Yale Scientists Find MicroRNA Regulates Ras Cancer Gene
Research in the laboratory of Assistant Professor Frank J. Slack at Yale University has identified a new way that a familiar gene is regulated in lung cancer, presenting new possibilities for diagnosis and treatment. The work is reported in March issues of the journals Cell and Developmental Cell. The oncogene Ras is out of control in about 20 percent of cancers where it is over-expressed...Protein Packages Found To Activate Genes; May Be What Regulates Development And Disease
It's all in the packaging. How nature wraps and tags genes determines if and when they become active, according to researchers from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). They did the largest, most detailed study to date of the protein structure that surrounds the human genome. Their findings reveal surprising and previously unknown specifics of how genes get switc...Multi-purpose protein regulates new protein synthesis and immune cell development
A signaling protein called IRE1, which helps stressed-out cells make new proteins, may be more versatile and important than scientists believed. A new study by researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute reveals the surprising finding that this same signaling protein is required for the formation of immune cells called B lymphocytes....Scientists identify molecule that regulates well-known tumor suppressor
Scientists have discovered that a molecule called DJ-1 is likely to be involved in the generation of human tumors through negative regulation of the well-known tumor suppressor, PTEN. The research, published in the March issue of Cancer Cell, has important implications for determining the prognosis of some human cancers, and may prove to be a suitable target for cancer therapy. The phospha...Temperature regulates circadian clock in zebrafish
The biological clock controls the circadian rhythms of a wide range of physiological and behavioral processes, from fluctuating hormone levels to sleep-wake cycles and feeding patterns. While it's well known that circadian clock elements sense and respond to light cycles, much less is known about how daily temperature cycles affect the clock's timing mechanism in vertebrates. In the open-access...The let-7 microRNA Family Regulates RAS: Implications for Development and Oncogenesis
Drs. Frank Slack, Steven Johnson, and Helge Grosshans, and Ms. Kristy Reinert at Yale University, in collaboration with Ambion scientists, discovered that the microRNA (miRNA) family regulates the expression of C. elegans...Massage therapy regulates sleep cycle of newborns
A new study involving twenty mothers and their full-term infants, revealed that massage therapy helps newborns develop a more regular sleep cycle. Dr. Sari Goldstein from Tel Aviv University says that massage therapy by mothers in the perinatal // period helps infants coordinate their circadian systems with environmental cues. Circadian rhythm is a biological clock that helps humans an...A Protein In Brain Regulates Anxiety And The Consumption Of Alcohol
The researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), have reported in a study conducted on rats, the brain protein that maintains the nerve cells might also regulate anxiety and alcohol consumption. // Their study was published on the 9th August in the Journal of Neuroscience. Reports have shown that previous studies by the UIC researchers had first recognized a gene that...Gene Involved In Common Birth Defect Also Regulates Skin Biology
Following up on an earlier discovery that a gene called IRF6 is involved in the common birth defect cleft lip and palate, researchers at the University of Iowa Roy J. and// Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and their colleagues have identified the function of the gene. Their latest findings, published online Oct. 15 in Nature Genetics, reveal an unexpected role for IRF6 in the growth...Boffins Identify Gene That Helps Regulates Body Weight
Boffins have found that the absence of CD38 gene prevented mice on high-fat diets from gaining weight. The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Eduardo Chini at Mayo Clinic. As part of the study, researchers studied two groups of mice - one with the gene CD38 and the other without. Each group was fed a high-calorie diet with 60 percent of calories from...Eap1 in the Brain Regulates the Female Reproductive Cycle
The onset of puberty and maintenance of the female reproductive cycle are events controlled by neurons in the hypothalamus that secrete gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). How signaling to these neurons is controlled remains unclear. In a study appearing online on July 12 in advance of publication in the August print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Sergio Ojeda and...