Body

Our understanding of the importance of microRNAs in regulating gene expression is expanding, and with it our requirement for robust methods to measure their expression levels. Now a new method published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology helps researchers to better understand the delicate interplay between differences in microRNA expression levels and their target genes.

Neurological diseases including Parkinson's, Tourette's, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Alzheimer's, and schizophrenia are all associated with alterations in dopamine-driven function involving the dopamine transporter (DAT). Research published today in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience suggests that a number of estrogens acting through their receptors affect the DAT, which may explain trends in timing of women's susceptibility to these diseases.

On the 25th anniversary of the project that brought the large blue butterfly back from extinction in the United Kingdom, ecologists are for the first time publishing the decades of research that helped them rescue this spectacular butterfly.

June 15, 2009 — (BRONX, NY) — In a study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified cells in blood that predict which HIV-positive individuals are most likely to develop deadly fungal meningitis, a major cause of HIV-related death. This form of meningitis affects more than 900,000 HIV-infected people globally—most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and other areas of the world where antiretroviral therapy for HIV is not available.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (June 11, 2009) – A low cellular level of a tiny fragment of RNA appears to increase the spread of breast cancer in mouse models of the disease, according to researchers at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

Measuring levels of this so-called microRNA, which is also associated with metastatic breast cancer in humans, may more accurately predict the likelihood of metastasis (which accounts for 90% of cancer-related deaths) and ultimately help determine patient prognoses.

Charles Darwin wrote about it 150 years ago: animals don't pick their mates by pure chance – it's a process that is deliberate and involves numerous factors. After decades of examining his work, experts agree that he pretty much scored a scientific bullseye, but a very big question is, "What have we learned since then?" asks a Texas A&M University biologist who has studied Darwin's theories.

Scientists from King's College London and Imperial College London believe they have discovered a key element in the development of chronic asthma. Their research has been published in a new paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences to explain why the structure and function of asthmatic airways are changed or ''remodelled'' and how this contributes to chronic asthma.

A person's DNA is often damaged by a number of different chemical contaminants, and if not repaired properly, it can lead to the development of cancer and other diseases. Through an international collaboration, University of Alberta researchers Chris Le and Michael Weinfeld have discovered how damaged DNA is recognized and repaired. This could lead to improved treatment of cancer and other diseases.

LA JOLLA, CA—People who suffer from Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, a rare inherited cancer syndrome, develop gastrointestinal polyps and are predisposed to colon cancer and other tumor types. Carefully tracing the cellular chain-of-command that links nutrient intake to cell growth (and which is interrupted in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome), allowed researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies to exploit the tumors' weak spot.

Berkeley-- University of California, Berkeley, researchers have found what they think is a critical and, until now, missing piece of the puzzle about how stress causes sexual dysfunction and infertility.

Scientists know that stress boosts levels of stress hormones - glucocorticoids such as cortisol - that inhibit the body's main sex hormone, gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), and subsequently suppresses sperm count, ovulation and sexual activity.

When Jason Martin gives a talk about his research, he begins with the dramatic story of Mariana Bridi da Costa: The young Brazilian supermodel died from severe sepsis in January after amputation of both her hands and feet failed to stop its spread.

Martin, who is a fellow in allergy, pulmonary and critical care medicine, is part of an interdisciplinary team at Vanderbilt University that has come up with a high-tech approach to combat this deadly illness, which is one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States and kills more than half a million people worldwide every year.

You've just won a prize. Would you like to find out what it is right away, or wait until later? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says most people are happier waiting.

What motivates people to rebel against global brands—or consumption in general? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research examines the connection between nationalism and the anti-consumption movement in India.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers here have used sediment from the deep ocean bottom to reconstruct a record of ancient climate that dates back more than the last half-million years.

The record, trapped within the top 20 meters (65.6 feet) of a 400-meter (1,312-foot) sediment core drilled in 2005 in the North Atlantic Ocean by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, gives new information about the four glacial cycles that occurred during that period.

We've all experienced listening to a song until we can't stand it. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research may help people continue to enjoy the products and experiences they once loved.

Authors Jeff Galak (Carnegie Mellon University), Joseph P. Redden (University of Minnesota), and Justin Kruger (New York University) have discovered a quick and simple way to recover from satiation.