Life Sciences

Genetic markers contain pieces of foreign DNA that allow researchers to know when the gene they inserted into a cell has produced the desired trait, like glowing when exposed to ultraviolet light. This is important because results are not easy to see. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research postdoctoral researchers Alexander Meissner and Marius Wernig have demonstrated that it’s possible to convert specialized mouse skin cells into unspecialized stem cells and have identified successfully reprogrammed cells by looks alone. Their findings bring human stem cell therapies a step closer to…

When human heart muscle cells derived from embryonic stem cells are implanted into a rat after a heart attack, they can help rebuild the animal's heart muscle and improve function of the organ, scientists report in the September issue of Nature Biotechnology. The researchers also developed a new process that greatly improves how stem cells are turned into heart muscle cells and then survive after being implanted in the damaged rat heart. The findings suggest that stem-cell-based treatments might one day help people suffering from heart disease, the leading cause of death in most of the world…

The Regea Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which operates under the University of Tampere in Finland, administered the first clinical stem cell therapy to two patients in cooperation with the Tampere University Hospital. The therapy was a success. The patients suffered from severe, prolonged frontal sinusitis. An implant combining stem cells and biomaterial was inserted into the damaged bone. Since the therapy, the patients have been well and no longer suffer from frontal sinusitis. Stem cell therapy was administered to patients with prolonged and severely symptomatic frontal sinusitis…

Researchers have determined that 97.9 percent of all white rice is derived from a mutation (a deletion of DNA) in a single gene originating in the Japonica subspecies of rice. Their report, published in the journal PloS Genetics, suggests that early farmers favored, bred and spread white rice around the world. The researchers report that this predominant mutation is also found in the Indica subspecies of white rice. They have found a second independent mutation (a single DNA substitution) in the same gene in several Aus varieties of rice in Bangladesh, accounting for the remaining 2.1…

For mice, carbon dioxide often means danger — too many animals breathing in too small a space or a hungry predator exhaling nearby. Mice have a way of detecting carbon dioxide, and new research from Rockefeller University shows that a special set of olfactory neurons is involved, a finding that may have implications for how predicted increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide may affect animal behavior. Most olfactory sensory neurons express odorant receptor molecules that detect odors and reside within the lining of the nasal cavity. But a small subset express an enzyme called guanylyl cyclase-…

For the first time, findings by scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) may be paving the way for more efficient analyses and tests related to the replication of cells, and ultimately, to the better understanding of human biology, such as in stem cell research. Faithful duplication of the genome (the hereditary information that is encoded in genetic materials known as DNA) ensures that daughter cells inherit a complete set of genetic materials identical to parent cells. This duplication occurs in the section of the cell cycle known as the S-phase. Extensive research on the…

Nerve cells must perform millions of neuronal processes and form connections between them during embryonic development to ensure that the nervous system will function properly. Dr. Marta Rosário and Prof. Walter Birchmeier from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch (Germany), a member of the Helmholtz-Association of National Research Centres, have discovered a novel regulator which is crucial for this process and which they named NOMA-GAP (Neurite-Outgrowth MultiAdaptor RhoGAP). They show that NOMA-GAP is essential for the function of the nerve growth factor (NGF…

Researchers have reported new insight into the pathology underlying a recently identified neurological disorder that strikes middle-aged adults that is caused by alterations in the same gene that causes fragile X syndrome. “Fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome” (FXTAS) overwhelmingly affects males, usually in their 50s, causing Parkinson’s-like symptoms and cognitive decline. In contrast, fragile X syndrome manifests itself from birth and is the most common form of X-linked mental retardation. In two related papers, researchers report studies revealing how FXTAS might arise from malfunction of…

Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness worldwide. There are various types of glaucoma, all of which lead to damage in the optic nerve and progressive loss of vision. Exfoliation glaucoma is caused by the buildup of fibrous deposits on the surfaces on the front of the eye. Between 10-20% of people over the age of 60 are believed to have some degree of exfoliation syndrome, and perhaps more than half of these individuals will go on to develop exfoliation glaucoma. The progression of glaucoma can be slowed using various medications that promote the drainage of fluids from the…

Scientists have discovered that leptin, one of the key hormones responsible for reducing hunger and increasing the feeling of fullness, also controls our fondness for food. A University of Cambridge team, headed by Dr Sadaf Farooqi and Dr Paul Fletcher, have discovered that the appetising properties of food have strong effects on the same key brain regions responsible for rewarding emotions and desires. Using brain imaging technology, they show that these areas of the brain “light up” when individuals deficient in leptin are shown images of food. Hunger influences what and how much we eat,…