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From pond scum to parasite: a surprisingly small genomic leap
SOCS-4 is a critical regulator of the immune response against influenza
Anti-aging Factor Offers Brain Boost Too
New Technology Using Florescent Proteins Tracks Cancer Cells Circulating in the Blood
What Vigilant Squid Can Teach Us About the Purpose of Pain
Discovery That Heart Cells Replicate During Adolescence Opens New Avenue for Heart Repair
Antibiotic Resistance Genes Are Essentially Everywhere
Polar Bear Genome Reveals Rapid Adaptation to Fatty Diet

From pond scum to parasite: a surprisingly small genomic leap

Posted: 09 May 2014 07:20 AM PDT

Helicosporidium is a lethal parasite of insects including caterpillars, beetles and blackflies. The evolutionary origins of this parasite have remained shrouded in mystery but recent studies strongly suggested similarity to a green alga called Prototheca. Evolution of parasites from algae is not unheard of. One of the most famous examples is the transition of the malaria parasite Plasmodium from red algae, with loss of genes encoding biological functions that are no longer needed in the organism’s new life as a parasite.

SOCS-4 is a critical regulator of the immune response against influenza

Posted: 08 May 2014 12:57 PM PDT

A protein called suppression of cytokine signalling-4 (SOCS-4) is a key regulator of the immune response against influenza virus. It is important in controlling the ‘cytokine storm’ associated with the lungs of critically ill patients. These are the main findings of a new study in the journal PLoS Pathogens from researchers in Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne and the University of Melbourne.

Anti-aging Factor Offers Brain Boost Too

Posted: 08 May 2014 09:06 AM PDT

A variant of the gene KLOTHO is known for its anti-aging effects in people fortunate enough to carry one copy. Now researchers find that it also has benefits when it comes to brain function. The variant appears to lend beneficial cognitive effects by increasing overall levels of klotho in the bloodstream and brain.

New Technology Using Florescent Proteins Tracks Cancer Cells Circulating in the Blood

Posted: 08 May 2014 09:01 AM PDT

After cancer spreads, finding and destroying malignant cells that circulate in the body is usually critical to patient survival. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Chemistry & Biology have developed a new method that allows investigators to label and track single tumor cells circulating in the blood. This advance could help investigators develop a better understanding of cancer spread and how to stop it.

What Vigilant Squid Can Teach Us About the Purpose of Pain

Posted: 08 May 2014 08:54 AM PDT

Most of us have probably felt that lasting sense of anxiety or even pain after enduring some kind of accident or injury. Now, researchers have the first evidence in any animal that there may be a very good reason for that kind of heightened sensitivity—or at least there is in the battle of squid versus fish. Squid that behave with extra vigilance after experiencing even a minor injury are more likely to live to see another day, according to a report appearing in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on May 8.

Discovery That Heart Cells Replicate During Adolescence Opens New Avenue for Heart Repair

Posted: 08 May 2014 08:48 AM PDT

It is widely accepted that heart muscle cells in mammals stop replicating shortly after birth, limiting the ability of the heart to repair itself after injury. A study published by Cell Press May 8th in the journal Cell now shows that heart muscle cells in mice undergo a brief proliferative burst prior to adolescence, increasing in number by about 40% to allow the heart to meet the increased circulatory needs of the body during a period of rapid growth.

Antibiotic Resistance Genes Are Essentially Everywhere

Posted: 08 May 2014 06:10 AM PDT

The largest metagenomic search for antibiotic resistance genes in the DNA sequences of microbial communities from around the globe has found that bacteria carrying those vexing genes turn up everywhere in nature that scientists look for them. The findings reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on May 8 add to evidence showing just how common and abundant those resistance genes really are in natural environments.

Polar Bear Genome Reveals Rapid Adaptation to Fatty Diet

Posted: 08 May 2014 04:47 AM PDT

Polar bears adapted to life in cold Arctic climates in part by relying on a high-fat diet mainly consisting of seals and their blubber. In a study published by Cell Press May 8th in the journal Cell, researchers discovered that mutations in genes involved in cardiovascular function allowed polar bears to rapidly evolve the ability to consume a fatty diet without developing high rates of heart disease. Moreover, the study revealed that polar bears diverged from brown bears less than 500,000 years ago—much more recently than estimates based on previous genomic data.