Tag: "turns" at biology news

It's not all genetic: Common epigenetic problem doubles cancer risk in mice

...ation, but an "epigenetic" problem that improperly turns on the copy of the IGF2 gene that should remain off. Unlike most genes, the copy of IGF2 that should be silent depends only on which parent it came from, a situation called genomic imprinting. For IGF2, the copy inherited from the mother is always s...

Columbia research lifts major hurdle to gene therapy for cancer

...th of the molecules flip a switch (called PEG)that turns on the production of a cancer-inhibiting protein uniquely intumor cells.The researchers say the PEG switch can be exploited to produce genetherapies that will only kill cancer cells even if the therapy entersnormal cells.As an example, the researcher...

Plants, animals share molecular growth mechanisms

...at a WAVE protein they've dubbed DISTORTED3 (DIS3) turns on APR 2/3, which in turn triggers formation of new, growing actin filaments. Because some genes have survived through time as multicellular life evolved, they have been conserved in both plants and animals, Szymanski said. So, some of the plant pro...

Weill Cornell Research Reveals Secrets Of Trafficking Within Cells

...eally paid off in terms of results, he added. "It turns out that clathrin regulates endocytosis in a manner we never suspected before. It's not a linear relationship, where simply doubling the amount of clathrin doubles the speed at which vesicles are shuttled back and forth," Dr. Ryan explained. "Instead...

Probing The Promise And Perils Of Nanoparticles

... genes—to see if they behaved like dendrimers. "It turns out that they cause the same permeability and, in general, they cause membrane destruction as well," said Banaszak Holl. Neutral polymers, however, did not damage membranes. Both Leroueil's work and the earlier research used model membranes to probe...

Introduced foxes transformed vegetation on Aleutian Islands from lush grasslands to tundra

...ush grasslands to scrubby, low-growing tundra. It turns out that the nutrient-poor volcanic soils of the Aleutian archipelago can only support dense grasslands if they receive regular doses of fertilizer in the form of bird droppings. On islands without foxes, seabirds transfer nutrients from the ocean to...

Researchers trace evolution to relatively simple genetic changes

...in the forehead and nose. Now, Kingsley said, "it turns out that armor plate patterns in the fish are cont..., we think, in the (gene's) control regions, which turns the gene on and off on cue." So it seems that evolution of the fish is based on how the Eda gene is ...

Octopuses occasionally stroll around on two arms, UC Berkeley biologists report

...in the forehead and nose. Now, Kingsley said, "it turns out that armor plate patterns in the fish are cont..., we think, in the (gene's) control regions, which turns the gene on and off on cue." So it seems that evolution of the fish is based on how the Eda gene is ...

Studies reveal methods viruses use to sidestep immune system

...hers describe how an essential gene, called RIG-I, turns on a cascade of host immune defenses when the hepa...terferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3). This protein turns on the genes responsible for producing interferon, which neutralizes viruses by suppressing their re...

Falling ants glide back to trunk to avoid dangers of forest floor

...ally bounce off. They can actually make 180 degree turns in midair, however, so even when they fail the fir...come in backwards," Dudley said. "Their 180-degree turns are pretty dramatic in the absence of wings." The team found that, unlike flying squirrels that can...

Cricket's finicky mating behavior boosts biodiversity

...y is going to be." In down-to-earth terms: "What turns a female cricket on? Why does she prefer one pulse rate over another? Whatever the reason, it's very important that she exercise this preference in order to keep the species distinct." Mendelson spent three and one-half years studying the Laupala cr...

Probing the promise and perils of nanoparticles

...enes---to see if they behaved like dendrimers. "It turns out that they cause the same permeability and, in general, they cause membrane destruction as well," said Banaszak Holl. Neutral polymers, however, did not damage membranes. Both Leroueil's work and the earlier research used model membranes to probe...

Polymers with copper show promise for implanted sensors

...doing this, the researchers found, is copper. "It turns out that copper ions can act as catalysts to take nitrosothiols and generate nitric oxide from them," said Meyerhoff. So the U-M team has been creating polymers that include a copper ion-containing complex. They've demonstrated that complexed copper ...

Transgenic plants remove more selenium from polluted soil than wild plants, new tests show

...ral Resources and co-lead author of the study. "It turns out that our field test results were better than those from the greenhouse, and that was a surprise." In California, as much as 100,000 cubic meters of sediment contaminated with selenium, salt and boron remain in the San Luis Drain, a concrete-line...

Multi-purpose protein regulates new protein synthesis and immune cell development

.... This leads to production of a new protein, which turns on genes in the UPR signaling pathway and directs cells to secrete large amounts of protein. The University of Michigan has filed a U.S. patent application covering the IRE1-mediated processing of XBP1 mRNA. Other scientists have shown that XBP1 hel...

Love's all in the brain: fMRI study shows strong, lateralized reward, not sex, drive

...love and motivation networks in the brain. "As it turns out, romantic love is probably best characterized as a motivation or goal-oriented state that leads to various specific emotions, such as euphoria or anxiety," Aron noted. "With this view, it becomes clearer why the lover expresses such an imperative...

Defenseless plants arm themselves with metals

...el regulator - the one gene or group of genes that turns a plant into a hyperaccumulator," said David Salt,... extra mechanism? There has to be more to it." It turns out the plants Salt studies - a group of small, weedy alpine flowers called Thlaspi - lack the stand...

Some Brain Cells 'Change Channels' To Fine-tune The Message

...ng more than just keeping the cell alive. "Calcium turns some processes on, and it turns others off," he says. "My personal belief is that the cells might be doing more than just protecting...

Scientists journey to southern Africa to unravel the secret world of elephant communication

...ing, bathing, smelling, feeding and scratching. It turns out that the tip of the trunk contains two kinds p...icity to the problem of hearing loss in humans. It turns out that people with hearing impairments develop a much greater tactile sensitivity in the auditory ...

Decoding the logic of olfaction

... up" with a characteristic pattern of activity. It turns out that pattern is, perhaps unsurprisingly, unique from the pattern of brain activity associated with a whiff of skunk spray. The process of smelling an odor begins with odorant receptors that are located on the surface of nerve cells inside the no...

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