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 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could benefit future research on treatments for disease...A new window into structural plasticity in the adult visual cortex
Neuroscientists have known for decades that the adult brain can reorganize neural pathways in response to new experiences, for example, by changing the firing pattern and responses of neurons. But it has remained an open question whether structural changes accompany this functional plasticity. In a new study published in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Wei-Chung Allen Lee and colleagues rep...Meditation associated with structural changes in brain
The regular practice of meditation appears to produce structural changes in areas of the brain associated with attention and sensory processing. An imaging study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers showed that particular areas of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, were thicker in participants who were experienced practitioners of a type of meditation commonly...New technology used to construct the first map of structural variation in the human genome
Beyond the simple stream of one-letter characters in the human genome sequence lies a complex, higher-order code. In order to decipher this level of architecture, scientists have developed powerful new experimental and algorithmic methods to detect copy number variants (CNVs)--defined as large deletions and duplications of DNA segments. These technologies--reported today in the journal Genom...Researchers image molecular motor structural changes
An international team of researchers has shed new light on how tiny molecular motors that transport materials within cells generate the energy that powers their movements. The knowledge could lead to better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of a range of human disorders such as Down syndrome caused by faulty molecular motors, and possibly to the development of new treatments, the...Structural Analysis of Glycosylated Peptides in Complex Mixtures with Ion Trap MSn
Structural Analysis of Glycosylated Peptides in Complex Mixtures with Ion Trap MS Shiaw-Lin Wu, Pavel Bondarenko, Tom Shaler, Paul Shieh, and William S. Hancock The data presented here can be acquired using...Structural Determination of Flavonoids Using MSn
Jack Cunniff, Philip Tiller, Michael Harvey, and Adrian Land, Thermo Finnigan The data presented here can be acquired using the Thermo Finnigan LCQ Series of ion trap mass spectrometers....Structural change is coming to the UW System
More than a generation ago, a mega-merger of higher education institutions created the University of Wisconsin System. It hasnt always been a perfect marriage, insist those who pine for days gone by, but the 1971 merger forced greater cooperation and prompted wiser use of Wisconsins public resources. The time has come for the UW System to once again refine its structure, this time with...High Blood Pressure Could Result In Structural Damage Of Heart
Researchers from the CIMA of the University of Navarra and the Hospital Donostia of San Sebastián say that the hearts of persons suffering from high blood pressure are more likely to suffer structural damage//. The report is published in the electronic edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The authors designed a blood analysis which detects whether this mechani...Structural Abnormalities in Brains of William Syndrome Patients
Structural abnormalities were found in a particular brain area of patients afflicted with Williams syndrome according to a study conducted// at the Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Williams syndrome is a rare genetic disorder where children love music and, will therefore spend hours listening to or making music. Ursula Bellugi,...Cataloging the Structural Variations in Human Genetics
A major new effort to uncover the medium- and large-scale genetic differences between humans may soon reveal DNA sequences that contribute to a wide range of diseases, according to a paper by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Evan Eichler and 17 colleagues published in the May 10, 2007, Nature. The undertaking will help researchers identify structural variations in DNA sequences, whic...