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Salmonella bacteria use new mechanism known as the riboswitch to adjust magnesium levels

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have added a gene in the bacterium Salmonella to the short list of genes regulated by a new mechanism known as the riboswitch.

11 Apr 2006

Important advance in understanding the complex interactions between proteins

Interactions between proteins are the engines that drive the lives of cells, and a better understanding of these relationships -- and the structures that enable them -- are the next great frontier in the biological sciences.

10 Apr 2006

Environment and genes determine whether a child will an avid reader

"Children don't come into this world as clay to be molded," said Phillip Dale, professor and chair of the Communication Science and Disorders Department in the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Health Professions.

10 Apr 2006

Whole genome analysis of the protein kinases from Dictyostelium

The journal PLoS Genetics has published the findings of a team of scientists at the nonprofit Boston Biomedical Research Institute that provides a whole genome analysis of the protein kinases from a scientifically valuable model organism known as Dictyostelium.

10 Apr 2006

Protein loss linked to colon polyp risk from growth hormone

The use of growth hormone therapy has been linked in some people to the development of colon polyps, a possible precursor to colorectal cancer - but medical researchers have debated the extent of a cancer risk.

10 Apr 2006

Discovery of new human retrovirus

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers and their colleagues have discovered a new retrovirus in humans that is closely related to a cancer-causing virus found in mice. Their findings describe the first documented cases of human infection with a retrovirus that is native to rodents.

10 Apr 2006

Fish oil may help protect against age-related macular degeneration

A paper published in Trends in Neuroscience by Nicolas G. Bazan, MD, PhD of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, reports on the role that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil play in protecting cells in the retina from degenerative diseases like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.

7 Apr 2006

Specific gene that could be responsible for metabolic diseases

We are all familiar with the dangers of too much fat in our diet--increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are just a few of the most severe consequences.

7 Apr 2006

A genomic signature of 254 genes predicting clinical outcome in Primary Cutaneous Melanoma identified

EORTC Melanoma Group researchers have identified a genomic signature predicting clinical outcome in Primary Cutaneous Melanoma, after patients having undergone standard treatment.

6 Apr 2006

Role of hepatic STAT3 in brain-insulin action on hepatic glucose production

New research in Cell Metabolism identifies a key player in the body's ability to respond to insulin action in the brain by ratcheting down the export of blood sugar from the liver.

6 Apr 2006

MIT look at how cells make life-or-death decisions

The biological processes underlying diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer are fundamentally linked, and should be linked in how they are treated with drugs, a series of MIT studies indicates.

6 Apr 2006

Researchers aim to develop instrument to help physicians estimate risk for developing lung cancer

Physicians have little to help them predict development of lung cancer in their patients - even a history of heavy smoking doesn't really help, since only a small fraction of lifetime smokers develops the cancer.

6 Apr 2006

Inflammation cuts both ways

Inflammation cuts both ways. When invaded by an infectious agent, for example, the body calls on the forces of inflammation to fight and defeat the intruder.

6 Apr 2006

High glucose-uptake tumors can be identified with PET scans

Cervical cancers that take up a lot of blood sugar, or glucose, are more resistant to treatment than those that are less glucose-hungry, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

4 Apr 2006

Genetic clues to longevity

In a new study, Drs. Gil Atzmon and Nir Barzilai at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that people harbor alleles--alternative forms of a gene--that confer the same sort of longevity advantage.

4 Apr 2006

Nrf2 gene findings may offer therapeutic potential for sepsis treatment

Disruption of a single gene, Nrf2, plays a critical role in regulating the body's innate immune response to sepsis and septic shock, according to a study by a research team led by Shyam Biswal, PhD, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

4 Apr 2006

Johns Hopkins scientists identify genes in fruitflies that may shed light on human cancer spread

By searching through all the genes in the fruitfly genome, Johns Hopkins scientists have identified those required for a certain type of cell migration and simultaneously captured a global view of all the genes turned on when cells are on the move.

4 Apr 2006

Combination of salmeterol and fluticasone propionate cuts inflammatory cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The combination of two existing clinical treatments, salmeterol and fluticasone propionate, can significantly reduce inflammatory cells in the airways of current and former smokers being treated for moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

4 Apr 2006

Researchers narrow search for effective prostate cancer biomarkers

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have narrowed the search for effective prostate cancer biomarkers (genetic variations that point to a specific disease or condition), identifying changes in the expression of genes of the whole genome closely correlated to prostate cancer development and progression.

4 Apr 2006

People with very agile minds tend to have a very agile cortex

Youth with superior IQ are distinguished by how fast the thinking part of their brains thickens and thins as they grow up, researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered.

4 Apr 2006