news 2011

Researchers from Children of the 90s at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with 22 other studies from across the world, have discovered three new genetic variants associated with the skin condition eczema, a chronic inflammatory disease that afflicts millions of patients around the world. Previous research in Europeans had only identified two major genes, so this is a significant breakthrough that will help diagnose and treat the condition in the long term.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (12/22/2011) —Researchers from the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences, working with colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, have discovered a new target for HIV drug therapy that could make it possible for natural human antiviral proteins to destroy HIV.

Scientific discoveries come through many different means. Breakthroughs can result from purposefully-executed research projects that are perhaps punctuated with unexpected flashes of insight. In rare cases, discoveries occur through a chain of highly improbable, very lucky, occurrences. I strongly prefer my research team to stay on the first path and use their highly developed scientific skills to guide their efforts towards a rational goal.

Yale researchers have uncovered the molecular tricks used by bacteria to fight the effects of fluoride, which is commonly used in toothpaste and mouthwash to combat tooth decay. In the Dec. 22 online issue of the journal Science Express, the researchers report that sections of RNA messages called riboswitches - which control the expression of genes - detect the build-up of fluoride and activate the defenses of bacteria, including those that contribute to tooth decay.

In eukaryotes - the group of organisms that include humans - a key to survival is the ability of certain proteins to quickly and accurately repair genetic errors that occur when DNA is replicated to make new cells. In a paper published in the December 23, 2011 issue of the journal Science, researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have solved part of the mystery of how these proteins do their job, a process called DNA mismatch repair (MMR).

A collaboration between virologists and neuroscientists at Cambridge University has demonstrated how viruses that cross the blood/brain barrier could be exploited to slow down, or even halt, the progress of Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

A new measurement tool can identify cognitively normal adults who are at high risk for cognitive decline, according to a new study by collaborators at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School. The study is published in the December 21, 2011, online issue of Neurology , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

University pledges continued cooperation with NCAA inquiry Hotels to support RAINN over commencement weekend A message from President Rodney Erickson As lawmakers review child abuse laws, Erickson expresses support Blue out, canning efforts raise $47,000 to fight child abuse, rape UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.

A protein's function depends on both the chains of molecules it is made of and the way those chains are folded. And while figuring out the former is relatively easy, the latter represents a huge challenge with serious implications because many diseases are the result of misfolded proteins. Now, a team of chemists at the University of Pennsylvania has devised a way to watch proteins fold in "real-time," which could lead to a better understanding of protein folding and misfolding in general.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news2/2011/12/dengue.flv As part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's (HHMI) 2010 Holiday Lectures on Science, UC Berkeley's Eva Harris talked about her work with scientists and clinicians in Nicaragua on dengue over the past two decades. Here, several partners in Nicaragua talk about the impact of this collaboration.

Innovative machine learning method anticipates neurocognitive changes, similar to predictive text-entry for cell phones, Internet search engines At UCLA's Laboratory of Integrative Neuroimaging Technology , researchers use functional MRI brain scans to observe brain signal changes that take place during mental activity.

Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and can reduce blood supply to the heart tissue and damage cardiac cells, resulting in heart failure. New research has investigated if nerve growth factor (NGF) gene therapy can prevent diabetic heart failure and small vascular disease in mice.

A new malaria vaccine with the potential to neutralise all strains of the most deadly species of malaria parasite has been developed by an Oxford University-led team. The scientists from the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford have shown that their vaccine induces an antibody response in animal models that is capable of neutralising all the strains they tested of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum .

Women who are at risk for breast cancer may also be at greater risk for heart disease, new research from the University of Toronto and St. Michael's Hospital has found. The majority of women with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer have a mutated form of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which normally suppress the growth of breast and ovarian tumours.

Learning is when you change your behaviour in the light of new experience, and this is what a locust needs to do when it gets caught up in the crowd." —Dr Swidbert Ott from the University of Cambridge Department of Zoology New research has found that a protein associated with learning and memory plays an integral role in changing the behaviour of locusts from that of harmless grasshoppers into swarming pests.

A research group has developed a new strategy to fight cancer. Blood vessels in the environment of tumours are killed with a new molecule which leads to the "starvation" of the tumour. Compared to currently applied treatments, this new strategy has a series of advantages. Modern cancer therapeutics produced by biotechnological methods, often are based on antibodies.

In an example of life imitating art, biologists and bioengineers at UC San Diego have created a living neon sign composed of millions of bacterial cells that periodically fluoresce in unison like blinking light bulbs. Their achievement, detailed in this week's advance online issue of the journal Nature, involved attaching a fluorescent protein to the biological clocks of the bacteria, synchronizing the clocks of the thousands of bacteria within a colony, then synchronizing thousands of the blinking bacterial colonies to glow on and off in unison.

After birth, the developing brain is largely shaped by experiences in the environment. However, neurobiologists at Yale and elsewhere have also shown that for many functions the successful wiring of neural circuits depends upon spontaneous activity in the brain that arises before birth independent of external influences.

The new measurements are approximately 100 times higher in resolution than previous mechanical measurements, a nanotechnology feat which reveals an isolated protein molecule, surprisingly, is neither a solid nor a liquid. "Proteins are the molecular machines of life, the molecules we are made of," Zocchi (UCLA) said.

University pledges continued cooperation with NCAA inquiry Hotels to support RAINN over commencement weekend A message from President Rodney Erickson As lawmakers review child abuse laws, Erickson expresses support Blue out, canning efforts raise $47,000 to fight child abuse, rape A generally accepted, 44-year-old assumption about how certain kinds of bacteria make energy and synthesize cell materials has been shown to be incorrect by a team of