Biology
Ocean plankton sponge up nearly twice the carbon currently assumed
March 18, 2013 10:38 am | News | CommentsAccording to new research, models of carbon dioxide in the world’s oceans need to be revised. Trillions of plankton near the surface of warm waters are far more carbon-rich than has long been thought global marine temperature fluctuations could mean that tiny microbes digest double the carbon previously calculated.
Drug-resistant MRSA bacteria here to stay
March 18, 2013 9:07 am | by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research | News | CommentsThe drug-resistant bacteria known as MRSA, once confined to hospitals but now widespread in communities, will likely continue to exist in both settings as separate strains, according to a new study. Researchers at Princeton University used mathematical models to explore what will happen to community and hospital MRSA strains, which differ genetically.
Researchers divide enzyme to conquer genetic puzzle
March 14, 2013 1:38 pm | News | CommentsRice University researchers have found a way to divide and modify enzymes to create what amounts to a genetic logic gate. The researchers have created a library of AND gates by mutating a protein from a bacterial virus. The well-understood protein known as T7 RNA polymerase (RNAP) is a strong driver of transcription in cells.
Predictability: The brass ring for synthetic biology
March 14, 2013 8:43 am | News | CommentsPredictability is often used synonymously with “boring,” as in that story or that outcome was so predictable. For practitioners of synthetic biology seeking to engineer valuable new microbes, however, predictability is the brass ring that must be captured. Researchers with the multi-institutional partnership known as BIOFAB have become the first to grab at least a portion of this ring by unveiling a package of public domain DNA sequences and statistical models that greatly increase the reliability and precision by which biological systems can be engineered.
Mysterious bacterium found in Antarctic lake
March 13, 2013 9:57 am | by Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press | News | CommentsA new form of microbial life has been found in water samples taken from a giant freshwater lake hidden under kilometers of Antarctic ice, Russian scientists said Monday. In a prepared statement, the researchers said that the "unidentified and unclassified" bacterium has no relation to any of the existing bacterial types. They touched the lake water Sunday at a depth of 12,366 feet (3,769 m), about 800 miles (1,300 km) east of the South Pole in the central part of the continent.
Polar insects help scientists make gene expression discovery
March 13, 2013 9:44 am | News | CommentsAlthough they live in similarly extreme ecosystems at opposite ends of the world, Antarctic insects appear to employ entirely different methods at the genetic level to cope with extremely dry conditions than their counterparts that live north of the Arctic Circle. Aside from the significance of the specific discovery, the new finding shows how relatively new and developing scientific techniques, including genomics, are opening science in what was thought to be a relatively uniform, sterile environment.
Biological wires carry electricity thanks to special amino acids
March 12, 2013 10:11 am | News | CommentsIn nature, the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens uses a type of natural nanowire, called pili, to transport electrons to remote iron particles or other microbes. The benefits of these wires could also be harnessed by humans for use in fuel cells or bioelectronics. A new study reveals that a core of aromatic amino acids are required to turn these hair-like appendages into functioning electron-carrying biological wires.
Researchers build new tools for finding new species
March 11, 2013 2:20 pm | News | CommentsFor hundreds of years, naturalists and scientists have identified new species based on an organism’s visible differences. But different species can often show little or no visible differences. Evolutionary biologists have recently combined traditional morphological tests with genetic techniques to distinguish these genetically different but outwardly similar organisms, which are dubbed “cryptic” species.
Study finds length of DNA strands can predict life expectancy
March 11, 2013 8:46 am | News | CommentsCan the length of strands of DNA in patients with heart disease predict their life expectancy? Researchers from the Intermountain Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, who studied the DNA of more than 3,500 patients with heart disease, say yes it can.
Scientists manipulate protein activity with newly found enzymes
March 11, 2013 8:43 am | News | CommentsProtein activity is strictly regulated. Incorrect or poor protein regulation can lead to uncontrolled growth and thus cancer or chronic inflammation. Researchers in Switzerland have identified enzymes that can regulate the activity of medically important proteins. Their discovery enables these proteins to be manipulated very selectively, opening up new treatment methods.
Scientists improve transgenic “Enviropigs”
March 8, 2013 3:48 pm | News | CommentsA research team in Europe has developed a new line of transgenic "Enviropigs." Enviropigs have genetically modified salivary glands, which help them digest phosphorus in feedstuffs and reduce phosphorus pollution in the environment. After developing the initial line of Enviropigs, researchers found that the line had certain genes that could be unstable. The new line of pigs is called the Cassie line, and it is known for passing genes on more reliably.
How to thrive in battery acid and among toxic metals
March 8, 2013 9:50 am | News | CommentsLike the extraterrestrial creature in the movie Alien, the "extremophile" red alga Galdieria sulphuraria can survive brutal heat and resist the effects of toxins. Scientists were previously unsure of how a one-celled alga acquired such flexibility and resilience. But recently they made an unexpected discovery: Galdieria's genome shows clear signs of borrowing genes from its neighbors.
Scientists find previously unknown purpose for cellular “gateway”
March 7, 2013 3:46 pm | News | CommentsA research team with members and Canada and the United States have discovered that a "gateway" known to control the movement of molecules in and out of a cell's nucleus appears to play another critically important role. Its second job is the ability to control the structure of chromosomes and the DNA linked to those chromosomes. This impacts what genes produce or express.
New hypothesis formulated to explain bacteria’s increasing toughness
March 7, 2013 10:38 am | News | CommentsA researcher has recently attempted to answer to an enigma in medical science: How are bacteria becoming more resistant to antibiotics? According to his theory, bacteria that are non-resistant to antibiotics acquire this resistance accidentally. This occurs because they take up the DNA of other bacteria that are resistant because of their exposure to stress.
Circuitry of cells involved in immunity, autoimmune diseases exposed
March 7, 2013 10:09 am | by Haley Bridger, Broad Communications | News | CommentsNew work from the Broad Institute and partnering organizations has expanded the understanding of how one type of immune cell—known as a T helper 17 or Th17 cell—develops, and how its growth influences the development of immune responses. By figuring out how these cells are “wired,” the researchers make a surprising connection between autoimmunity and salt consumption.
Flip of a single molecular switch makes an old brain young
March 6, 2013 3:38 pm | News | CommentsScientists have long known that the young and old brains are very different. Adolescent brains are more malleable or plastic. The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability. Now Yale School of Medicine researchers have reversed the process, recreating a youthful brain that facilitated both learning and healing in the adult mouse.
Scientists focus on another Sandy loss: lab mice
March 6, 2013 2:46 pm | by Malcolm Ritter, AP Science Writer | News | CommentsIt was one of the most dramatic stories from Superstorm Sandy: More than 300 patients including tiny babies safely removed from a flooded New York hospital that lost power. But in a research building at the complex, where thousands of lab mice were kept, the story had a sadder ending. A storm surge into the basement swamped some 7,000 cages of mice used for studying cancer, diabetes, brain development and other health issues. About 50 scientists at the Langone Medical Center are going through the slow process of replacing them
Evidence found that comets could have seeded life on Earth
March 6, 2013 2:08 pm | by Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley | News | CommentsChemists have recently shown that conditions in space are capable of creating complex dipeptides—linked pairs of amino acids—that are essential building blocks shared by all living things. The discovery opens the door to the possibility that these molecules were brought to Earth aboard a comet or possibly meteorites, catalyzing the formation of proteins (polypeptides), enzymes and even more complex molecules, such as sugars, that are necessary for life.
New tool better estimates pandemic threats
March 6, 2013 11:12 am | News | CommentsA simple new method better assesses the risks posed by emerging zoonotic viruses Researchers show that the new tool can produce transmissibility estimates for swine flu, allowing researchers to better evaluate the possible pandemic threat posed by this virus. ntil now, estimates of transmissibility were derived from detailed outbreak investigations, which are resource intensive and subject to selection bias.
Biochemists gain insight into cell division
March 5, 2013 4:34 pm | News | CommentsScientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, including assistant professor Peter Chien, recently gained new insight into how protein synthesis and degradation help to regulate the delicate ballet of cell division. In particular, they reveal how two proteins shelter each other in “mutually assured cleanup” to insure that division goes smoothly and safely.
“True grit” erodes assumptions about evolution
March 5, 2013 1:13 pm | by Sandra Hines, University of Washington | News | CommentsNew research led by the University of Washington challenges the 140-year-old assumption that finding fossilized remains of prehistoric animals with such teeth meant the animals were living in grasslands and savannas. Instead it appears certain South American mammals evolved the teeth in response to the gritty dust and volcanic ash they encountered while feeding in an ancient tropical forest.
Traceable nanoparticles may be the next weapon in cancer treatment
March 5, 2013 8:58 am | by Karin Söderlund Leifler and Peter Larsson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology | News | CommentsTherapeutic and diagnostic in function, so-called “theranostic” particles have been developed by a team in Sweden. These small particles can be loaded with medicine and could be a future weapon for cancer treatment. Because the particles can be seen in magnetic resonance images, they are traceable.
International consortium builds “Google Map” of human metabolism
March 4, 2013 1:28 pm | News | CommentsBuilding on earlier pioneering work by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, an international consortium of university researchers has produced the most comprehensive virtual reconstruction of human metabolism to date. Scientists could use the model, known as Recon 2, to identify causes of and new treatments for diseases like cancer, diabetes and even psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
How do bacteria clog medical devices? Very quickly.
March 1, 2013 2:46 pm | News | CommentsA new study has examined how bacteria clog medical devices, and the result isn’t pretty. The microbes join to create slimey ribbons that tangle and trap other passing bacteria, creating a full blockage in a startlingly short period of time. The finding could help shape strategies for preventing clogging of devices such as stents and water filters
“Defective” virus plays surprising role in spread of disease
March 1, 2013 10:31 am | News | CommentsDefective viruses have genetic mutations or deletions that eliminate their essential viral functions. Thought for decades to be essentially garbage unrelated to the transmission of normal viruses, new research shows that they now appear able to play an important role in the spread of disease.
