Biology News Net

Actor Johnny Depp immortalized in ancient fossil find

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:57:53 -0500

A scientist has discovered an ancient extinct creature with 'scissor hand-like' claws in fossil records and has named it in honour of his favourite movie star.

DNA-guided assembly yields novel ribbon-like nanostructures

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:57:52 -0500

DNA-tethered nanorods link up like rungs on a ribbonlike ladder—a new mechanism for linear self-assembly that may be unique to the nanoscale. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered that DNA "linker" strands coax nano-sized rods to line up in way unlike any other spontaneous arrangement of rod-shaped objects. The arrangement-with the rods forming "rungs" on ladder-like ribbons linked by multiple DNA strands-results from the collective interactions of the flexible DNA tethers and may be unique to the nanoscale. The research, described in a paper published online in ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society, could result in the fabrication of new nanostructured materials with desired properties.

Stem-cell-based strategy boosts immune system in mice

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:57:51 -0500

This image shows Matthias Hebrok, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco. Raising hopes for cell-based therapies, UC San Francisco researchers have created the first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells in the laboratory. The researchers showed that, in mice, the tissue can be used to foster the development of white blood cells the body needs to mount healthy immune responses and to prevent harmful autoimmune reactions.

Mapping the embryonic epigenome

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:33:00 -0500

May 9, 2013, New York, NY and San Diego, CA – A large, multi-institutional research team involved in the NIH Epigenome Roadmap Project has published a sweeping analysis in the current issue of the journal Cell of how genes are turned on and off to direct early human development. Led by Bing Ren of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Joseph Ecker of The Salk Institute for Biological Studies and James Thomson of the Morgridge Institute for Research, the scientists also describe novel genetic phenomena likely to play a pivotal role not only in the genesis of the embryo, but that of cancer as well. Their publicly available data, the result of more than four years of experimentation and analysis, will contribute significantly to virtually every subfield of the biomedical sciences.

Study finds brain system for emotional self-control

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:33:00 -0500

Different brain areas are activated when we choose to suppress an emotion, compared to when we are instructed to inhibit an emotion, according a new study from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Ghent University.

A cautionary tale on genome-sequencing diagnostics for rare diseases

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:32:59 -0500

Children born with rare, inherited conditions known as Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation, or CDG, have mutations in one of the many enzymes the body uses to decorate its proteins and cells with sugars. Properly diagnosing a child with CDG and pinpointing the exact sugar gene that's mutated can be a huge relief for parents—they better understand what they're dealing with and doctors can sometimes use that information to develop a therapeutic approach. Whole-exome sequencing, an abbreviated form of whole-genome sequencing, is increasingly used as a diagnostic for CDG.

NIH scientists create new tool for identifying powerful HIV antibodies

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:32:59 -0500

A team of NIH scientists has developed a new tool to identify broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) capable of preventing infection by the majority of HIV strains found around the globe, an advance that could help speed HIV vaccine research. Scientists have long studied HIV-infected individuals whose blood shows powerful neutralization activity because understanding how HIV bNAbs develop and attack the virus can yield clues for HIV vaccine design. But until now, available methods for analyzing blood samples did not easily yield specific information about the HIV bNAbs present or the parts of the virus they targeted. In addition, determining where and how HIV bNAbs bind to the virus has been a laborious process involving several complicated techniques and relatively large quantities of blood from individual donors.

New device can extract human DNA with full genetic data in minutes

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:10:49 -0500

This is the hand-held device for extracting DNA. Take a swab of saliva from your mouth and within minutes your DNA could be ready for analysis and genome sequencing with the help of a new device.

The Black Sea is a goldmine of ancient genetic data

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:10:48 -0500

When Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) marine paleoecologist Marco Coolen was mining through vast amounts of genetic data from the Black Sea sediment record, he was amazed about the variety of past plankton species that left behind their genetic makeup (i.e., the plankton paleome).

A new cost-effective genome assembly process

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:13:17 -0500

The U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) is among the world leaders in sequencing the genomes of microbes, focusing on their potential applications in the fields of bioenergy and environment. As a national user facility, the DOE JGI is also focused on developing tools that more cost-effectively enable the assembly and analysis of the sequence that it, as well as other genome centers, generates.

Epilepsy cured in mice using brain cells

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:13:17 -0500

UCSF scientists controlled seizures in epileptic mice with a one-time transplantation of medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) cells, which inhibit signaling in overactive nerve circuits, into the hippocampus, a brain region associated with seizures, as well as with learning and memory. Other researchers had previously used different cell types in rodent cell transplantation experiments and failed to stop seizures.

Genome sequencing provides unprecedented insight into causes of pneumococcal disease

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:13:16 -0500

A new study led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the UK has, for the first time, used genome sequencing technology to track the changes in a bacterial population following the introduction of a vaccine. The study follows how the population of pneumococcal bacteria changed following the introduction of the 'Prevnar' conjugate polysaccharide vaccine, which substantially reduced rates of pneumococcal disease across the U.S. The work demonstrates that the technology could be used in the future to monitor the effectiveness of vaccination or antibiotic use against different species of bacterial pathogens, and for characterizing new and emerging threats.

Printable 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:37:11 -0500

Scientists used 3-D printing to merge tissue and an antenna capable of receiving radio signals. Scientists at Princeton University used off-the-shelf printing tools to create a functional ear that can "hear" radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability.

Large genomic study identifies endometrial cancer subtypes, treatment opportunities

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:37:10 -0500

Endometrial tumors can be reclassified into distinct subtypes based partly on their genomic makeup and may respond to targeted drugs already being tested in clinical trials, according to a large-scale genomic analysis led by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and other centers within The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network.