controls

Cooperation is key—a new way of looking at MicroRNA and how it controls gene expression

A group of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute is reporting a discovery that sheds light on an area of research fundamental to everything from the normal processes that govern the everyday life of human cells to the aberrant mechanisms that underlie many diseases, including cancer and septic shock. The discovery concerns tiny fragments of RNA known as microRNA and their relations...

Master gene controls healing of skin in fruit flies and mammals

University of California, San Diego biologists and their colleagues have discovered that the genetic system controlling the development and repair of insect cuticle--the outer layer of the body surface in insects--also controls these processes in mammalian skin, a finding that could lead to new insights into the healing of wounds and treatment of cancer. The UCSD biologists' study, publish...

Scientists find that protein controls aging by controlling insulin

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered that a protein prolonging life in mice works by controlling insulin. Therapies based on this hormone could prove to be a way to extend life or slow its effects,...

MicroRNA tweaks protein that controls early heart development

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered how a small molecule of RNA called microRNA ?a chemical cousin of DNA ?helps fine tune the production of a key protein involved in the early development of heart muscle. The findings, available in the online edition of the journal Nature, may aid scientists in their understanding of how a progenitor cell, or stem cell, decides...

Scientists discover gene that controls speed of tuberculosis development

Scientists at the MUHC have discovered a gene that controls the speed at which patients develop tuberculosis--the first time such a gene has been discovered for this disease. The new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) this week provides a new view of the mechanisms underlying the development of tuberculosis and may contribute to public health efforts aime...

Gene controls whether fear is a factor

In the Nov. 18 issue of Cell, researchers report the discovery of a gene that controls the ability to react with appropriate fear to impending danger. As a result, mice lacking the gene stathmin become daredevils of a sort, the researchers report. The basic findings may have general implications for the study of anxiety disorders and potential anti-anxiety drugs, according to researchers....

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 - one of the main obstacles in developing new treatments for spinal cord injuries. "Knowing...

Robotic joystick reveals how brain controls movement

By training a group of human subjects to operate a robot-controlled joystick, Johns Hopkins researchers have shown that the slower the brain "learns" to control certain muscle movements, the more likely it is to remember the lesson over the long haul. The results, the investigators say, could alter rehabilitation approaches for people who have lost motor abilities to brain injuries like strokes....

What controls stickiness of 'smart' chromosomal glue

Researchers have a new understanding of the process cells use to ensure that sperm and eggs begin life with exactly one copy of each chromosome ?a process that must be exquisitely regulated to prevent problems such as miscarriages and mental retardation. The new work reveals how gluelike protein complexes release pairs of chromosomes at precisely the moment of meiosis ?the specialized cell divisi...

Molecular 'on/off switch' controls immune defenses against viruses

Much like flipping a light switch, the hepatitis C virus turns on human immune defenses upon entering the body but also turns off those defenses by manipulating interaction of key cellular proteins, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found. This same molecular "on/off switch" controls immunity against many viruses, highlighting a potential new target for novel therapeutics t...

Pair of microRNA molecules controls major oncogene in most common leukemia

Researchers at Ohio State University have discovered that two microRNA (miRNA) molecules help control the oncogene responsible for a dangerous form of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), the most common human leukemia in the world. Their findings, published in the December 15 issue of Cancer Research, demonstrate that miRNAs are emerging as powerful regulators of gene expression...

Fast and slow -- How the spinal cord controls the speed of movement

Using a state-of-the-art technique to map neurons in the spinal cord of a larval zebrafish, Cornell University scientists have found a surprising pattern of activity that regulates the speed of the fish’s movement. The research may have long-term implications for treating injured human spinal cords and Parkinson’s disease, where movements slow down and become erratic. The study, "A Topogra...