Biology
Here's my cool biology class. And some biology news:
Biology News Net - Molecular&Cell Biology
- Researchers discover how key enzyme repairs sun-damaged DNA
Researchers have long known that humans lack a key enzyme -- one possessed by most of the animal kingdom and even plants -- that reverses severe sun damage.
- Scientists tap into Antarctic octopus venom
Australian and international researchers have collected venom from octopuses in Antarctica for the first time, significantly advancing our understanding of the properties of venom as a potential resource for drug-development.
- Supercharged proteins enter biology's forbidden zone
Scientists are reporting discovery of a way to help proteins such as the new generation of protein-based drugs -- sometimes heralded as tomorrow's potential "miracle cures" -- get past the biochemical "Entrance Forbidden" barrier that keeps them from entering cells and doing their work. The new technique, described in the monthly journal, ACS Chemical Biology, represents a new use for an engineered form of green fluorescent protein, the topic of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry that is one of the most important research tools in biosciences.
- 'Mahjong'gene is key player when cancer, normal cells compete
A landmark study by Florida State University biologists, in collaboration with scientists in Britain, is the first to identify a life-or-death "cell competition" process in mammalian tissue that suppresses cancer by causing cancerous cells to kill themselves.
- Gene knockout makes female mice masculine
The mammalian fucose mutarotase enzyme is known to be involved in incorporating the sugar fucose into protein. Female mice that lack the fucose mutarotase (FucM) gene refuse to let males mount them, and will attempt copulation with other female mice. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Genetics created the FucM mouse mutants in order to investigate the role of this enzyme in vivo.
- Small molecule boosts production of brain cells, protects new cells from dying
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found a compound that preserves newly created brain cells and boosts learning and memory in an animal study.
- Biologists identify a new clue into cellular aging
The ability to combat some age-related diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, may rest with scientists unlocking clues about the molecular and cellular processes governing aging. The underlying theory is that if the healthy portion of an individual's life span can be extended, it may delay the onset of certain age-related diseases. In the search to understand these molecular processes, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have uncovered an important new DAF-16 isoform – DAF-16d/f – that collaborates with other DAF-16 protein isoforms to regulate longevity.
- Key component indentified that helps plants go green
A team of researchers from Duke University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has found a central part in the machinery that turns plants green when they sense light.
- Turning back the cellular clock
Cell reprogramming calls The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to mind.
- Can you make a snail forget?
Predator scent enhanced the ability of pond snails (Lymnaea stagnalis) to form memory following training, whilst overcrowding and reduced calcium had a blocking effect.