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New technique for tracking gene regulators

Finding out where gene-regulator proteins bind to DNA and identifying the genes they regulate just got a step easier thanks to a new technique developed by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.

28 Dec 2004

Ballet dancers’ brains reveal the art of imitation

Scientists have discovered that a system in our brain which responds to actions we are watching, such as a dancer’s delicate pirouette or a masterful martial arts move, reacts differently if we are also skilled at doing the move.

27 Dec 2004

Fluorescent colors used to separate cells visually

The latest holiday gifts being offered to the scientific community this season by scientists in the laboratory of Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Roger Y. Tsien come in a dazzling variety of hues -- cherry, strawberry, tangerine, tomato, orange, banana and honeydew. The color spectrum would make Pantone proud.

22 Dec 2004

Major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer

Scientists funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research reported taking a major step forward in using saliva to detect oral cancer.

21 Dec 2004

Early learning experiences forever change the brain's structure

Educational Christmas toys can leave a mark on more than just your checkbook - they can also leave a permanent imprint on a child's brain.

20 Dec 2004

DNA crystal that computes as it grows

In a demonstration that holds promise for future advances in nanotechnology, California Institute of Technology computer scientists have succeeded in building a DNA crystal that computes as it grows. As the computation proceeds, it creates a triangular fractal pattern in the DNA crystal.

7 Dec 2004

Scientist develops way to deliver promising genetic tool into living cells

By exploiting an HIV protein that readily traverses cell membranes, Carnegie Mellon University scientists have developed a new way to introduce a gene-like molecule called a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) directly into live mammalian cells, including human embryonic stem (ES) cells.

6 Dec 2004

First live imaging of specialized immune system cells reveals new clues about body’s security system

To keep the body safe, the immune system enlists more than one form of protection. A circulating task force of immune system cells monitors the body’s periphery, and sends information back to field command centers — the lymph nodes — located at pivotal traffic points.

6 Dec 2004

Temperature sensing protein implicated in mediating thermotaxis

The songwriter Noel Coward once declared that only mad dogs and Englishmen went out in the midday sun. MIT biologists Mark Rosenzweig, Paul Garrity and their colleagues now have a third candidate for the lyric—fruit flies with defects in a gene called dTrpA1.

4 Dec 2004

Fossil record of the human immune system reveals antibodies that block cancer metastasis

A team of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute has reconstructed the "fossil record" of the immune systems of a group of human cancer patients to investigate if they had ever produced antibodies against their disease.

4 Dec 2004

Gene decoding revealed at atomic level

A recent finding by a North Carolina State University biochemist advances the fundamental biology of how genetic information, encoded in DNA, is decoded for the production of proteins.

4 Dec 2004

Why our immune system worsens with age

Scientists at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at Oregon Health & Science University have made a discovery that helps explain why our immune system worsens with age. The work was led by Janko Nikolich-Zugich, M.D., Ph.D., a senior scientist at the VGTI.

2 Dec 2004

Tofu-based biomaterial that can help mend broken bones

A new Tofu-based biomaterial that can help mend broken bones and damaged tissues is being developed thanks to an investment of £149,000 from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), the organization that champions UK creativity and innovation.

2 Dec 2004