Body

Thousands of sequences that control genes are active in the developing human limb and may have driven the evolution of the human hand and foot, a comparative genomics study led by Yale School of Medicine researchers has found

The research, published online July 3 in the journal Cell, does not pinpoint the exact genetic mechanisms that control development of human limbs, but instead provides scientists with the first genome-wide view of candidates to investigate.

In a study that could change the way scientists view the process of protein production in humans, University of Chicago researchers have found a single gene that encodes two separate proteins from the same sequence of messenger RNA.

Published online July 3 in Cell, their finding elucidates a previously unknown mechanism in human gene expression and opens the door for new therapeutic strategies against a thus-far untreatable neurological disease.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (July 3, 2013) – In a discovery that sheds new light on the aggressiveness of certain breast cancers, Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a transcription factor, known as ZEB1, that is capable of converting non-aggressive basal-type cancer cells into highly malignant, tumor-forming cancer stem cells (CSCs). Intriguingly, luminal breast cancer cells, which are associated with a much better clinical prognosis, carry this gene in a state in which it seems to be permanently shut down.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (July 3, 2013) – Whitehead Institute researchers have determined that the transcription factor Nanog, which plays a critical role in the self-renewal of embryonic stem cells, is expressed in a manner similar to other pluripotency markers. This finding contradicts the field's presumptions about this important gene and its role in the differentiation of embryonic stem cells.

BOSTON -- A mere 25 years ago, noncoding RNAs were considered nothing more than "background noise" in the overall genomic landscape. Now, two new studies reveal that one of these tiny noncoding molecules – microRNA-22 – plays an outsized role in two types of cancer.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—July 3, 2012—The ability to form blood vessels is one of evolution's crowning achievements, and something that separates vertebrates (animals with a backbone) from the rest of the animal kingdom. The two types of blood vessels, arteries and veins, are formed from the same precursor cell type—endothelial cells—that become committed to an arterial or venous cell fate during embryonic development. Yet precisely what drives this commitment, which is essential for shaping cardiovascular development, has long eluded researchers.

AMHERST, Mass. – Using a unique data set spanning 40 years of dengue fever incidence in Thailand, an international team led by biostatistician Nicholas Reich at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has for the first time estimated from data that after an initial dengue infection, a person is protected from infection with other strains for between one and three years.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Some blue whales off the coast of California change their behavior when exposed to the sort of underwater sounds used during U.S. military exercises. The whales may alter diving behavior or temporarily avoid important feeding areas, according to new research.

The Southern California Behavioral Response Study exposed tagged blue whales in the California Bight to simulated mid-frequency (3.5-4 kHz) sonar sounds significantly less intense than the military uses.

This news release is available in German.

Working in a team is not always easy, and achieving our aims often turns out to be much harder than we thought it would be. What can we do to increase our chances of gaining ultimate success? A new study from Aarhus University's transdisciplinary Interacting Minds Centre (IMC) provides insight into how to improve productivity when members of a group share a clearly identifiable goal.

(Boston)--Despite it being more than 30 years since the "fountain of youth drug" Gerovital H3 was banned in the United States, it may be making a comeback. In an editorial published in this month's Journal of the American Geriatrics Society BUSM researcher Thomas Perls, MD, points out that a few U.S.-based anti-aging and longevity clinics have begun to advertise Gerovital H3 in pill form and as intravenous infusions despite the fact that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned it in 1982.

The wasp family Platygastridae is a large group of tiny, exclusively parasitoid wasps distributed worldwide. The genera Odontacolus and Cyphacolus, belonging to this family, are among the most distinctive wasps because of the peculiar hump-like formation on the rear part of their bodies. Despite their intriguing body shape, the generic status of these two groups has remained unclear.

Exercise, even in small doses, changes the expression of our innate DNA. New research from Lund University in Sweden has described for the first time what happens on an epigenetic level in fat cells when we undertake physical activity.

"Our study shows the positive effects of exercise, because the epigenetic pattern of genes that affect fat storage in the body changes", says Charlotte Ling, Associate Professor at Lund University Diabetes Centre.

University of Adelaide research has produced a potential new antibiotic which could help in the battle against bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

The potential new antibiotic targets a bacterial enzyme critical to metabolic processes.

The compound is a protein inhibitor which binds to the enzyme (called biotin protein ligase), stopping its action and interrupting the life cycle of the bacteria.

July 3, 2013, Shenzhen, China – The international team, which included researchers from University of Copenhagen, BGI and other institutes, has successfully sequenced and analyzed the short pieces of DNA preserved in bone-remnants from a horse frozen for the last 700,000 years in the permafrost of Yukon, Canada. This is the oldest genome reported so far, which is ten times as old as the ancient Denisovan genome reported in last year. The work here laid a solid foundation for researchers to further decode other extinct species and clarify biology evolution.