science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Παρασκευή 18 Οκτωβρίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Scientists expand the genetic code of mammals to control protein activity in neurons with light
Does Genetic Variability Affect Long-Term Response to Traumatic Brain Injury?
Weighing up blood-thinners: Is warfarin always the best choice?
Marmoset Monkeys Know Polite Conversation

Scientists expand the genetic code of mammals to control protein activity in neurons with light

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 09:36 AM PDT

With the flick of a light switch, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies can change the shape of a protein in the brain of a mouse, turning on the protein at the precise moment they want. This allows the scientists to observe the exact effect of the protein's activation. The new method, described in the Oct. 16, 2013, issue of the journal Neuron, relies on specially engineered amino acids—the molecules that make up proteins—and light from an LED.

Does Genetic Variability Affect Long-Term Response to Traumatic Brain Injury?

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 09:20 AM PDT

An individual's recovery months after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is difficult to predict, and some of the variability in outcomes may be due to genetic differences. Subtle variations in genes that regulate a person’s inflammatory response to injury can impact clinical outcomes in TBI, according to a new study published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Weighing up blood-thinners: Is warfarin always the best choice?

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 09:15 AM PDT

Patients who are responding below par to the anticoagulant drug warfarin have several options. They can undergo even more blood tests to monitor their response to the different dosages of this medication which is prescribed to prevent strokes, or they could start using one of the newer, yet more expensive, anticoagulants on the market. In the long run, says Joyce You of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in China, the latter option could actually be more cost-effective and improve a patient’s quality of life.

Marmoset Monkeys Know Polite Conversation

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 08:56 AM PDT

Humans aren't the only species that knows how to carry on polite conversation. Marmoset monkeys, too, will engage one another for up to 30 minutes at a time in vocal turn-taking, according to evidence reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on October 17.