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New tool for mining bacterial genome for novel drugs
Researchers discover new mutations driving malignant melanoma
Researchers: How are You Authenticating Your Non-human Cell Lines?
NIST's 'Nanotubes on a Chip' May Simplify Optical Power Measurements
Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to High Risk of Premenopausal Breast Cancer
Chameleon Star Baffles Astronomers
Personal Epigentic "Signatures" Found Consistent in Prostate Cancer Patient Metastases
Learning How Cells Tune In to Important Information

New tool for mining bacterial genome for novel drugs

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 10:45 AM PST

Vanderbilt biochemists have discovered that the process bacteria undergo when they become drug resistant can act as a powerful tool for drug discovery.

Their findings – reported this week in the Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – should give a major boost to natural products drug discovery – the process of finding new drugs from compounds isolated from living organisms – by substantially increasing the number of novel compounds that scientists can extract from individual microorganisms.

Researchers discover new mutations driving malignant melanoma

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 10:32 AM PST

Two new mutations that collectively occur in 71 percent of malignant melanoma tumors have been discovered in what scientists call the "dark matter" of the cancer genome, where cancer-related mutations haven't been previously found.

Reporting their findings in the Jan. 24 issue of Science Express, the researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute said the highly "recurrent" mutations – occurring in the tumors of many people – may be the most common mutations in melanoma cells found to date.

Researchers: How are You Authenticating Your Non-human Cell Lines?

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 10:24 AM PST

For human cells, researchers have adopted practices that are currently used for human identification, which are based on the detection of short tandem repeat (STR) markers. For the large volume of research that is performed using non-human cell lines (mouse, hamster, monkey, etc.), there are no STR marker assays that are able to uniquely and unequivocally identify a particular cell line.

NIST's 'Nanotubes on a Chip' May Simplify Optical Power Measurements

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:55 AM PST

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated a novel chip-scale instrument made of carbon nanotubes that may simplify absolute measurements of laser power, especially the light signals transmitted by optical fibers in telecommunications networks.

Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to High Risk of Premenopausal Breast Cancer

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:45 AM PST

A prospective study led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has found that low serum vitamin D levels in the months preceding diagnosis may predict a high risk of premenopausal breast cancer.

Chameleon Star Baffles Astronomers

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST

Pulsars — tiny spinning stars, heavier than the sun and smaller than a city — have puzzled scientists since they were discovered in 1967.

Now, new observations by an international team, including University of Vermont astrophysicist Joanna Rankin, make these bizarre stars even more puzzling.

The scientists identified a pulsar that is able to dramatically change the way in which it shines. In just a few seconds, the star can quiet its radio waves while at the same time it makes its X-ray emissions much brighter.

Personal Epigentic "Signatures" Found Consistent in Prostate Cancer Patient Metastases

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 08:06 AM PST

In a genome-wide analysis of 13 metastatic prostate cancers, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center found consistent epigenetic “signatures” across all metastatic tumors in each patient. The discovery of the stable, epigenetic “marks” that sit on the nuclear DNA of cancer cells and alter gene expression, defies a prevailing belief that the marks vary so much within each individual’s widespread cancers that they have little or no value as targets for therapy or as biomarkers for treatment response and predicting disease severity.

Learning How Cells Tune In to Important Information

Posted: 25 Jan 2013 07:58 AM PST

Every minute of its existence, a living cell must assess and analyze myriad bits of information—everything from the temperature of its environment to the chemical makeup of its surroundings. Sometimes, these inputs cause a cell to change how it functions, but other times, the information may not lead to a measurable change in the cell’s activity.