Body

For about 15 years, scientists have known that certain "junk" DNA -- repetitive DNA segments previously thought to have no function -- could evolve into exons, which are the building blocks for protein-coding genes in higher organisms like animals and plants. Now, a University of Iowa study has found evidence that a significant number of exons created from junk DNA seem to play a role in gene regulation.

The findings, which increase understanding of how humans differ from other animals, including non-human primates, appear Oct. 17 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a critical metabolic "switch" in fruit flies that helps oxygen-deprived cells survive.

Hypoxia-induced injury occurs in the case of heart attack, stroke or other neurological or respiratory conditions which diminish the supply of oxygen to vital tissues and organs. Scientists know that most life forms are able to somehow suppress non-essential activity in order to survive oxygen deprivation, but they didn't know why or how this metabolic slowdown occurred.

Taking regular aspirin and antioxidant supplements does not prevent heart attacks even in high risk groups with diabetes and asymptomatic arterial disease, and aspirin should only be given to patients with established heart disease, stroke or limb arterial disease, according to a study published today on bmj.com.

The sperm that successfully fertilizes an egg triggers a series of events, known collectively as egg activation, that are considered the first step in the initiation of embryo development. Detection of egg activation is used by clinics to determine whether an in vitro fertilization procedure (a process whereby egg cells are fertilized by sperm in a test tube) has been successful. The sperm of some patients who repeatedly fail the in vitro fertilization technique ICSI, which is used to treat male factor infertility, fail to induce egg activation, and the patients are therefore sterile.

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 16, 2008 – Results of a study on the use of the FiberNet® Embolic Protection System in carotid artery stenting were reported today during the 20th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF). The research showed a low number of strokes and cardiac events in patients who had stents implanted utilizing a new embolic neuroprotection system during carotid stenting with commercial stents.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Emergency room doctors and nurses around the nation worry that hospitals are not adequately prepared to handle casualties from a radioactive 'dirty bomb,' said researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

The finding underscores the need for better hospital preparedness training and clearer guidelines for managing radiological events, the researchers said. A dirty bomb combines conventional explosives and radioactive materials.

A team of researchers from Penn State and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has discovered a way to use light to control certain proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions. "This is one of the first examples of someone successfully controlling the activity of a protein using light," said Stephen Benkovic, Penn State Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry, holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Chemistry, and one of the team's leaders.

New research suggests that lightening and volcanoes may have sparked early life on Earth. Researcher Jeffrey Bada at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and colleagues reanalyzed Stanley Miller's classic origin of life experiment, offering a new analysis on how the essential building blocks of life may have arose from volcanic eruptions.

The origin of life experimental apparatus made famous by Stanley Miller resides in the Bada Lab at Scripps.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A classic experiment proving amino acids are created when inorganic molecules are exposed to electricity isn't the whole story, it turns out. The 1953 Miller-Urey Synthesis had two sibling studies, neither of which was published. Vials containing the products from those experiments were recently recovered and reanalyzed using modern technology. The results are reported in this week's Science.

BOSTON, Mass. (Oct. 16, 2008) — Despite the rise of systems biology, many geneticists continue to probe genes in isolation. They even use cutting-edge RNA interference (RNAi) technology to knock down one gene at a time. This approach often yields a narrow view of cellular systems.

Now, researchers at Harvard Medical School, the Institute for Cancer Research, and the Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona have widened the lens, using RNAi to systematically knock down pairs of genes in fruit fly cells. The findings appear in the Oct. 17 issue of Science.

The means by which proteins provide a 'border control' service, allowing cells to take up chemicals and substances from their surroundings, whilst keeping others out, is revealed in unprecedented molecular detail for the first time today (16 October) in Science Express.

Washington, D.C.—The building blocks of life may have emerged in volcanic eruptions on the early Earth, according to a new analysis of classic experiments performed more than fifty years ago. Using modern techniques to examine samples from the original experiments, researchers discovered previously undetectable organic compounds. The results, reported in the October 17 issue of Science, point to the possible contribution of volcanism to the beginning of life on Earth.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University chemists say they have developed a new way to measure temperature changes inside the body with unprecedented precision by correcting a subtle error in the original theory underlying Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

"We can get five to 10 times better accuracy in temperature maps than is possible with the best possible conventional methods," said Warren Warren, a Duke chemistry professor who is corresponding author of a new report appearing in the Oct. 17 issue of Science. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

When Barack Obama began his Presidential campaign, his rhetoric emphasized abstract notions of hope, change, and judgment. In contrast, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and other candidates frequently presented detailed, concrete proposals on a host of topics ranging from foreign policy issues such as the Iraq War to domestic issues such as the economy and health care reform. Political commentators and opinion page writers criticized Obama for his lack of specifics, yet voters continued to respond to his message.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – A team of Rutgers University scientists led by Richard H. Ebright and Eddy Arnold has identified a new antibiotic target and a new antibiotic mechanism that may enable the development of broad-spectrum antibacterial agents effective against bacterial pathogens resistant to current antibiotics. In particular, the results could lead the way to new treatments for tuberculosis (TB) that involve shorter courses of therapy and are effective against drug-resistant TB.