Tag: "reaction" at biology news

A gene's first 'kiss' sets off that affair known as puberty

...ng hormone (GnRH) is secreted and sets off a chain reaction of chemical messages. Inside the hypothalamus, nerve cells release GnRH in a 'round-the-clock,' pulsatile fashion. With each secretion, the pituitary gland is stimulated to secrete its own messengers, lutenizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating ...

Spleen may be source of versatile stem cells

...that a treatment designed to address theautoimmune reaction underlying type 1 diabetes actually cured thedisease in diabetic mice. Late in 2003 they reported the mechanismbehind the earlier discovery: cells from the spleens of donor mice -intended to train the diabetic animals' immune systems not to attackisl...

Learning to fight an adversary that won't stay down

...ovations such as highly efficient polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have made it possible to identify and study the many genes responsible for antibiotic resistance in hospitals and the environment. "What has been found is that there are more antibiotic resistance genes around than we ever realized," says Dr. ...

Gene therapy converts dead bone graft to new, living tissue

...ther scientists have attempted to invoke a similar reaction in dead bone by infusing tissue-growing proteins directly into the bone. This has proven successful for the small bone transplants used in spinal fusion, but not for larger grafts, because the proteins' effectiveness wear off in just hours. By contra...

Novel Therapy Tested in Mice Could Chase Away Cat Allergies

...jected with cat allergen, GFD blocked the allergic reaction involving the human cell receptors, an indication that it might also work in people. Scientists made another set of mice allergic to cats by injecting them with cat protein and an immune system booster. These mice became “actively allergic?to cats: ...

Color-blind method opens new doors in DNA sequencing

...eries of bacterial cloning and/or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) steps, reduce its length to a manageable size of thousands of nucleotides. Using natural replicating enzymes, the DNA is tagged with four fluorescent dyes, each corresponding to a particular nucleotide. This tagging process, called Sanger seque...

Purdue proves concept of using nano-materials for drug discovery

...mbrane - in this case alumina, which separates the reaction chamber from a solution. The pores in this membran...brane's pores, it mixed with the enzyme, causing a reaction and turning blue in the process, which demonstrated that the device works. The Center for Membrane ...

Genetically modified natural killer immune cells attack, kill leukemia cells

...ptor bound to CD19 on leukemic cells, it set off a reaction that super-charged the killing activity of the NK cell. "By developing a technique for cultivating large numbers of NK cells from a small blood sample, we made it practical to consider them a potential treatment against many different types of cance...

Open microfluidic and nanofluidic systems

...rk with much smaller reagent volumes, much shorter reaction times, and the possibility of massive parallel processing. In general, this should lead to increased throughput and, thus, to reduced cost of (bio)chemical analysis. In addition, such integrated labs-on-a-chip have many potential applications in biom...

MSI releases 'moleculizer' - a new approach to simulation of intracellular biochemical networks

...ticle, entitled "Automatic generation of cellular reaction networks with Moleculizer 1.0" (pdf) describes MSI's discrete stochastic event simulator, which keeps trackof the thousands of complex species formed from pathway proteins as itsimulates reactions between them by a standard Monte Carlo method. Adisti...

World's largest rainforest drying experiment completes first phase

...d their leaves. In fact, this study shows that the reaction to drought is instead a decrease in the rate at which tree trunks grew in diameter. Many small trees, measuring 4 to 10 inches in diameter, simply stopped growing during the end of the dry season of 2000, following the first period of rainfall exclus...

Special Imaging Study Shows Failing Hearts Are 'Energy Starved'

...s actually measured the flux of ATP produced by CK reaction in the beating human heart.?/p> Specifically, ... various important biochemicals and their chemical reaction rates within the cells of various tissues. They first performed MRS on 14 healthy volunteers to meas...

Researchers develop rapid diagnostic tool for pathogen identification

...on an established method known as polymerase chain reaction that allows amplification of genetic sequences and on a technology previously used for DNA sequencing and detection of genetic polymorphisms. Genetic probes for pathogens were coupled to markers known as mass codes. After amplification, incorporated ...

Artifical cornea lets woman blind 20 years see

A severe allergic reaction to a medication robbed Elma Phifer of her vision two decades ago when she was 39. The reaction scarred her corneas and reduced the ability of her eyes to soothe their damaged surfaces by remainin...

Genetically Modified Natural Killer Immune Cells Attack, Kill Leukemia Cells

...ptor bound to CD19 on leukemic cells, it set off a reaction that super-charged the killing activity of the NK cell. "By developing a technique for cultivating large numbers of NK cells from a small blood sample, we made it practical to consider them a potential treatment against many different types of cance...

Researchers discover underwater volcano

...ommunities. Such hazards may include the explosive reaction between red-hot lava and seawater, or tsunamis that may be caused by the collapse of the newly built volcano. "It is a good idea for us to keep our eyes on this area, but there is no real reason for concern about immediate danger," said Staudigel. ...

A little stress gives beneficial oomph! to immune system

...umber of immune cells to sites of potential immune reaction could worsen pre-existing inflammatory illnesses such as cardiovascular disease or gingivitis, and autoimmune disorders such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis or psoriasis. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body. "Understanding me...

Could microbes solve Russia's chemical weapons conundrum?

...da to transform the toxic by-products contained in reaction masses (RMs) that arise when mustard is destroyed ...fication. "Bioutilization of organic compounds of reaction masses is a biotechnological method that pro-vides maximum environmental safety, since the pollutant...

Master gene controls healing of skin in fruit flies and mammals

...s the master gene that initiates the genetic chain reaction that results in cuticle repair. Wounds in mutant flies that lack the grainyhead gene fail to heal. "The genes involved in cuticle repair are activated very quickly, within 30 minutes after injury," said Joseph Pearson, a graduate student working und...

Mouse with designer liver has enhanced glucose tolerance, insulin response

... enzyme, Erk, which is elevated in normal liver in reaction to insulin stimulation. Dr. Feng concluded that the function of Gab1 in normal liver cells is to promote signaling in the Erk pathway, which reduces insulin response signals flowing through IRS and Akt proteins. "We propose that Gab1 acts as a negat...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9