Small RNAs can play critical roles in male infertility/contraception

RENO, Nev. University of Nevada School of Medicine scientists in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology have discovered insight into the reproductive workings of the male sex chromosome that may have significant implications for male infertility and contraception. This import...

Small RNA plays parallel roles in bacterial metabolism

They are often overlooked, and were once thought to be too small to contribute much to major cellular processes, but in recent years the study of small ribonucleic acids (sRNA) has gained momentum. Now a team from the University of Illinois has identified the unique metabolic activities of one of ...

Gender roles and not gender bias hold back women scientists

Traditional roles of women in the home and a negative bias in workplace support result in less career success for women versus men at the same stage of their research careers, determined researchers at the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in a study appearing in the November 2007 iss...

The endocannabinoids: Functional roles and therapeutic opportunities

Cannabis (marijuana) is the most widely produced plant-based illicit drug worldwide and the illegal drug most frequently used in Europe. Its use increased in almost all EU countries during the 1990s, in particular among young people, including school students. Cannabis use is highest among 15- to ...

Sunflower speciation highlights roles for transposable elements in evolution

In a finding that furthers our understanding of how hybridization may contribute to genome changes and the evolution of new species, researchers have found that the genomes of three sunflower species that arose in evolution as hybrids of the same two parental types have undergone a massive prolifer...

Master planners in brain may coordinate other areas' roles in cognitive tasks

Scientists have used data from scans of 183 subjects to identify brain areas that consistently become active in a variety of cognitive tasks, such as reading, learning a rhythm or analyzing a picture. If the brain in action can be compared to a symphony, with specialized sections required to pitc...

New roles for growth factors: Enticing nerve cells to muscles

During embryonic development, nerve cells hesitantly extend tentacle-like protrusions called axons that sniff their way through a labyrinth of attractive and repulsive chemical cues that guide them to their target. While several recent studies discovered molecules that repel motor neuron axons f...

Bedsores and bald hides: Novel roles revealed for a 'scaffolding' protein

A protein long thought to provide only mechanical support for keeping cells and tissues from literally falling apart turns out to have much wider utility. In a pair of reports, the protein K17 has been found to also influence wound healing and maintain the structural integrity of hair follicles, ac...

Flies on speed offer insight into the roles of dopamine in sleep and arousal

Methamphetamine, the drug of choice for long-distance truckers and college students pulling all-nighters, appears to do a similar trick for fruit flies, too. This finding is one of several in a new study that demonstrates a critical role for the neurotransmitter dopamine in the modulation of sleep,...

Conserved amino acids play both structural and mechanistic roles in sandwich-like protein

The question of whether amino acids in sandwich-like proteins are there to stabilize the structure or to speed up the protein-folding process is best answered by "all of the above," according to researchers at Rice University in Houston. This discovery, reported in today's issue of the Proceedin...

1 in 6 health workers won't report in flu pandemic -- study by Ben-Gurion U. researchers

..."confident" that they could fulfill their response roles and have a meaningful impact on the situation, wer...ucate public health workers as to their designated roles during this emergency scenario, and then motivate ...d role cannot be predetermined, a set of potential roles have to be defined and adequately introduced to al...

Researchers capture bacterial infection on film

...ng time-lapse confocal microscopy. The researchers can also tag individual bacterial proteins to follow their movement and determine their specific roles in the infection process. The scientists are hoping to use this system in the future with human pathogens such as Listeria and Trypanosomes. By obs...

A global model for the origin of species independent of geographical isolation

...eparate species. In the second, an environment favors specific characteristics within a species, which encourages divergence as members fill different roles in an ecosystem. In a new study, "Global patterns of speciation and diversity," just published in Nature , Les Kaufman, Boston University profess...

LincRNAs serve as genetic air-traffic controllers

...fied a class of RNA genes known as large intervening non-coding RNAs or "lincRNAs," a discovery that has pushed the field forward in understanding the roles of these molecules in many biological processes, including stem cell pluripotency, cell cycle regulation, and the innate immune response. But even...

Hush little baby... Linking genes, brain and behavior in children

...act as a moderator of children's temperament. The authors note that the "results suggest that it is possible that the DRD4 long allele plays different roles (for better and for worse) in child temperament" depending on internal conditions (the environment inside their bodies) and conclude that the pattern ...

Plant protein 'doorkeepers' block invading microbes, study finds

...ead author on the study. "In this study, we identified a complex of proteins in the common research plant Arabidopsis that appear to play important roles in the biochemical mechanisms that enable plants to recognize and block out invading bacteria," Coaker said. She noted that, over the last 20 year...

UT multimedia program increases middle school interest in science

...Colleges in the United States are no longer graduating enough students with science majors to meet the demand for scientists who can assume leadership roles in the science professions. We believe middle school may be the last chance to pique student interest in science and prepare them to pursue a science-...

ADA releases updated position paper on vegetarian diets

...ncer has been significantly expanded to provide details on cancer-protective factors in vegetarian diets. An expanded section on osteoporosis includes roles of fruits, vegetables, soy products, protein, calcium, vitamins D and K and potassium in bone health. "Registered dietitians can provide information a...

Plant protein 'doorkeepers' block invading microbes, study finds

...ead author on the study. "In this study, we identified a complex of proteins in the common research plant Arabidopsis that appear to play important roles in the biochemical mechanisms that enable plants to recognize and block out invading bacteria," Coaker said. She noted that, over the last 20 year...

Xie Lab uncovers molecular machinery related to stem cell fate

...gene expression. Many genes critical for stem cell development in the fruit fly germline are suggested to be translational regulators, but their exact roles have not been carefully studied. The knowledge generated by this work and the tests we have developed give us great advantage in tackling many additio...

Cells use import machinery to export their goods as well

...ll it membrane trafficking." The researchers do not yet know the function of this regulation of exocytosis. They are investigating other molecules' roles in the process to further understand the role and regulation of this process. ...

International collaboration by scientists culminates in novel ion channels database

... An important resource consolidating understanding of the roles played by Ion channels in drug action is now available for scientists and s... of Washington) and George Gutman (University of California) taking leading roles for VGICs and Professors John A. Peters (The University of Dundee) and Rich...

UC Davis researchers visualize formation of a new synapse

...molecules during synapse formation. Their goal is to create a virtual cinematic representation that includes many of the molecules that play important roles in the formation of a normal, working synapse. "Many people think that improper synapse formation leads to the symptoms of autism," McAllister said...

CU-Boulder study shows Maya intensively cultivated manioc 1,400 years ago

...t they are sensitive to drought and require fertile soils, said Sheets. "As 'high anxiety' crops, they received a lot of attention, including major roles in religious and cosmological activities of the Maya," said Sheets. "But manioc, which grows well in poor soils and is highly drought resistant did no...

Dual role in breast tissue for a protein involved in leukemia

...ction impacts the breast, especially since it appears it may play different roles in different types of breast cancer," says the study's lead author, Anne Mi... need to specifically understand the mechanisms that regulate its different roles in breast cells and how changes in Stat5a activity may affect different typ...

Work of Field Museum scientist addresses question of chance in evolution

...se groups were repeated by a few species in a single genus tens of millions of years after that initial diversification? What would that say about the roles of contingency, constraint, and adaptation? In other words, how big is the role of chance in the history of life? An international team of resear...

Researchers identify new risk factor gene for rheumatoid arthritis

...rings light to the nature of the disease. The gene, dubbed REL, is a member of the NF-B family, important transcription factors that have many roles in the body. The NF-B family seems to have a big hand in regulating the body's immune response as well. "The NF-is ...

Integrated Biometrics Adds Security Industry Veteran to Sales Staff

...ated Biometrics, Johnson served in sales development and account management roles as Strategic Account Manager for Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies in 20...ntral Region Sales Manager for Boon Edam, Inc. He has also served in sales roles for ADT Security Services, Inc., and SecurityLink from Ameritech. Abo...

Protein linked to mental retardation controls synapse maturation, plasticity, CSHL team finds

...results, reported in the June 1 issue of the journal Genes & Development .. They have been able to show, for the first time, how OPHN1 performs these roles at excitatory synapses. They have also made important progress in elucidating the pathophysiology of mutations in the OPHN1 gene. The protein norm...

Lenfest forage fish task force launched

...ific team to comprehensively address the management of forage fish globally. Supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program, the task force will examine the roles of forage fish within food webs over the next two years, and develop science-based "rules of thumb" and other management recommendations intended to p...

Yellowfin tuna biz concept a winner

...team to begin to look at growout technologies for two new species, blackfin tuna and goggle-eye." Stieglitz, Hoenig and Welch will be assuming leading roles in these projects. Established in 2003, the School's Entrepreneurship Competition is open to all University of Miami students. Individuals or teams...

Research team finds important role for junk DNA

... to a region of DNA that contained no genetic information. Scientists are beginning to find, however, that much of this so-called junk plays important roles in the regulation of gene activity. No one yet knows how extensive that role may be. Instead, scientists sometimes refer to these regions as "self...

Study finds genetic links to age of first menstrual period and menopause

...ential long term consequences of the use of oral contraceptives. The studies were soon expanded to include diet and nutrition, in recognition of their roles in the development of chronic diseases. The research continues today with more than 116,000 women enrolled in the study. The WGHS was announced in ...

Grasslands: The future of sustainable agriculture

...ture and agriculture, provides a moving foreword for the book that stresses the importance of properly educating future farmers about the land and the roles of grasslands. "True farmers have minds that are complex and responsible," writes Berry. "They understand and honor their debts to nature. They und...

DOE makes largest Danforth Campus research award in history

...receive two Department of Energy awards represents a great opportunityto advance bioenergy research. These awards are in recognition of the leadership roles that Washington University and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center are playing in the development of new energy sources," Washington University C...

Google Earth aids discovery of early African mammal fossils

... ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A limestone countertop, a practiced eye and Google Earth all played roles in the discovery of a trove of fossils that may shed light on the origins of African wildlife. The circuitous and serendipitous story, featuring Un...

New diagnostic advance seen for head, throat cancer

...future. This "transcriptional regulator" is called CTIP2, and in recent research has been demonstrated to be a master regulator that has important roles in many biological functions, ranging from the proper development of enamel on teeth to skin formation and the possible treatment of eczema or psorias...

New findings in taste and smell

... Smell and taste play essential roles in our daily lives. The chemical senses serve as important warning systems, alerting us to the presence of potentially harmful situations or substance...

Sugar on bacteria surface serves as base for a web of resistance

...ucture during this release of seed cells. "We all think of DNA as an information storage element in our cells, but it's becoming clear that DNA has roles outside of that capacity," Wozniak said. Wozniak and colleagues introduced a number of mutant genes and enzymes to the process to either block or g...

The genetic X-factor

... be identified in patients with variants in the same gene. However, in many, learning disability was the only feature. The newly identified genes play roles in a wide range of biological processes suggesting that disruption to many cellular machines can damage the nervous system. "As well as these impo...