measured ozone levels from the ground to altitudes of more than 100,000 feet, offering the first clear picture of how much ozone was present in each layer of the atmosphere above ...Molecular 'on/off switch' controls immune defenses against viruses
...ication. The researchers also found that the virus launches a counterattack on RIG-I, producing a protein called a protease to disrupt the signaling process, preventing interferon production and allowing viral replication. Just how RIG-I signaling is normally regulated, however, hadn't been known. In t...Analysis of breast-cancer gene role offers promising target
...s of drugs a patient will respond to. The gene launches a biochemical process in which a molecule called plasmin perforates the membranes of tissues, causing the membranes to break down and allowing the cancer cells to escape into the bloodstream and to adjacent tissues. The result is metastasizing breast...Knowledge of dendritic cells branches out
... immune system mistakes "self " for "foreign " and launches an attack. Since DC are central to many immune responses, they are potential targets for the development of new immune therapies. Since their discovery in the US in 1975, it has been known that DC, like other white blood cells, develop from stem cel...Experimental RNA-based drug kills prostate cancer cells effectively and safely
..., the second module, which contains silencing RNA, launches its effect. The silencing RNA seeks out and binds to the RNA for a specific cancer-causing protein, called PLK1, and tags it for destruction. This eventually leads to the death of the cancer cell. The researchers first tested the drug in culture di...Parkinson's disease mechanism discovered
...urotransmitter -- chemical signals that one neuron launches at its neighbor to trigger a nerve impulse. "Of all the neurotransmitters, dopamine has a higher potential for being toxic," she said. "Its toxicity is normally prevented in the neuron by sequestration within vesicles for transport from the ER. But ...BioMed Central launches Biology Direct
...nal, available online at www.biology-direct.com , launches with publications in the fields of Systems Biology, Computational Biology, and Evolutionary Biology, with an Immunology section to follow soon. Biology Direct considers original research articles, hypotheses, and reviews and will eventually cover the...Two NIH initiatives launch intensive efforts to find roots of common diseases
...pinnings of common illnesses. The other initiative launches a public-private partnership between NIH, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, especially Pfizer Global Research & Development of New London, Conn.; and Affymetrix Inc. ...Genomics-based vaccine could prevent deadly cattle disease
... a role in immunity. What's more, because T. parva launches a cancer-like illness inside the white blood cells of cattle, it may provide a model system for understanding the mechanics of cancer biology. But for Nene, who was born in Kenya and worked at ILRI for 15 years before coming to TIGR in 2001, the ma...Engineered mouse mimics cognitive aspects of schizophrenia
...in the brain--a chemical messenger that one neuron launches at its neighbor to trigger a nerve impulse in the receiving neuron. The major antipsychotic drugs are believed to "dial down" the dopamine machinery by blocking receptors for dopamine on the surface of neurons. Also, amphetamines, which release dopa...... that connect the brain to the iris of the eye. It launches the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from sac-like vesicles across the synapse to two types of receptors, called alpha 7 and alpha 3. Sejnowski and his colleagues transformed their map into a functional computer model by incorporating the physiologica...Discovery of New Dopamine Action May Yield Alternative Psychiatric Drugs
...s dopamine are chemical messengers that one neuron launches at receptors on another to trigger a nerve impulse in the receiving neuron. Receptors are protein switches on the surfaces of neurons that recognize neurotransmitters and translate their signals into a cellular response. Dopamine exerts its functions...Studies reveal methods viruses use to sidestep immune system
...HCV's tenaciousness. Once HCV infects the cell, it launches a counterattack against RIG-I, producing a protein called a protease to disrupt the cell's immune response that is otherwise turned on through RIG-I by the virus infection. The viral protease, NS3/4A, chops up essential signaling proteins involved in...