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Tag: "ultraviolet" at biology news

Female butterflies go for sparkle -- not size -- when choosing to mate

...ales are attracted to the "sparkle" created by the ultraviolet reflectivity of the pupils, the white circles at t...tained the pupils' whiteness, but eliminated their ultraviolet reflectivity. "When there was no UV reflectivity, which butterflies can see, females registered a s...

Scientists get first glimpse at how plants, most animals repair UV-damaged DNA

... are able to repair DNA damage caused by the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The Ohio State University study revealed how the enzyme photolyase uses energy from visible light to repair UV damage. This enzyme is missing in all mammals, including humans, although all plants and all other animals have it. Great...

Tiny avalanche photodiodes target bioterrorism agents

...ese sensitive detectors could be combined with the ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) already pioneered by the Center for Quantum Devices to create an inexpensive detection system capable of identifying the unique spectral fingerprints of a biological agent attack. The Northwestern team, led by center dir...

Researchers discover how tumor suppressor gene works

... The enzymes are normally activated by exposure to ultraviolet light. By shutting down the enzymes, p16 keeps them from activating a huge complex of proteins, which, when active, attaches to chromosomes and turns on many genes that promote cell growth. The p16 gene works by producing a protein that attaches to ...

Ancient DNA confirms single origin of Malagasy primates

...id. Yoder said that damaging effects of moisture, ultraviolet irradiation, and tropical heat on DNA survival likely contributed to the inability to obtain DNA from some species. The only samples to yield DNA from tropical localities were the two individuals that were used as positive controls, Yoder said. "The...

Device traps, disables harmful bacteria

...unted three high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) ultraviolet (UV) air filters on the ceiling of the pool room. They compared concentrations of total bacteria, culturable bacteria and airborne endotoxin -- a poison present in gram-negative bacterial cell walls that can cause severe inflammatory responses -- wit...

Tagging pathogens with synthetic DNA 'barcodes'

...g, has created "nanobarcodes" that fluoresce under ultraviolet light in a combination of colors that can be read by a computer scanner or observed with a fluorescent light microscope. Other methods of identifying biological molecules that are available or being developed mostly involve expensive equipment, Luo ...

Looks matter to female barn swallows

...t Arizona State University in Tempe. "Factors like ultraviolet radiation from the sun, soiling and even feather degrading bacteria are known to affect the color of bird feathers once they are grown, and perhaps the best males are those who spend more time preening and protecting their plumage." The paper's othe...

Researchers seek to discover what really happens when a virus enters the body

...elevant markers from the virus and the host. Under ultraviolet lighting, the chemical stains become fluorescent, allowing Bell and Duca to capture images of the laboratory dish at regular time intervals as the infection progresses. The images then provide Bell and Duca with information about innate immune respon...

How monarch butterflies are wired for navigation

... that machinery. Their findings show that the same ultraviolet light that has become an anathema to cancer-wary h... In their studies, the researchers discovered that ultraviolet photoreceptors dominated in the region of the butterfly visual system known to specialize in polariz...

Protein synthesis can be controlled by light, opening way for new scientific, medical applications

...ycin compound that can be activated by exposure to ultraviolet light or an infrared laser beam. (Anisomycin is an antibiotic that inhibits protein synthesis.) The new chromophore, called Bhc, is the only one sensitive enough to light that it can mediate light-induced protein synthesis inhibition in a living syst...

Atmosphere may cleanse itself better than previously thought

...served to produce air-scrubbing OH radicals at low ultraviolet wavelengths. This observation has eluded science p...r, the weak absorptions in the lower region of the ultraviolet spectrum, from wavelengths of about 360 nanometers to 630 nanometers, has been more challenging. "I...

To Stop Evolution: New Way Of Fighting Antibiotic Resistance Demonstrated By Scripps Scientists

... mutate, even when subjected to massive amounts of ultraviolet light. This brought Romesberg to the conclusion that mutation is a programmed stress response -- a survival mechanism. If the cell senses damage, and if the damage persists beyond its ability to repair it, the cell will turn on its mutation machiner...

Scientists identify genetic pathways essential to RNA interference

...y added a gene that caused the worms to glow under ultraviolet light but also turned that gene off using RNAi. They then used RNAi to inactivate every one of the worms' 19,000 genes by feeding the worms bacteria that produce double-stranded RNA for each gene. Inactivation of about 90 genes caused the worms to gl...

Light therapy may combat fungal infections, new evidence suggests

.... BWC1 also functions in the fungus' resistance to ultraviolet light, they reported. Further study identified a s...for C. neoformans normal response to both blue and ultraviolet light. Moreover, the researchers found, mice inoculated with C. neoformans lacking either of the li...

Robot-based system developed at Carnegie Mellon detects life in Chile's Atacama desert

.... He also is testing the bacteria's sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. One hypothesis is that the bacteria may have greater UV resistance because they are exposed to extreme UV radiation in the desert environment. This characterization also may explain why such a high proportion of the bacteria from the ...

Scientists discuss improved biopesticides for locust control in West Africa

...or the spores, which increases their resistance to ultraviolet radiation." Research at Virginia Tech demonstrated...means of protecting short-lived fungal spores from ultraviolet light, a key facet of biopesticide research. OIRED (http://www.oired.vt.edu/) at Virginia Tech mana...

Scientists identify genetic pathways essential to RNA interference

...y added a gene that caused the worms to glow under ultraviolet light but also turned that gene off using RNAi. They then used RNAi to inactivate every one of the worms' 19,000 genes by feeding the worms bacteria that produce double-stranded RNA for each gene. Inactivation of about 90 genes caused the worms to gl...

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