Towards in Biological News

Cancer: Another step towards medication

This release is available in German . The gene Myc is an important factor for the growth of organisms by cell division. It causes the production of a protein which, as a transcription factor, controls the expression of up to 15 % of all human genes. When this gene mutates to an oncogene,...

Ocean's journey towards the center of the Earth

A Monash geoscientist and a team of international researchers have discovered the existence of an ocean floor was destroyed 50 to 20 million years ago, proving that New Caledonia and New Zealand are geographically connected. Using new computer modelling programs Wouter Schellart and the team re...

Attitudes towards assisted reproduction and preimplantation genetic diagnosis

Madrid, December 15, 2008.- According to an international survey by the BBVA Foundation conducted this year, citizens in advanced societies view assisted reproduction techniques in general and in vitro fertilization in particular as firmly acceptable alternatives for people with fertility problems...

Scientists announce major progress towards historic Census of Marine Life in 2010

In a report on progress towards the first Census of Marine Life, more than 2,000 scientists from 82 nations announce astonishing examples of recent new finds from the world's ocean depths. As more than 500 delegates gather for the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (Valencia, Spain Nov. 11...

Researchers take first steps towards spinal cord reconstruction following injury

This release is also available in French . Montreal, November 12, 2007 - A new study has identified what may be a pivotal first step towards the regeneration of nerve cells following spinal cord injury, using the bodys own stem cells. This seminal study, published in this weeks Procee...

Research points towards early cancer detection

A test to detect the very early stages of cancer could one day result from new research by Cardiff University scientists. A team at the Universitys School of Medicine has just published a study on telomeres small structures at the end of human chromosomes which can play a crucial part in the o...

Salk researchers make fast strides towards understanding how our body controls walking

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified an important circuit in the spinal cord that controls the speed with which our leg muscles contract and relax. Their findings mark an important milestone in understanding the neural circuitry that coordinates walking movements...

Scientists make first step towards 'holy grail' of crystallography

Scientists from Imperial College London and the University of Surrey have developed a new technique for crystallising proteins, a discovery which could help speed up the development of new medicines and treatments. Crystallisation is the process which converts materials, such as proteins, into th...

Novel method reveals how menthol discovery could point towards new or improved pain therapies

This new understanding could lead to potential advances in pain therapy, the researchers said. Moreover, the scientists envision that their method may be potentially useful in studying the activation mechanism of other drugs and proteins. "Because our ability to sense temperature is closely link...

New GM mosquito sexing technique is step towards malaria control, report scientists

Scientists have genetically modified male mosquitoes to express a glowing protein in their gonads, in an advance that allows them to separate the different sexes quickly. By providing a way to quickly sex mosquitoes, the advance paves the way for pooling large numbers of sterile males which could...

A new step towards an AIDS vaccine

Progressive disease after HIV infection is inversely correlated with the presence of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), a subset of the dendritic cell family and the major producers of type 1 interferon in the body. High numbers of pDCs is related to successful control of HIV. In a paper appear...

Survey Uncovers Surprising Attitudes Towards HIV Vaccine Research

A survey of U.S. adults has found that a majority believe that HIV vaccines are the best hope for controlling the global AIDS epidemic and are confident such vaccines can be made. But while most of those surveyed felt it personally important to help support HIV vaccine research, a majority expresse...

Cats' indifference towards sugar explained

Unlike most mammals, cats--both domestic and wild--are indifferent to sweets. A new study in PLoS Genetics explains the molecular mechanism behind their strictly carnivorous behavior. "We took a behavioral question and answered it molecularly," says Joseph Brand, senior author of the study and Asso...

Virologists make major step towards understanding the process of HIV infection

A working group of virologists headed by Professor Hans-Georg Kräusslich at Heidelberg University Hospitals, jointly with Professor Hanswalter Zentgraf, Division of Applied Tumor Virology of the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ), have been the first to label Hum...

NIH stimulus funding supports Emory biomedical scientists

...e called SCN8A can lower susceptibility to seizures. Scientists plan to test a gene-therapy-like technique for shutting off SCN8A in mice, with an eye towards developing similar treatments for humans. The role of memory T cells in transplant rejection: Memory T cells allow the immune system to respond to ...

Abnormal brain circuits may prevent movement disorder

...y movements. The identification of a specific abnormality in people with the genetic mutation who never develop symptoms could eventually pave the way towards new treatments for dystonia patients. There are half a million people in the United States alone. The brains of people with inherited dystonia are nor...

Scary ancient spiders revealed in 3-D models, thanks to new imaging technique

...gs and looked similar to a spider. In the new study, the researchers' computer models reveal that Cryptomartus hindi 's first two legs were angled towards the front of the body, which suggests that it used its legs to grab its prey before killing them. The researchers believe this find suggests the Cryp...

Brain difference in psychopaths identified

...rain imaging such as DT-MRI now offer neuroscientists the potential to move towards a more coherent understanding of the possible brain networks that underlie psychopathy, and potentially towards treatments for this mental disorder.' ...

La Jolla Institute discovers novel tumor suppressor

...mi, M.D., Ph.D., who led the research team. The study, conducted in animal models, could eventually lead to the development of new therapies directed towards controlling this newly discovered cellular mechanism. Tony Hunter, Ph.D., director of the Salk Institute Cancer Center and a professor in Salk's ...

New hope for fisheries

...of the successes revealed in this paper," says Pamela Mace, a co-author from the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries. "We need to move much more rapidly towards rebuilding individual fish populations and restoring the ecosystems of which they are a part, if there is to be any hope for the long-term viability o...

Nanodiamonds deliver insulin for wound healing

... and decrease the incidence of infection. Ho says this ability to release therapeutics from the nanodiamonds on demand represents an exciting strategy towards enhancing the specificity of wound treatment. In their studies, Ho and his colleagues showed that the insulin was very tightly bound to the nanodia...

Researchers develop 'brain-reading' methods

...she could report that information by analyzing the pattern of brain activity at the back of the brain where information is processed and then conveyed towards the frontal regions associated with awareness. "It's the same principle experienced during a car accident. The car accident actually happens tens o...

Ethiopian government celebrates rinderpest eradication

... Rosenberg Professor of Nutrition and Human Security at The Friedman School. "It alleviates food insecurity and strengthens the economy, and is a step towards meat exports. Ultimately, we hope the eradication will result in a larger and healthier cattle population and we'll see fewer of the violent cattle ru...

C. difficile spores spread superbug

...ther results detailing the success of individual hospital disinfectants will be published in the coming months. Today's publication provides a step towards reducing the burden on healthcare systems, which have seen a ten-fold increase in the incidence of C. difficile in the last decade. 56,000 cases wer...

Chasing tiny vehicles

...cells. The vesicles move randomly, often downright erratically inside the cell, until a so-called motor protein binds them and quickly transports them towards the cell nucleus the ultimate target for the gene. The research team is now in a position to characterize and describe in great detail the indivi...

Wood stoves -- a viable home heat source?

...- JULY 14, 2009 -- The stress of rising natural gas prices is leading many consumers to rethink how they heat their homes. For some this means moving towards modern alternative energy options, while others have been turning to a more traditional method for a solution to these rising costs. In Canada and th...

Facile synthesis of nanoparticles with multiple functions advanced in Singapore

...uble chemical complexes from a mixture. At IBN, the transfer of the metal ions from the aqueous phase to the organic phase was successfully applied towards the synthesis of a variety of metallic, alloy and semiconductor nanoparticles. In contrast to other approaches for nanoparticles synthesis, the IB...

Exploring standards to advance microbial genomics

...rs of magnitude greater than the number of stars in the universe⎯urgently calls for a transition from random, anecdotal, and small scale surveys towards a systematic and comprehensive exploration of our planet." With new tools in hand and international initiatives for increased collaboration underway, ...

Spontaneous assembly

...ardt and his colleagues applied the PALM technique to the E.coli chemotaxis network of signaling proteins, which direct the movement of the bacteria towards or away from sugars, amino acids, and many other soluble molecules in response to environmental cues. The E.coli chemotaxis network is one of the be...

Report shows the power of US cities to mitigate climate change and steps they need to take to adapt

...ric tonnes annually. CDP's Chief Executive Paul Dickinson said: "We applaud the cities who took part in this project for the steps they are taking towards tackling climate change. Cities around the world have the potential to drive significant emissions reductions globally. The cities participating in ...

Analysis of Copernicus putative remains support identity

...nsic Research in Krakow and the Museum and institute of zoology in Warsaw and the Uppsala laboratory were identical. "Although these results points towards the materials being from the same individual, there is a probability of random match", says Marie Allen. The DNA material in this case was limited ...

The tiny difference in the genes of bacteria

...l pathogens and to investigate how pathogenic bacteria evolve in the environment. "Hereby, this high resolution method makes an important contribution towards a fast and precise recognition of microbial pathogens with pandemic potential." ...

Evolution: Crabs go deep to avoid hot water

... 1- 4C, these crabs thrive in some of the colder waters on Earth; living and growing very slowly, probably to very old ages. Only in the cooler water towards the poles are king crabs found near the water surface though temperatures found around some parts of the Antarctic (below 1C) are too extreme for the...

University of Leicester researchers discover new fluorescent silicon nanoparticles

...ncluding materials, science, information technology and healthcare." Dr von Haeften added: "The approach developed in Leicester could be a key step towards the production of a variety of biomedical sensors that could help track the uptake of drugs by cells." The benign nature of silicon also makes the...

The tiny difference in the genes of bacteria

...l pathogens and to investigate how pathogenic bacteria evolve in the environment. "Hereby, this high resolution method makes an important contribution towards a fast and precise recognition of microbial pathogens with pandemic potential." ...

CWRU receives $5 million from Ohio Third Frontier Commission

...generative medicine in Ohio. "This funding provides CSCRM the support it needs to continue to aggressively move new technologies from academic labs towards commercial development," said Stan Gerson, Director of the Center for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine. "We have linked corporate partners to our maj...

Study on keeping nuclear bombs from US ports shows misplaced fear over cargo scanning cost

...ction, as well as both the timing and tools used for preliminary inspection," the paper explains. "The CSI inspection process is geared exclusively towards US-bound containers, it begins 24 hours in advance of a container's lading onto an oceangoing vessel, and it uses information contained in the shippin...

Leading scientists and scholars urge action on climate issues

...rossly inadequate and urge the nation's leadership to take clear leadership towards meet the objectives of the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change, ste...nternational objectives in deflecting further climatic disruption. Progress towards decisive action addressing this issues in the United States is generally th...

The SIB recognizes the next generation of bioinformaticians

...tal time (from early to late development) in both zebrafish and mice. Results indicate "a strong effect of constraints, which are progressively weaker towards late development, in early development on the genome", which contradicts the "hourglass" model that is generally used to describe vertebrate developme...

Research vessel Polarstern starts 24th Arctic season

...me into the centre of attention of oceanographic research because oceanic key processes happen there and because the region reacts extremely sensitive towards climate change. Moorings of long-term measurements are, among other things, exchanged there and data on temperature and salinity of the ocean are gain...