Science News SciGuru.com

Researchers Find “Grammar” Plays Key Role in Activating Genes
Global Team Identifies New Genes Behind Severe Childhood Epilepsy
Researchers suggest neural stem cells may regenerate after anti-cancer treatment
Electrical signatures of consciousness in the dying brain
Preclinical Tests May Lead to New Approach to Treat CNS Lymphoma
High-angle helix helps bacteria swim
Protein that delays cell division in bacteria may lead to the identification of new antibiotics
Genetic overlap between schizophrenia and depression
Specialists tracking how brain reacts to UV light in tanning study
New Drug Improves Walking Performance for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients
Study finds new trickery amongst orchids
Scientists Devise Innovative Method to Profile and Predict the Behavior of Proteins
Researchers Discover Atomic Clock Can Simulate Quantum Magnetism
Investigational Malaria Vaccine Found Safe and Protective
Study Shows MicroRNAs Can Trigger Lymphomas
New forensic technique for analysing lipstick traces
Scientists Find Key Signal that Guides Brain Development
Researchers Decode Origin of Inflammation-Driven Pancreatic Cancer
Study shows who survives Burkitt lymphoma
Brain chemistry changes in children with autism offer clues to earlier detection and intervention

Researchers Find “Grammar” Plays Key Role in Activating Genes

Posted: 13 Aug 2013 06:25 AM PDT

Researchers have probed deep into the cell’s genome, beyond the basic genetic code, to begin learning the “grammar” that helps determine whether or not a gene gets switched on to make the protein it encodes.

Global Team Identifies New Genes Behind Severe Childhood Epilepsy

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 03:09 PM PDT

A large-scale, international study on the genes involved in epilepsy has uncovered 25 new mutations on nine key genes behind a devastating form of the disorder during childhood.

Among those were two genes never before associated with this form of epilepsy, one of which previously had been linked to autism and a rare neurological disorder, for which an effective therapy already has been developed.

Researchers suggest neural stem cells may regenerate after anti-cancer treatment

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 01:46 PM PDT

Scientists have long believed that healthy brain cells, once damaged by radiation designed to kill brain tumors, cannot regenerate. But new Johns Hopkins research in mice suggests that neural stem cells, the body’s source of new brain cells, are resistant to radiation, and can be roused from a hibernation-like state to reproduce and generate new cells able to migrate, replace injured cells and potentially restore lost function.

Electrical signatures of consciousness in the dying brain

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 01:01 PM PDT

The "near-death experience" reported by cardiac arrest survivors worldwide may be grounded in science, according to research at the University of Michigan Health System.

Whether and how the dying brain is capable of generating conscious activity has been vigorously debated.

But in this week’s PNAS Early Edition, a U-M study shows shortly after clinical death, in which the heart stops beating and blood stops flowing to the brain, rats display brain activity patterns characteristic of conscious perception.

Preclinical Tests May Lead to New Approach to Treat CNS Lymphoma

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 10:01 AM PDT

A drug recently approved for use in multiple myeloma is now being tested for its ability to fight central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, a deadly cancer of the immune system that can affect the brain, spinal cord and fluid, and eyes. The clinical trial, now open at the three campuses of Mayo Clinic — in Florida, Minnesota and Arizona — follows successful testing of the drug, pomalidomide, in mouse models of CNS lymphoma. Details of the preclinical testing are available in the science journal PLOS ONE.

High-angle helix helps bacteria swim

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 08:56 AM PDT

It’s counterintuitive but true: Some microorganisms that use flagella for locomotion are able to swim faster in thicker, more viscuous fluids. Research engineers at Brown University have figured out why. It's the angle of the coil that matters. Findings are reported in Physical Review Letters.

Protein that delays cell division in bacteria may lead to the identification of new antibiotics

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 08:47 AM PDT

In 1958 a group of scientists working in Denmark made the striking observation that bacterial cells are about twice as large when they are cultured on a rich nutrient source than when they are cultured on a meager one. When they are shifted from a nutrient-poor environment to a nutrient-rich one, they bulk up until they have achieved a size more appropriate to their new growth conditions.

It has taken 60 years to figure out how the bacteria are able to sample their surroundings and alter their cell cycles so that they grow to a size suited to the environment.

Genetic overlap between schizophrenia and depression

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 08:38 AM PDT

In a new large-scale study, a worldwide research consortium show that people susceptible to psychiatric disorders such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have underlying genetic similarities. Several research groups from Karolinska Institutet took part in the study, which is published in the scientific periodical Nature Genetics.

Specialists tracking how brain reacts to UV light in tanning study

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 08:20 AM PDT

Neuroimaging specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center are launching the first clinical trial involving frequent and infrequent tanners designed to identify whether UV light triggers the brain’s pleasure sensors.

The study, dubbed GOLDEN for Gauging of Light-Dependent Experiences through Neuroimaging, will assess levels of dopamine, the brain’s pleasure chemical, before and after exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays in frequent and infrequent tanners.

New Drug Improves Walking Performance for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients

Posted: 11 Aug 2013 09:26 AM PDT

Results from a clinical trial of eteplirsen, a drug designed to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, suggest that the therapy allows participants to walk farther than people treated with placebo and dramatically increases production of a protein vital to muscle growth and health. The study, led by a team in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, is the first of its kind to show these results from an exon-skipping drug—a class of therapeutics that allows cells to skip over missing parts of the gene and produce protein naturally.

Study finds new trickery amongst orchids

Posted: 09 Aug 2013 07:46 AM PDT

Bees are tricked by orchids that disguise themselves as the brightly coloured flowers of neighbouring plants, according to new research.

The Oncidiinae group of orchids is one of the most diverse groups of flowering plant in the world, with around 1700 different species being found across South and Central America.

What is surprising about these flowers is that most of them are able to attract pollinators without rewarding them with the valuable oil or nectar which they receive from other flowers.

Scientists Devise Innovative Method to Profile and Predict the Behavior of Proteins

Posted: 09 Aug 2013 07:16 AM PDT

An enzyme is a tiny, well-oiled machine. A class of proteins that are made up of multiple, interlocking molecular components, enzymes perform a variety of tasks inside each cell. However, precisely how these components work together to complete these tasks has long eluded scientists.

But now, a team of researchers has found a way to map an enzyme’s underlying molecular machinery, revealing patterns that could allow them to predict how an enzyme behaves – and what happens when this process disrupted.

Researchers Discover Atomic Clock Can Simulate Quantum Magnetism

Posted: 09 Aug 2013 06:16 AM PDT

Researchers at JILA have for the first time used an atomic clock as a quantum simulator, mimicking the behavior of a different, more complex quantum system.

Investigational Malaria Vaccine Found Safe and Protective

Posted: 08 Aug 2013 01:21 PM PDT

An investigational malaria vaccine has been found to be safe, to generate an immune system response, and to offer protection against malaria infection in healthy adults, according to the results of an early-stage clinical trial published Aug. 8 in the journal Science.

Study Shows MicroRNAs Can Trigger Lymphomas

Posted: 08 Aug 2013 12:25 PM PDT

A small group of immune-regulating molecules, when overproduced even moderately, can trigger the blood cancers known as lymphomas, according to a new study led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI).

The six “microRNA” molecules were already known to be overproduced in lymphomas and in many other human cancers, but no one had demonstrated that they can be the prime cause of such cancers—until now. The new study also identified the major biological pathways through which these microRNAs ignite and maintain cancerous growth.

New forensic technique for analysing lipstick traces

Posted: 08 Aug 2013 09:17 AM PDT

A study by forensic scientists at the University of Kent has established a new way of identifying which brand of lipstick someone was wearing at a crime scene without removing the evidence from its bag, thereby avoiding possible contamination.

Using a technique called Raman spectroscopy, which detects laser light, forensic investigators will be able to analyse lipstick marks left at a crime scene, such as on glasses, a tissue, or cigarette butts, without compromising the continuity of evidence as the sample will remain isolated.

Scientists Find Key Signal that Guides Brain Development

Posted: 08 Aug 2013 09:11 AM PDT

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have decoded an important molecular signal that guides the development of a key region of the brain known as the neocortex. The largest and most recently evolved region of the brain, the neocortex is particularly well developed in humans and is responsible for sensory processing, long-term memory, reasoning, complex muscle actions, consciousness and other functions.

Researchers Decode Origin of Inflammation-Driven Pancreatic Cancer

Posted: 08 Aug 2013 07:36 AM PDT

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have revealed the process by which chronic inflammation of the pancreas, pancreatitis, morphs into pancreatic cancer. They say their findings point to ways to identify pancreatitis patients at risk of pancreatic cancer and to potential drug therapies that might reverse the process.

Study shows who survives Burkitt lymphoma

Posted: 08 Aug 2013 07:30 AM PDT

A new study in the journal Cancer that tracked survival of more than 2,200 adults over the last decade with a highly aggressive form of lymphoma finds that with notable exceptions, medicine has made substantial progress in treating them successfully. To help doctors and researchers better understand who responds well to treatment and who doesn't, the study authors used their findings to create a stratified risk score of patient prognosis.

Brain chemistry changes in children with autism offer clues to earlier detection and intervention

Posted: 08 Aug 2013 07:09 AM PDT

Between ages 3 and 10, children with autism spectrum disorder exhibit distinct brain chemical changes that differ from children with developmental delays and those with typical development, according to a new study led by University of Washington researchers.

The finding that early brain chemical alterations tend to normalize during the course of development in children with autism spectrum disorder gives new insight to efforts to improve early detection and intervention. The findings were reported July 31 in the Journal of the American Medical Assocation Psychiatry.