Selective in Biological News

Novel 3-D cell culture model shows selective tumor uptake of nanoparticles

A nanoparticle drug delivery system designed for brain tumor therapy has shown promising tumor cell selectivity in a novel cell culture model devised by University of Nottingham scientists. The project, conducted jointly in the Schools of Pharmacy, Biomedical Sciences and Human Development, will b...

Erectile dysfunction in diabetes is due to selective defect in the brain

A new study sheds additional light on how erectile dysfunction (ED) interacts with diabetes. The study is another step in uncovering the link between the two disorders, and may lead to improved efficacy in treatments. The study, "Lack of Central Nitric Oxide Triggers Erectile Dysfunction in Diab...

Motorola researchers develop selective sensors based on carbon nanotubes

A team of researchers from Arizona State University and Motorola Labs, the applied research arm of Motorola Inc., has developed sensors based on carbon nanotubes, microscopically small structures that posses excellent electronic properties. In early tests, the new devices detected the presence of h...

Carnegie donates landmark clones to biology

... mutation can make the transporters work independently. So why did this simpler mutation not succeed? The researchers believe that there must still be selective pressure on the system. The simplest explanation is that the mechanism is still necessary today, probably to control uptake and prevent toxicity. ...

New hope for fisheries

...ound that a combination of approaches, such as catch quotas and community management coupled with strategically placed fishing closures, ocean zoning, selective fishing gear and economic incentives, offer promise for restoring fisheries and ecosystems. However "lessons from one spot need to be applied very car...

Global curbs on overfishing are beginning to work

...fishery scientists, managers and industry. Management measures included catch quotas coupled with strategically placed fishing closures, ocean zoning, selective fishing gear, community co-management and economic incentives (such as individual transferable quotas). "Exploitation rates have more than halved s...

Nanoparticle-delivered 'suicide' genes slowed ovarian tumor growth

... cancer cells, as scientists were able to deliver diphtheria toxin genes, using a nanoparticle, to the actual tumor site (peritoneum) with a basis for selective activity in the cancer cells (how the toxin genes were regulated once inside the cells). "A real plus of a cancer therapy like this is not just th...

Parasitic worms make sex worthwhile

...xual reproduction is clearly favored in the lakes' shallows, but why? To test whether worm parasites play a key role in the maintenance of the snails' selective sexual reproduction, the researchers devised an elegant experiment. The scientists exposed snails from each of the two lakes to worm parasites from...

Funxional successfully completes initial clinical trial of FX125L, an anti-inflammatory drug with a novel mechanism of action

...nfo@funxionaltherapeutics.com ). About BSCIs BSCIs are anti-inflammatory compounds with an entirely novel mechanism of action that involves the selective interaction with a well-characterized receptor, resulting in a potent inhibition of inflammatory cell migration. The compounds are anticipated to have...

Prostate Cancer Translational Research in Europe meeting: Search for biomarkers continues

...e: Majority of anti-cancer drugs are equally effective in cancer and control cells. TSA, thiram, disalfiram and monensin (are) identified as cancer selective compounds inhibiting VCaP cell growth at nanomolar concentrations. In vivo studies using VCaP cell xenografts showed reduced tumour growth in respons...

Fate in fly sensory organ precursor cells could explain human immune disorder

...stery behind an immunological disorder called Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. "This finding provides a model for how Wiskott Aldrich syndrome a form of selective immunodeficiency in children occurs," said Dr. Hugo Bellen ( http://www.bcm.edu/db/db_fac-bellen.html ), professor of molecular and human genetics an...

The SIB recognizes the next generation of bioinformaticians

... are limited by the extent they affect the development of an organism, and focused specifically on how the timing of expression in development affects selective pressure on genes. In his own words: "Because embryonic development must proceed correctly for an animal to survive, changes in evolution are constrai...

Gear bans 'can help save reefs'

...n. "One key issue may be educating fishers about the importance of reef habitat and the species that help to maintain reef quality and the need to be selective in what they shoot. This would mean fishers could still use this cheap and effective fishing tool without necessarily damaging habitat and reef resili...

Common fish species has 'human' ability to learn

... preferences, and learn how to evade predators. But it is not always a recipe for success to simply copy someone. Animals are often better off being selective about when and who they copy. "These fish are obviously not at all closely related to humans, yet they have this human ability to only copy when th...

Help for climate-stressed corals

...n. "One key issue may be educating fishers about the importance of reef habitat and the species that help to maintain reef quality and the need to be selective in what they shoot. This would mean fishers could still use this cheap and effective fishing tool without necessarily damaging habitat and reef resili...

University of Houston diesel testing center teams with state transportation agency to cut emissions

...s researchers will supervise the installation of Nett Technologies' BlueMAX selective catalytic reduction system, which is classified by the EPA as an emerging t... engines, diesel particulate filters and fume diluters. The Nett BlueMAX selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system is designed to control nitrogen oxide emis...

New piece found in the puzzle of epigenetics

... kinds of RNA molecules or not. In their latest research, the scientists led by Dirk Eick showed that the enzyme TFIIH kinase is responsible for the selective phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II. "With these findings another building block has been identified that plays a key role in epigenetic regulation b...

Geography and history shape genetic differences in humans

...fferences. If the individual populations' environments were exerting strong selective pressure, such differences should have been apparent. Selection may stil...ard, people will start figuring out the phenotypes that are associated with selective signals," says lead author Graham Coop. "That will be very important, becau...

Researcher garners major award from NIH for further exploration into the mechanisms of obesity

...ecord of doing cutting-edge and quality work. Georgia State is very proud to have him as a member of our research faculty." MERIT is among the most selective research grants given by the NIH, with less than 5 percent of NIH-funded investigators selected as recipients. Previously, 10 researchers from institu...

Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test measures microbial nitrogen

...rch (C-FAR). Recovery tests did not support the concept that the ISNT estimates total soil nitrogen. Rather, the results confirmed that the ISNT is selective for certain forms of microbial nitrogen, and differs from conventional acid-hydrolyzable fractions in the proportions of these compounds that are dete...

American Chemical Society's weekly PressPac -- May 6, 2009

... In the study, the researchers created an adsorbent material that unlike conventional ion-exchange resins that are frequently used in reactors is selective for cobalt but has the unique ability of disregarding iron-based ions. The polymer's high selectivity increases its appeal, the researchers add, for u...

Neuroscientists discover long-term potentiation in the olfactory bulb

...earned that damaging olfactory sensory pathways prevents sheep from forming selective bonds with her own lambs, causing them to adopt lambs from other mothers. This cued her curiosity as to how a mother ewe forms such a selective bond with her lamb within several hours of parturition, a bond that is prim...

MIT: Making waves in the brain

...r over the brain," explains co-lead author Marie Carln, a postdoctoral fellow at the Picower Institute. The trick for inducing gamma waves was the selective activation of the "fast-spiking" interneurons, named for their characteristic pattern of electrical activity. When these cells were driven with high f...

DNA blueprint for healthier and more efficient cows

...nges in the genetic blueprint) has allowed the development of gene chips that measure genetic variation in cattle populations and will allow the rapid selective breeding of animals with higher value commercial traits. "This technology is quickly transforming the dairy genetics industry and has the potentia...

New hope for advances in treating malaria

...asite without any major side-effects to the human host. In effect we are exploiting a biological difference, and this will allow us to develop potent, selective inhibitors." According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), malaria kills a million people across the globe each year, with forty per cent of the...

EPA's P3 award winners celebrate a green future

...essment of Environmental, Social, and Economic Implications Columbia University - Multifunction Energy Platform Pilot Drexel University, Syntactic selective Near Infrared Scattering Architectural Coatings University of South Florida - Water Awareness, Research and Education in east Tampa: A Pilot Collabo...

New light on bipolar treatment drugs

...a possible pathway for its operation. By better understanding Lithium, we can learn about the genetics of bipolar disorder and develop more potent and selective drugs. "Further, altered PIP3 signalling is linked to other disorders, including epilepsy and autism, so this well established drug could be used t...

Alzheimer cell death in Zebrafish: Demise of neurons observed live for the first time

...m of Alzheimer's in people into zebrafish, with great success. The animals showed the characteristic symptoms, such as deposits in nerve cells and the selective loss of neurons. They were even able to observe this while it was happening. "The translucent larvae of the zebrafish can be studied under a laser...

American Chemical Society Weekly PressPac -- April 8, 2009

...anogram (one-billionth of a gram) amounts of ricin in minutes, they note. In the other, John Barr and Suzanne Kalb describe development of a highly selective three-part test that involves capturing the ricin protein using special antibodies, evaluating the enzymatic activity of the ricin protein by mass spe...

University of Kansas graduate student researcher takes aim at deadly brain tumors

...d. "There's something the ATF5 is doing in the cancer. And if you stop ATF5, the cancer cells die and the tumor shrinks. It seems to be something very selective that we can use to target the cancer and not affect the normal cells of the brain." Cicaccio believes that ATF5 helps growth and proliferation of ...

Mollusks taste memories to build shells

... the right shaped shell, and is only an epiphenomenon reflecting neural activity," Oster said. "It is incidental to the snail." "There is no strong selective pressure to drive patterns, so evolution can explore the entire parameter space" of possible shells, Boettiger added. "That was one rewarding thing ab...

Mighty diatoms: Global climate feedback from microscopic algae

...ne factor that affects growth is nutrient availability, Litchman said. The research shows that limitations by nitrogen and phosphorus exert different selective pressures on cell size. The availability of these nutrients depends on the mixing of water from greater depths. Using a mathematical model, Litchman a...

Cellular discovery may lead to targeted treatment for rare form of anemia

... when ribosome production was disrupted. Our study actually showed that the nucleolus stayed intact as ribosomes were still being produced, suggesting selective upregulation of L11," explains Thomas, the John and Gladys Strauss endowed professor of cancer biology at UC and scientific director at UC's Genome Re...

The genetics of fear: Study suggests specific genetic variations contribute to anxiety disorders

...gene and the gene for the enzyme COMT. Serotonin is a brain chemical involved in mood regulation. The serotonin transporter, which is the target of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) used to treat anxiety and depression, harbors a common polymorphism in its gene. This polymorphism can come in tw...

Researchers identify new way the malaria parasite and red blood cells interact

...e pygmies of Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to Mayer, these findings suggest that the parasite may possibly be putting selective pressure on populations in malaria-endemic areas, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. She said that there appears to be a disproportionate numbe...

Greatest thing since sliced bread: New data offer important clues toward improving wheat yields

...r bread is remarkably hearty. Furthermore, they found that a relatively high percentage (1.7 percent) of genes may be candidates for further study and selective breeding when trying to develop new strains of wheat with higher yields or more resistant to the environmental strain brought about by global warming....

Understanding natural crop defenses

...cated defense strategies," says Ballar. "Coupling shade avoidance syndrome with the regulation of resource allocation to defense could provide a major selective advantage for plants growing in the wild, but might increase the vulnerability of densely planted crops to insects." ...

Breaking the barrier: Discovery of anti-resistance factors and novel ocean drugs

...isease has resulted in thousands of new bacterial isolates producing highly selective antimicrobial compounds yielding highly selective small peptide antibiotics. ...

10 new amphibian species discovered in Colombia

... cover of the Darien region is currently relatively undisturbed, it faces many threats and is undergoing rapid landscape transformation, mainly due to selective wood extraction, extensive cattle ranching, illicit crop cultivation, hunting, mining and habitat fragmentation. Between 25 and 30 percent of the natu...

Compounds could be new class of cancer drugs

...sent a new class of drugs for treating cancer. The compounds are the first selective inhibitors of the protein phospholipase D (PLD), an enzyme that has been im...ses like secretion, migration, growth and proliferation. But the absence of selective inhibitors has really interfered with the ability of biologists to study th...