Body

Genetic tradeoff: Harmful genes are widespread in yeast but hold hidden benefits

ANN ARBOR— The genes responsible for inherited diseases are clearly bad for us, so why hasn't evolution, over time, weeded them out and eliminated them from the human genome altogether? Part of the reason seems to be that genes that can harm us at one stage of our lives are necessary and beneficial to us at other points in our development.

The idea that the same gene can be both beneficial and harmful, depending on the situation, is called antagonistic pleiotropy. The theory has been around since the 1950s and has been used to explain aging, cancer and genetic diseases.

Male competition over females

When a female mates with several males, these will compete over the fertilization her eggs. This is an important evolutionary force that has led to the evolution of a diversity of male sexual organ morphologies. This is revealed in a study of seed beetles published today in the leading scientific journal Current Biology.

Temple-Penn team identifies gatekeeper protein, new details on cell's power source

(Philadelphia, PA) – Researchers at Temple University's Center for Translational Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania have identified a protein that serves as a gatekeeper for controlling the rush of calcium into the cell's power source, the mitochondria. Without this calcium spigot under control, calcium levels can run amok, contributing to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neurodegeneration.

An animal model of typhoid fever could lead to better vaccines

The first mouse model of the common bacterial disease typhoid fever is reported in a study published by Cell Press October 25 in the journal Cell. Because the animals show human-like symptoms and respond positively to immunization, they could be used to develop more effective vaccines against the deadly pathogen.

Traditional fisheries management approach jeopardizes marine ecosystems worldwide

STONY BROOK, NY– In a Perspectives article, "The Risks of Overfishing," published today in the journal Science, Dr. Ellen K. Pikitch, executive director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science and professor at Stony Brook University, cautions against continuing traditional fisheries management. According to Dr.

Structure discovered for promising tuberculosis drug target

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have figured out the three-dimensional shape of the protein responsible for creating unique bonds within the cell wall of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. The bonds make the bacteria resistant to currently available drug therapies, contributing to the alarming rise of these super-bacteria throughout the world.

Scientists create first mouse model of typhoid fever

New York, NY (October 25, 2012) — Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have created the first true mouse model of typhoid infection. The development promises to advance the study of typhoid and the creation of new vaccines against the infection, which remains a major health threat in developing countries. The paper was published today in the online edition of the journal Cell.

Resveratrol falls short in health benefits

Resveratrol, an ingredient in red wine thought to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce risk of heart disease and increase longevity, does not appear to offer these benefits in healthy women, new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates.

The study, reported online Oct. 25 in Cell Metabolism, involved 29 post-menopausal women who did not have type 2 diabetes and who were reasonably healthy. For 12 weeks, half took an over-the-counter resveratrol supplement, and the rest got a placebo, or sugar pill.

Antibiotics that only partly block protein machinery allow germs to poison themselves

Powerful antibiotics that scientists and physicians thought stop the growth of harmful bacteria by completely blocking their ability to make proteins actually allow the germs to continue producing certain proteins -- which may help do them in.

The finding, by a team at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, clarifies how antibiotics work and may aid in the discovery of new drugs or improve clinical therapy with existing ones. The study is published in the Oct. 26 issue of the journal Cell.

Study reveals rate at which key genetic deletions contribute to male infertility

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (October 25, 2012) — A large-scale analysis of Y chromosomes from more than 20,000 men finds that two spontaneously recurring deletions along a complex region of the Y chromosome are responsible for approximately 8% of cases of failed sperm production.

Whitehead scientists identify major flaw in standard approach to global gene expression analysis

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (October 25, 2012) –Whitehead Institute researchers report that common assumptions employed in the generation and interpretation of data from global gene expression analyses can lead to seriously flawed conclusions about gene activity and cell behavior in a wide range of current biological research.

"Expression analysis is one of the most commonly used methods in modern biology," says Whitehead Member Richard Young. "So we are concerned that flawed assumptions may affect the interpretation of many biological studies."

A new technique to study how myeloids become white blood cells

University of Illinois cell and developmental Biology professor Fei Wang and colleagues have created a new technique to study how myeloids, a type of blood stem cell, become the white blood cells important for immune system defense against infections and tissue damage. This approach offers new insights into the molecular mechanisms at work during myeloid differentiation, and may improve our ability to treat myeloid diseases like leukemia, the researchers report. Their findings appear in the journal Blood.

University of Toronto study demonstrates impact of adversity on early life development

TORONTO, ON – It is time to put the nature versus nurture debate to rest and embrace growing evidence that it is the interaction between biology and environment in early life that influences human development, according to a series of studies recently published in a special edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Far from random, evolution follows a predictable genetic pattern, Princeton researchers find

Evolution, often perceived as a series of random changes, might in fact be driven by a simple and repeated genetic solution to an environmental pressure that a broad range of specieshappen to share, according to new research.

Size does matter in sexual selection, at least among beetles

A new collaborative project among researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden and the University of Cincinnati has, for the first time, demonstrated experimentally the evolutionary force behind the rapid evolution of male genitals, focusing on a species of seed beetle.