Microbiology

Researchers Find Hepatitis A And Hepatitis C Attack Same Protein To Block Immune Defenses

Despite the fact that they both infect the liver, the hepatitis A and hepatitis C viruses actually have very little in common. The two are far apart genetically, are transmitted differently, and produce very different diseases. Hepatitis A spreads through ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 18 2007 - 5:45pm

PCB95 Causes Developmental Abnormalities In Rats

Scientists have determined that a specific class of PCB causes significant developmental abnormalities in rat pups whose mothers were exposed to the toxicant in their food during pregnancy and during the early weeks when the pups were nursing. Polychlorin ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 23 2007 - 5:41pm

Adult Stem/progenitor Cells Repair Of Damaged Brain, Pancreas, Kidney Cells Newly Understood

New studies in the laboratory of Dr. Darwin J. Prockop, Director of Tulane University’s Center for Gene Therapy, are shedding light on the previously mysterious mechanism through which even relatively small amounts of stem/progenitor cells taken from a pat ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 29 2007 - 11:36pm

RNA Analysis Can Identify Rejection In Lung Transplants

Recent data from the Lung Allograft Rejection Gene expression Observational (LARGO) study provides compelling evidence that profiling gene expression in peripheral blood can detect organ rejection in lung transplant patients. Data from the study shows that ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 30 2007 - 9:18am

A New Role For Mitochondria In Cellular Copper Regulation

Copper is an essential part of our lives. From copper pipes and wires- to important copper-containing proteins in the body, copper is necessary for healthy growth and neurological development. Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill Un ...

Article - News Staff - May 1 2007 - 3:19pm

Methods For Marking Molecules To Identify Gene Alterations

Physical alterations of DNA in chromosomes can cause serious diseases such as Down syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, or cancer. Likewise, changes to the physiological environment of cells—with drugs or toxins, for example—can alter their metabolic output. T ...

Article - News Staff - May 1 2007 - 6:03pm

Little-known Cell Networks Are Vital To Circadian Rhythm

Circadian rhythm is the basic 24-hour cycle that involves various behaviors, including sleeping and eating, in all living organisms. In mammals, the circadian clock is organized hierarchically in a series of multiple oscillators. At the top of this hierarc ...

Article - News Staff - May 3 2007 - 5:39pm

Elastic Interactions Of Membrane Proteins

Cellular survival relies crucially on the ability to receive and communicate signals from and to the outside world. A major part of this regulation and communication is performed by proteins within the membrane of a cell. How these proteins work is an impo ...

Article - News Staff - May 3 2007 - 11:38pm

Even Newborn Neurons Want To Hang With The Cool Crowd

Don't feel bad if you want to be part of the "in" crowd. It may be hardwired in our brain cells. Even newborn brain cells reach out to mature brain cells that are already well connected within the established circuitry, report scientists at ...

Article - News Staff - May 7 2007 - 1:48pm

Study Finds Regions Of DNA That Appear Linked To Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Using an innovative statistical approach, a research team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California, Los Angeles, has identified two regions of DNA linked to autism. They found the suspicious DNA with a muc ...

Article - News Staff - May 10 2007 - 12:32am