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Biology RSS FeedsBrain starvation as we age appears to trigger Alzheimer's - A slow, chronic starvation of the brain as we age appears to be one of the major triggers of a biochemical process that causes some forms of Alzheimer's disease. ...Feed Source: feeds.biologynews.net Biologists learn structure, mechanism of powerful 'molecular motor' in virus - Researchers have discovered the atomic structure of a powerful "molecular motor" that packages DNA into the head segment of some viruses during their assembly, an essential step in their ability to multiply and infect new host organisms.
... Our unconscious brain makes the best decisions possible - Researchers at the University of Rochester have shown that the human brain?once thought to be a seriously flawed decision maker?is actually hard-wired to allow us to make the best decisions possible with the information we are given. The findings are published in today's issue of the journal Neuron.
... How chromosomes meet in the dark -- Switch that turns on X chromosome matchmaking - A research group lead by scientists at the University of Warwick has discovered the trigger that pulls together X chromosomes in female cells at a crucial stage of embryo development. Their discovery could also provide new insights into how other similar chromosomes spontaneously recognize each other and are bound together at key parts of analogous cell processes. This is an important mechanism as the binding togetgher of too many of too few of a particular chromosome can cause a number of medical conditions such as Down's Syndrome or Turner's Syndrome.
... Leptin's long-distance call to the pancreas - Rube Goldberg?the cartoonist who devised complex machines for simple tasks?would have smiled at one of leptin's mechanisms for curbing insulin release. As Hinoi et al. show, the fat-derived hormone enlists the sympathetic nervous system to prevent bone-making cells from releasing a molecule that prods the pancreas to discharge insulin.
... New 'smart' materials for the brain - Research done by scientists in Italy and Switzerland has shown that carbon nanotubes may be the ideal "smart" brain material. Their results, published December 21 in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, are a promising step forward in the search to find ways to "bypass" faulty brain wiring.
... Snails and humans use same genes to tell right from left - Biologists have tracked down genes that control the handedness of snail shells, and they turn out to be similar to the genes used by humans to set up the left and right sides of the body.
... Redesigned protein accelerates blood clotting - Researchers have made several, subtle changes in the structure of a key protein, dramatically increasing its ability to drive blood clotting, according to a study published in a December edition of the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. The findings have profound implications for the treatment of hemophilia, the inherited blood disorder that causes easy or excessive bleeding in 30,000 Americans.
... Harnessing microbes to boost plant production - Farmers, home gardeners, golf course managers and other growers now have access to a new type of microbial fertilizer that dramatically increases plant size and yield, thanks to a licensing agreement between Michigan State University and Bio Soil Enhancers Inc.
... Humans and chimps register faces by using similar brain regions - Chimpanzees recognize their pals by using some of the same brain regions that switch on when humans register a familiar face, according to a report published online on December 18th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The study?the first to examine brain activity in chimpanzees after they attempt to match fellow chimps' faces?offers new insight into the origin of face recognition in humans, the researchers said.
... Why locusts abandon a solitary life for the swarm - By applying an old theory that has been used to explain water flow through soil and the spread of forest fires, researchers may have an answer to a perplexing ecological and evolutionary problem: why locusts switch from an innocuous, solitary lifestyle to form massive swarms that can devastate crops and strip fields bare. Their report, published online on December 18th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, concludes that once the insects' ranks grow to a certain threshold size, banding together prevents predators from moving from one patch of insects to the next and easily picking the bugs off one by one.
... Common infant virus may trigger type 1 diabetes - Human parechovirus is a harmless virus which is encountered by most infants and displays few symptoms. Suspected of triggering type 1 diabetes in susceptible people, research methods need to take this "silent" virus into consideration. This comes from findings in a study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
... Scientists study how asbestos fibers trigger cancer in human cells - Ohio State University scientists believe they are the first in the world to study the molecular underpinnings of cancer by probing individual bonds between an asbestos fiber and human cells.
... Not just for depression anymore - Prozac is regularly prescribed to ease the emotional pain of patients who are being treated for cancer. But can this common anti-depressant help to fight cancer itself?
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