Microbiology

Research from The University of Nottingham sheds new light on a fascinating phenomenon of the natural world — the ability of some species to reproduce sexually without a partner. Scientists have been trying to determine how individuals of a key fungus, Aspergillus nidulans, are able to have sex without the need for a partner. In new findings they reveal that the fungus has evolved to incorporate the two different sexes into the same individual. This means that when sex occurs the fungus activates its internal sexual machinery and in essence ‘mates with itself’ to produce new offspring,…

Portuguese scientists have shown that in bacteria the rate of beneficial mutations – those that increase the capacity of an organism to survive in a particular environment – is much higher than previously thought. In the case of Escherichia coli, the bacteria studied, it is as much as 1,000 times higher than previously believed. The study also suggests that many more genes mutate during bacteria adaptation to a new environment than previously thought. Both results - a much higher rate of advantageous mutations and a bigger number of genes mutating - have important implications for studies in…

Which genes are passed on from mother to child is decided very early on during the maturation of the egg cell in the ovary. In a cell division process that is unique to egg cells, half of the chromosomes are eliminated from the egg before it is fertilised. Using a powerful microscope, researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have now revealed how the molecular machinery functions that is responsible for chromosome reduction of egg cells in mice. In the current issue of Cell they report the assembly of this machinery, which is very different from what happens in all…

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine recently identified how a regulatory protein called Bcl-3 helps to control the body’s inflammation response to infection by interfering a critical biochemical process called ubiquitination. While previous studies suggested Bcl-3 plays a role in immunity, this is the first report that Bcl-3 regulates inflammation by blocking ubiquitination. Their findings, published in Science, open new avenues of exploration for developing therapies to treat infectious or inflammatory diseases, such as sepsis, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis…

A team of Cornell University scientists have discovered that a novel group of E. coli bacteria – containing genes similar to those described in uropathogenic and avian pathogenic E. coli and enteropathogenic bacteria such as salmonella, cholera, bubonic plague – is associated with intestinal inflammation in patients with Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease, an incurable inflammatory disorder of the intestine – most commonly found in the lower part of the small intestine called the ileum – affects 1-in-1,000 people in Europe and North America. Thus far, gut bacteria have long been suspected in…

Researchers from the Stem Cell Transplant Program and the Amyloid Treatment and Research Program at Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) have found that high-dose chemotherapy and blood stem cell transplantation can result in long-term survival for patients diagnosed with primary systemic light chain (AL) Amyloidosis. BUMC was the first to begin using this treatment in 1994 and is the only center to publish these long-term outcome results. AL amyloidosis occurs when plasma cells in bone marrow produce proteins that misfold and deposit in tissues, leading to organ failure and death.…

When it comes to generating neurons, researchers have found that not all embryonic stem (ES) cell lines are equal. In comparing neurons generated from two NIH-approved embryonic stem cell lines, scientists have uncovered significant differences in the mature, functioning neurons generated from each line. The discovery implies that culture conditions during ES cell generation -- which have yet to be identified -- can influence the developmental properties of human ES cells. The report also describes a new technique for producing functioning neurons from stem cells that will be important for…

A team of scientists led by professor Kiminobu Sugaya at the University of Central Florida may have found a new way to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The team, which also included researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the National Institutes of Health, combined a technique for transplanting stem cells into rats and a newly discovered compound, phenserine. It reduces the amount of a plaque that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The combination triggered the regeneration of neurons that are destroyed by Alzheimer’s and are necessary for healthy brain functions. There are 5…

Forsyth Institute scientists have discovered an important mechanism for controlling the behavior of adult stem cells. Research with the flatworm, planaria, found a novel role for the proteins involved in cell-to-cell communication. This work has the potential to help scientists understand the nature of the messages that control stem cell regulation ¯ such as the message that maintain and tells a stem cell to specialize and to become part of an organ e.g.: liver or skin. In recent years, planarians have been recognized as a great model system to molecularly dissect conserved stem cell…

An enzyme found naturally in the blood could help protect soldiers against the effects of the deadly nerve agent sarin. The US military is funding a three-year study to evaluate the effectiveness of the enzyme, known as GOT, in protecting animals against the damaging cognitive and coordination problems resulting from exposure to the organophosphorus nerve agent. The study will be carried out by Israeli firm Braintact, and follows earlier unpublished work with rats which showed the enzyme successfully protected the animals against neurological problems caused by exposure to paraoxon, a model…