Sati

Spleen may be source of versatile stem cells

A year ago, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers discovered that the spleen might be a source of adult stem cells that could regenerate the insulin-producing islets of thepancreas. In a follow-up to that unexpected finding, members of thesame team now report that these potential adult stem cells produce aprotein previously believed to be present only during the embryonicdevelopmen...

Pulsating ultrasound enhances gene therapy for tumors

High-intensity focused ultrasound emitted in short pulses is a promising, non-invasive procedure for enhancing gene delivery to cancerous cells without destroying healthy tissue, according to a study in the May issue of the journal Radiology. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is more powerful than standard ultrasound. HIFU can destroy tumors through long and continuous exposures tha...

Advances in the characterisation of the oyster mushroom genes

The oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), apart from reducing cholesterol and having anticancerogenic properties, is characterised for its capacity for breaking down cellulose. Finding out which genes are responsible for this activity ?the reason why the fungus is sometimes used as a decontaminating agent, was the aim of the PhD thesis by Arantza Eizmendi Goikoetxea, which she defended at the Pu...

Second messenger NAADP shows fast, dose-related impact on satiety cycle

One traditional approach to pharmaceutical design uses so-called "first messengers" ?hormones, other natural facilitators or synthetic products ?to initiate various cellular cascades for the desired physiological effect. To date, despite concerted efforts at all levels of research, this approach has failed to develop a truly successful obesity drug to address this major global health problem....

Say what? Bacterial conversation stoppers

While a chattering crowd of various species of bacteria is essentially a microbial tower of Babel, certain snippets of their chemical conversation are almost universally understood. HHMI researchers have found that bacteria of different species can talk to each other using a common language ?and also that some species can manipulate the conversation to confuse other bacteria. The interspe...

Computer modeling reveals hidden conversations within cells

University of California, San Diego biochemists have developed a computer program that helps explain a long-standing mystery: how the same proteins can play different roles in a wide range of cellular processes, including those leading to immune responses and cancer. Prior to the UCSD team's findings, which are published in the September 16 issue of the journal Science, many scientists ex...

Anemone genes reveal versatile building blocks for body plans

The same set of genes responsible for establishing the bilateral body axes in animals as diverse as flies and frogs have been found to play an unexpected role in patterning an animal with a different body plan--a simple sea anemone. Sea anemones, along with corals and jellyfish, are members of the phylum Cnidaria, and they possess a radial body plan that is distinct from the familiar bila...

Origen publishes in Nature a robust and versatile method for creating transgenic chickens

Origen Therapeutics announced today that it has succeeded in developing a robust and versatile technology for genetically modifying chickens that, for the first time, puts avian transgenics on a par with transgenic mice. The company made the announcement in conjunction with the publication of an article this week by Origen scientists and a collaborator from the University of California, Davis on...

Engineer ramps up protein production, develops versatile viral spheres

Scientists are taking the amazing protein-making parts out of cells and putting them into systems to mass-produce designer proteins for a wide variety of medical uses. At the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Sept. 13 in San Francisco, Stanford engineering Professor James Swartz will discuss advances in such "cell-free" protein synthesis, including production of versatile, nan...

'Conversation stoppers' fight deadly bacterial infections

The study, which was directed by Scripps Research Professor Benjamin Cravatt, Ph.D., is being published in the September 8 issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry. The new study describes a pathway-different than the one previously suggested-for the biosynthesis of neurotransmitter lipids, N-acyl ethanolamines (NAEs), which include the endogenous cannabinoid ("endocannabinoid") ananda...

Scripps research team sheds light on long-sought cold sensation gene

The discovery, reported in the May 3 issue of the journal Neuron, might one day lead to the development of drugs that induce cold sensation as an analgesic, or block it to prevent certain forms of chronic pain associated with cold sensation. "This study represents the first demonstration that a single gene is responsible for most cool temperature sensation," says team leader Ardem Patapout...

Scratch no more: Gene for itch sensation discovered

Itching for a better anti-itch remedy" Your wish may soon be granted now that scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the first gene for the itch sensation in the central nervous system. The discovery could rapidly lead to new treatments directly targeting itchiness and providing relief for chronic and severe itching. The "itch gene" is GRPR (gastr...