Tag: "selective" at biology news

Simulations unravel outer membrane transport mechanism

...e bacteria is not a simple task. The cells must be selective in what substances they take up, and the outer membrane contains no energy-generating machinery to power the job of hauling large molecules inside. The new study examined an outer membrane transport system that depends on an energy-generating inne...

In mice, drug protects against diabetes and atherosclerosis

...ure article as a "rationally designed, potent, and selective inhibitor of aP2" that blocks the protein's ability to bind with fatty acids -- the function that leads to inflammatory and metabolic havoc when a high-fat or high-cholesterol diet is consumed. The drug appears to have no effect on lean animals eatin...

Brightening prospects of using fluorescent nanotubes in medical applications

...ters to burn away cancer cells. He has developed a selective method for attaching the gold clusters to the surface of tumors and then exposing them to wavelengths of light that cause them to grow hot enough to destroy nearby cells. The approach has one drawback: He doesn’t have an easy way to identify the loca...

Newly discovered antibody may be body's natural defense against Alzheimer's

...lood of normal individuals. The basis for the selective recognition of oligomers by these antibodies appears to be their capacity to recognize the oligomer's misfolded shape. "That was a surprise, because most antibodies work by recognizing some aspect of the chemical structure of their target -- not ...

Progress toward an antitumor vaccine

...ctious diseases: immunization. The production of a selective vaccine is not a trivial task, however. A team led by Horst Kunst at the University of Mainz has now found a way to bind a molecule that is typical for tumors to a carrier protein without irritating the immune system. As they report in the journal An...

Human stem cell treatment restores motor function in paralyzed rats

...re still partially connected, but there has been a selective loss of inhibitory neurons in the spinal cord. Since these cells are necessary for coordinated motor activity, our research aims to replace these lost neurons by grafting new spinal stem cells, which repopulates the pool of degenerated neurons.” ...

Researchers identify gene involved in dog size

...f the gray wolf more than 15,000 years ago. Due to selective breeding by humans throughout history, dogs today exhibit an extremely wide range of body types and behaviors. In fact, dogs exhibit the greatest diversity in body size of any mammalian species. In their study, researchers explored the genetic bas...

Human's ecological footprint in 2015 and Amazonia revealed

...on goes far beyond clearing large areas of forest; selective logging and other canopy damage is much more pervasive than once believed. Deforestation causes collateral damage to the surrounding forests ?through enhanced drying of the forest floor, increased frequency of fires, and lowered productivity. The lo...

Selectivity is ultimate aphrodisiac

...hat romantic desire comes in two distinct flavors: selective and unselective," Eastwick added. "If your goal is to get someone to notice you, the unselective flavor is going to fail, and fast." The need to feel special or unique could be a broad motivation that stretches across our social lives, the study c...

Secret of worm's poison pill box protein could produce new natural insecticide

...chers also discovered that, while XptA1 was highly selective in that it bound to the cabbage white butterfly caterpillar, there were variants of this family of toxic proteins (such as XptA2) that targeted other insects. Dr Sarah Lee from the University of Warwick said: "This research gives us crucial new...

Scientists find method to pick noncompetitive animals, improve production

...Muir said. The tool makes it possible to design selective breeding programs to effectively reduce competitive interactions in livestock, he said. The method also aids in predicting how social interactions impact the natural evolution of species. Muir and his colleagues write about the tool and its effect...

Researchers develop technique for bacteria crowd control

...l centrifuging techniques, the new approach allows selective concentration of healthy cells," said Andrey Sokolov, Ph.D. student from Illinois Institute of Technology and contributor to the research. In addition to the development of the device used in the experimentation, research findings uncovered the e...

Finnish scientists discovered a new approach to treat virus-induced lymphomas

...ploiting reactivation of p53 as a novel and highly selective treatment modality for this virally-induced lympho...tive regulator MDM2. This is based on a potent and selective small-molecule inhibitor of the p53–MDM2 interaction, the Nutlin-3a, originally discovered by Dr Lyu...

Selective marker found to indicate aggressive form of breast cancer

...l School demonstrate that nestin could represent a selective biological marker for basal epithelial breast tumors, a highly aggressive cancer with similarities to mammary stem cells, the regenerative cells believed to be the site of breast cancer initiation. "Patients with this type of breast cancer are a...

New antibacterials being developed to tackle MRSA superbug

..."The antibiotic that we are developing is far more selective than those currently in use, targeting only staphylococcal infections," says Dr Lloyd Czaplewski, Director of Research at Prolysis. "Other, broad-spectrum antibiotics tend to kill the patient's natural bacteria, leaving them open to secondary infecti...

Erectile dysfunction in diabetes is due to selective defect in the brain

... that erectile dysfunction in diabetes is due to a selective defect in the NO mechanisms within the PVN. This defect is a loss in the synthetic enzyme for the production of NO within the neurons of the PVN. Restoring this synthetic enzyme may have a significant therapeutic value for diabetic patients with ED. ...

New sensor detects gaseous chemical weapon surrogates in 45 seconds

...ming pools. "QPAS is an extremely sensitive and selective chemical detection technique that can be miniaturized and yet is still practical to operate in field environments," said Michael Wojcik, a research scientist at PNNL. "The laser, tuning fork and other technology needed for QPAS are so simple, and yet...

FDA causes unnecessary scare about common painkillers

...b (Celebrex®) that are in a special class known as selective COX-2 inhibitors because of the hormone they target. The other NSAIDs are known as "non-selective." Furberg said while the evidence for the non-selective NSAIDs is somewhat limited, an analysis combining several small studies found that high doses...

Meeting the ethanol challenge: Scientists use supercomputer to target cellulose bottleneck

...n provide crucial guidance as scientists formulate selective experiments to modify the enzyme complex for improved efficiency." What the scientists found in their simulations ?a "virtual microscope" that let them zoom in on previously invisible details -- is that initially the binding part of the enzyme mo...

Novel experiment documents evolution of genome in near-real time

...selection of individuals with traits that convey a selective survival advantage. "Opinion surveys indicate that many people don't believe that evolution occurs," said Herring, "but if the skeptics could witness evolution actually occurring, as we did, I think they'd be more likely to believe that it's not just...

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