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Scientists develop method to track immune system enzyme in live animals

Scientists supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) at the National Institutes of Health have created two mouse strains that will permit researchers to trace, in a live animal, the activity of an enzyme believed to play a crucial role both in the normal immune response as well as autoimmunity and B cell tumor development.

18 May 2007

Left-right wiring determined by neural communication in the embryonic worm

Most animals appear symmetrical at first glance, but we're full of internal lop-sidedness.

18 May 2007

First draft of the genome sequence of Aedes aegypti mosquito

Developing new strategies to prevent and control yellow fever and dengue fever has become more possible with the completion of the first draft of the genome sequence of Aedes aegypti mosquito by scientists led by Vishvanath Nene at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and David Severson at the University of Notre Dame.

18 May 2007

Scientists convert the sequence of proteins into music

UCLA molecular biologists have turned protein sequences into original compositions of classical music.

17 May 2007

Nutrition and heredity genetically linked

A challenging goal in biology is to understand how the principal cellular functions are integrated so that cells achieve viability and optimal fitness under a wide range of nutritional conditions.

17 May 2007

Important new gene-silencing mechanism

Genes provide the instructions used by the individual cells to produce the many different proteins that make up the body.

17 May 2007

Clearer view of synaptic plasticity

Scientists are keenly studying how neurons form synapses--the physical and chemical connections between neurons--and the "pruning" of neural circuits during development, not least because synaptic abnormalities may partially underlie many developmental and neurodegenerative diseases.

17 May 2007

New findings on microRNAs

Over 30% of our genes are under the control of small molecules called microRNAs.

17 May 2007

Implanting dopamine generators in brain cells improves Parkinson's in monkeys

Implanting dopamine generators (dopaminergics) in brain cells has produced improvement in the symptoms in Parkinson's, according to the results of tests carried out with monkeys by the Navarra University Hospital, led by Dr Mar'a Rosario Luquin Piudo, neurologist at the Hospital and at the other Navarra University-based medical centre, CIMA (the Research Centre for Applied Medicine).

17 May 2007

Simple equations track Listeria trails

Circles, slaloms, figure eights, and loop-the-loops , biologists studying the motion of Listeria monocytogenes sensed that these paths were related, but they didn't have a good way to define what fit in and what didn't.

16 May 2007

Researchers develop way to calculate rate of gene transfer among bacteria in the environment

Scientists from the University of California-Davis recently developed a mathematical model of the rate of gene transfer among bacteria in the environment.

16 May 2007

Engineered minichromosomes for medically useful proteins and metabolites

A team of scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia has discovered a way to create engineered minichromosomes in maize and attach genes to those minichromosomes.

16 May 2007

Distant ancestor less mentally advanced than expected

A surprisingly complete fossil skull of an ancient relative of humans, apes and monkeys bears striking evidence that our remote ancestor was less mentally advanced than expected by about 29 million years ago.

15 May 2007

Scientists target cancer cells with nanotechnology

A team of Australian scientists have developed a way to deliver lethal drug doses to tumours without causing side-effects, such as nausea and hair loss.

14 May 2007

Researchers equip E. coli with a "riboswitch" chemo-navigational system

Using an innovative method to control the movement of Escherichia coli in a chemical environment, Emory University scientists have opened the door to powerful new opportunities in drug delivery, environmental cleanup and synthetic biology.

11 May 2007

Sexual selection had an important influence on primates brains

When male primates tussle and females develop their social skills it leaves a permanent mark, on their brains.

11 May 2007

Opossum DNA provides new insight into natural selection

Study of the DNA of a South American marsupial called the opossum has revealed that a gene's location influences whether or not it is likely to gather changes that could lead to disease.

10 May 2007

Researchers map genome for mite-borne typhus

Researches at Uppsala University, in collaboration with a Korean research team, have mapped and analyzed the genome for mite-borne typhus.

10 May 2007

Origins of modern medicine lie in ancient Egypt not Greece

Scientists examining documents dating back 3,500 years say they have found proof that the origins of modern medicine lie in ancient Egypt and not with Hippocrates and the Greeks.

From The University of Manchester 10 May 2007

Structural variation in the human genome

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.

10 May 2007