New research finds surveys of larval-stage organisms effective for measuring marine biodiversity
...ces of a random sampling of stomatopod larvae to a sequence database of most known mature species of mantis shrimp. The comparisons revealed numerous new varieties of shrimp that are completely unknown in their adult forms. "Our results show that biodiversity in mantis shrimp in these regions is estimated t...Leptin found to control appetite and limb development in frogs
...eptin in the Xenopus genome was no small feat. The sequence for the "obese" gene that makes leptin is quite different between frogs and humans, so Denver's lab had some puzzles to solve to successfully clone the frog gene. But once they solved those issues and put the gene into E. coli bacteria to make quanti......he cactus life form," explain the authors. "Such a sequence may be common in evolution, but it has rarely been documented as few studies have incorporated physiological, ecological, anatomical, and phylogenetic data." ...Loosen up, DNA: Leukemia gene changes genetic packaging
...rt of a field known as "epigenetics": Now that the sequence of chemical bases that make up our genes is largely known, scientists are turning more attention to broader mechanisms of how the body controls those genes, turning them on and off as needed. It's a crucial issue for diseases like cancer, where man...The molecular post office inside the cell
... element to this machine's functioning is a signal sequence located at the N-terminal end of the protein to be sorted. The sequence acts as a kind of "postal code" in the cell. The SRP reads the sequence as soon as the newly built p...Gut microbes' partnership helps body extract energy from food, store it as fat
...ions, Gordon and his colleagues are completing the sequence of the M. smithii genome and sequencing the genomes of many other members of the normal human gut microbial community. This effort is part of a human gut "microbiome" project. "We believe that this project is a logical extension of the human genome...Researcher gives hard thoughts on soft inheritance
...gists call hard inheritance because the nucleotide sequence of DNA is constant and only changes by rare random...g DNA Epigenetic mechanisms leave DNA sequence unaltered but can affect DNA by preventing the expression of genes. Richards cites a study that sho......nd Capecchi took a small portion of the regulatory sequence from gene Hoxb1 (which controls facial expressions...ars. But when a portion of the Hoxb1 regulatory sequence was inserted into Hoxa1, the new gene performed the jobs of both genes. Mice born with the combined ...Small molecule interactions were central to the origin of life
...res the combination of diverse chemicals in a long sequence of reactions in a specific order, interspersed by complicated separations, purifications, and changes in locale. Instead, Shapiro introduces the idea of a "driver" reaction, linked to a free energy source, that helps convert an unorganized mixture ...Dissecting the machinery of nicotine's reward
...cessary requirement for the full expression of the sequence of events leading to nicotine reinforcement." The researchers said that the findings "are consistent with the suggestion of a hierarchical role of the two subunits." While the ß2 subunit would mediate a "global tonic" regulation of dopamine-producin...Pathway toward gene silencing described in plants
...le for methylation of DNA sequences that match the sequence of the siRNAs, but not without a lot of help from ...proteins in the pathway but also have provided the sequence of events that leads to methylation. It is a twisted, and ultimately circular path, but Pikaard and...When it comes to gene transcription, random pauses aren’t quite so random, study finds
...onsists of a set of DNA bases arranged in a unique sequence that carries explicit instructions for building a ... moving along the DNA strand until the entire gene sequence is transcribed onto the encoded RNA, which then serves as a template for building the actual protein...Himalayan forests disappearing
...ar temporal order; we rarely consider the temporal sequence of motor actions themselves," wrote Mushiake and colleagues. "The properties of PFC neurons that we observed in the present study are compatible with behavioral planning based on future events. "If we assume that planning for multiple movements in m...The brain's executive is an 'event planner'
...ar temporal order; we rarely consider the temporal sequence of motor actions themselves," wrote Mushiake and colleagues. "The properties of PFC neurons that we observed in the present study are compatible with behavioral planning based on future events. "If we assume that planning for multiple movements in m...First-ever genomic test predicts which lung cancer patients need chemotherapy to live
...ne chip. There, it binds to its complementary DNA sequence on the gene chip. When scanned with special light, the fluorescent RNA emits a telltale luminescence that demonstrates how much RNA is present on the chip ?and thus which genes are most active in a given tumor. The physicians then use a rigorous st...Encoded metallic nanowires reveal bioweapons
...uced. The pattern of optical reflections from each sequence of stripes can later be unambiguously recognized--just like a barcode. Antibodies aimed at specific pathogens can be attached to these wires. For their test runs, Tok and his colleagues selected harmless model substances to stand in for anthrax spor...Gold nanoparticles could improve antisense cancer drugs
...in (EGFP) expressed in a mouse cell. The antisense sequence of the DNA attached to the nanoparticles was complementary to the mRNA for EGFP expression. When the nanoparticles were introduced to the cells the fluorescence dimmed -- a result of the nanoparticles binding to the mRNA and shutting down the protein...Even a little cooling helps after cardiac arrest
...cycle. Snails to crabs to birds might be a typical sequence for one species, snails to fish to birds for another. These trematodes also stand apart from other parasites in that they cause negligible disease for their highest trophic level hosts, usually birds. The worms' lifecycle thus typically begins in a s...How healthy is that marsh? Biologists count parasites
...cycle. Snails to crabs to birds might be a typical sequence for one species, snails to fish to birds for another. These trematodes also stand apart from other parasites in that they cause negligible disease for their highest trophic level hosts, usually birds. The worms' lifecycle thus typically begins in a s......st with the release this week of the most complete sequence of the cow genome ever assembled. Developed by a...g CSIRO and AgResearch New Zealand, the new bovine sequence contains 2.9 billion DNA base pairs and incorporates one-third more data than earlier versions. ...