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Tag: "serve" at biology news

'Cellular antennae' on algae give clues to how human cells receive signals

...her tasks. With such a range of abilities, cilia serve as both motors and "cellular antennae," said Dr. William Snell, a professor of cell biology at UT Southwestern and senior author of new research on cilia published in the May 5 issue of Cell. Genetic defects in cilia can cause people to develop debi...

Researchers discover how bacteria sense their environments

... to a general mechanism for cellular signaling and serve as inspiration for developing molecular devices. Such devices could be used to sense a wide range of chemicals, light, ionic strength (salt), pH and heavy metals with great sensitivity, gain and dynamic range. Scientists are interested in developing ...

Mobile DNA part of evolution's toolbox

...gene, mobile elements like SINEs can be adapted to serve as regulatory elements that have powerful effects in their new locations. "When you activate a gene in a new context," Bejerano points out, "you get processes that did not occur before." Bejerano and Haussler's results support the hypothesis that t...

Analysis of breast-cancer gene role offers promising target

...p or slow the progression of the disease and could serve as a screening tool for assessing which types 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...

MIT engineers probe spiders' polymer art

...erials suspended in artificial silk-may be able to serve the same purpose. In conjunction with the polymer synthesis and analysis work of Paula T. Hammond, an MIT professor of chemical engineering, McKinley's laboratory will use the new insights about spider silk to team up with MIT's Institute for Sol...

3-D ultrasound scanner could guide robotic surgeries

... increase information available to the surgeon and serve as an additional guidance tool." ...

With record resolution and sensitivity, tool images how life organizes in a cell membrane

...ough evidence for this is limited. These rafts may serve many functions such as reacting to stress, conferring immunity through antibody response, adhering to other cells and countering bacteria and toxins. ''Many proteins live in three dimensions for part of their life and in two dimensions for part of t...

Crohn's disease gene identified

...olitis," said Cho. "However, the IL-23 pathway may serve a useful purpose in protecting us from other diseases, so when seeking to block or manipulate its activity with drugs or other means, we need to take this balancing act into consideration." Cho and co-authors represent the IBD Genetics Consortium, ...

Save the whales? Sure, but how many?

...logical functionality,' which means a species will serve its role in ecosystems, such as Pacific salmon providing marine-derived nitrogen to watersheds, or predators reducing pest species, or birds dispersing seeds. 'Sustainable human use' represents the next tier, where there are enough animals that the...

Sandia research to focus on early detection of harmful algal blooms

...Most species of algae are not harmful and actually serve as the energy producers at the depths of the food web. The dense patches (or "blooms") that sometimes accumulate near the surface of the water, however, can produce potent neurotoxins that are then transferred through the food chain, accumulating in ...

Honey bee genome holds clues to social behavior

...ngs of DNA that lie close to the gene. The strings serve as binding sites for particular molecules, called transcription factors. For example, when the correct transcription factor latches into the binding site, the gene may be switched on. If the transcription factor breaks away from the binding site, the...

'Killer' B cells demonstrate evolutionary link between fish and mammal immune systems

...system, primitive phagocytes, adapted over time to serve a more complex role as part of the immune system that humans enjoy today," Sunyer said. "There is still much we can learn about our own health through the ongoing study of immune system evolution among all organisms." ...

Asia's odd-ball antelope gets collared

...tion of this unusual nose is not clear, but it may serve to warm or filter air during Mongolia's frigid winters and notorious dust storms. Today saiga numbers have plummeted by 95 percent from an estimated one million animals just 15 years ago, due to poaching for Chinese medicines and competition with ...

Bacteria that use radiated water as food

...rom the Firmicutes as food. In a way, Firmicutes serve the same function as photosynthetic organisms, such as plankton and trees at Earth's surface, that capture sunlight energy ultimately to the benefit of everything and everyone else. In the deep subsurface case, Firmicutes species are the producers, c...

Reading Shakespeare has dramatic effect on human brain

...l shift that involves, for example using a noun to serve as a verb. Researchers found that this technique allows the brain to understand what a word means before it understands the function of the word within a sentence. This process causes a sudden peak in brain activity and forces the brain to work bac...

Professors to develop hand-held pathogen testing device

...roducing the cholera toxin is harmful. These genes serve as good markers for detection. Hashsham's device will be designed to look for such marker genes. "This technology is rugged and highly parallel; it can analyze lots of marker genes in a lot of samples, together with significantly lower false posit...

New moth variety disarms plants guarded by selenium

...hypothesis proposes that hyperaccumulated elements serve a defensive function against herbivory, the predation of plants by animals. In their new work, the researchers showed that the selenium in the hyperaccumulator plant species known as prince's plume (Stanleya pinnata) protects it from caterpillar ...

Single molecular 'mark' seen as pivotal for genome compaction in spores and sperm

...predetermined combinations, so that one strand can serve as a template for the other. "Compaction might also affect sperm fertility and function in the higher organisms, and thus the propagation of the species," says Thanuja Krishnamoorthy, Ph.D., lead author on the study. "It's vital that we better under...

New HIV statistics indicate increasing toll of AIDS on African American community

...ity-building investments in the organizations that serve them is critical. Efforts to address homophobia and related stigma, discrimination and violence ?all of which increase HIV risk among black MSM ?are also needed. Reduce impact of incarceration as driver of new HIV infections. ?AIDS cases among ...

New engineered drug may offer prolonged arthritis relief

...likewise would assemble into clumps in the body to serve as "drug depots" that gradually release active drug particles, the researchers said. "Although the conventional drug is being used for autoimmune diseases, no one yet knows how much of it would be needed to achieve a therapeutic effect for osteoart...

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