Plants, animals share molecular growth mechanisms
A newly discovered plant protein complex that apparently switches on plants' growth machinery, has opened a scientific toolbox to learn about both plant and animal development, according Purdue University scientists. The protein complex triggers communication between molecules along a pathway that leads to the creation of long protein strings, called actin filaments, that are necessary fo...PET/MRI scans may help unravel mechanisms of prenatal drug damage
Scientists have demonstrated a new way to assess the potentially damaging effects of prenatal drug exposure--a technique that could also be used to monitor a fetus's response to therapeutic drugs--using sophisticated, noninvasive medical imaging tools. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, whose findings are reported in the February issue of the Society of...Researchers uncover mechanisms of estrogen in promoting cell death in breast cancer
A laboratory study has uncovered new details about how estrogen can activate natural pathways that kill certain breast cancer cells or tumors. The results raise the possibility that estrogen therapy may overcome resistance to certain breast cancer hormonal therapies. The study appears in the December 7 issue of the When cancer treatments...High-resolution light microscope reveals the fundamental mechanisms of nerve communication
In a simultaneous publication (Science Express, 13th April 2006), STED microscopy revealed the spatial distribution of the bruchpilot protein and aided neurobiologists from the European Neuroscience Institute and the University of Würzburgin understanding the protein's central role in the formation of active synaptic zones. STED microscopy radically distinguishes itself from conventional farfield...FSU biologists uncover mechanisms that shape cells for better or worse
In a landmark study, biologists at Florida State University have uncovered a specific genetic and molecular mechanism that causes cell polarity -- the asymmetric shape or composition critical to a cell's proper functioning. Their findings in fruit fly eggs may help to clarify how muscular dystrophy and some cancers develop in humans. That's because many of the genes involved in the cell-t...Polymer Degradation Mechanisms Encountered in Pyrolysis-GC/MS
465 Limestone Road Oxford, PA 19363-0277 with gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to study the structure of polymeric material must be based on an unders...Cancer-Killing Viruses Employ Multiple Mechanisms
The search for safe, effective cancer therapies has led numerous academic and industrial research groups to investigate oncolytic, or cancer-killing viruses//. Oncolytic viruses which include the naturally occurring reovirus, infect cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues. Once inside the tumor cell, the viruses produce thousands of copies of themselves, causing tumor cells to burst. After tum...Erectile Dysfunction in Diabetes Due to Defect in the NO Mechanisms
A new study sheds light on how erectile dysfunction (ED) interacts with diabetes. The study is expected to improve efficacy in treatments//. The study, "Lack of Central Nitric Oxide Triggers Erectile Dysfunction in Diabetes," was conducted by Hong Zheng, William G. Mayhan, and Kaushik P. Patel, Departments of Cellular and Integrative Physiology; and Keshore R. Bidasee, Department of P...