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Newly Found Protein Helps Cells Build Tissues

By Guest PostApril 2, 2012Scienceantibody, bmps, bone morphogenic proteins, brown university, enzyme, fruit flies, gbb, gbb38, glass bottom boat, guillermo marques, kristi wharton, molecule, protein, signaling molecule, takuya akiyama, wing tissue

University biologists have found a new molecule in fruit flies that is key to the information exchange needed to build wings properly. They have also uncovered evidence that an analogous protein may exist in people and may be associated with problems such as cleft lip, or premature ovarian failure.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — As they work together to form body parts, cells in developing organisms communicate like workers at a construction site. The discovery of a new signaling molecule in flies by Brown University biologists not only helps explain how cells send many long-haul messages, but also provides new clues for researchers who study how human development goes awry, for instance in cases of cleft lip and palate. (more…)

Fossil Raindrop Impressions Imply Greenhouse Gases Loaded Early Atmosphere

By Guest PostApril 2, 2012Environmentames research center, atmosphere, atmospheric pressure, concentration, david catling, earth history, fossilized, greenhouse gases, jelte harnmeijer, latex peels, liquid water, low carbon innovation, peter polivka, pressure broadening, raindrop impression, raindrop velocity, roger buick, sanjoy som, seattle, South Africa, sun, temperature, warm temperature

In ancient Earth history, the sun burned as much as 30 percent dimmer than it does now. Theoretically that should have encased the planet in ice, but there is geologic evidence for rivers and ocean sediments between 2 billion and 4 billion years ago.

Scientists have speculated that temperatures warm enough to maintain liquid water were the result of a much thicker atmosphere, high concentrations of greenhouse gases or a combination of the two. (more…)

‘Mount Sharp’ on Mars Links Geology’s Past and Future

By Guest PostApril 1, 2012Sciencearizona, bob sharp, curiosity, edward stolper, gale crater, geological sciences, grand canyon, john grotzinger, ken edgett, life magazine, liquid water, mars, michael malin, mount rainier, mount sharp, NASA, robert p sharp, san diego, seattle, spacecraft

One particular mountain on Mars, bigger than Colorado’s grandest, has been beckoning would-be explorers since it was first sighted from orbit in the 1970s. Scientists have ideas about how it took shape in the middle of ancient Gale Crater and hopes for what evidence it could yield about whether conditions on Mars have favored life.

No mission to Mars dared approach it, though, until NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, which this August will attempt to place its one-ton rover, Curiosity, at the foot of the mountain. The moat of flatter ground between the mountain and the crater rim encircling it makes too small a touchdown target to have been considered safe without precision-landing innovations used by this mission. (more…)

Bees ‘Self-Medicate’ When Infected With Some Pathogens

By Guest PostApril 1, 2012Scienceantibacterial, antifungal, antifungal agent, fungal species, fungal spores, honey bees, marla spivak, michael simone finstrom, natural defense, pathogen, plant resin, propolis, rate of infection, self-medicate

Research from North Carolina State University shows that honey bees “self-medicate” when their colony is infected with a harmful fungus, bringing in increased amounts of antifungal plant resins to ward off the pathogen.

“The colony is willing to expend the energy and effort of its worker bees to collect these resins,” says Dr. Michael Simone-Finstrom, a postdoctoral research scholar in NC State’s Department of Entomology and lead author of a paper describing the research. “So, clearly this behavior has evolved because the benefit to the colony exceeds the cost.” (more…)

Curcumin Shows Promise in Attacking Parkinson’s Disease

By Guest PostApril 1, 2012Healthalpha synuclein protein, amino acid, basir ahmad, body temperature, clumping, curcumin, disease, folding, lisa lapidus, parkinson's, protein, spice, technique, turmeric

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Curcumin, a compound found in the spice turmeric, is proving effective at preventing clumping of a protein involved in Parkinson’s disease, says a Michigan State University researcher.

A team of researchers led by Basir Ahmad, an MSU postdoctoral researcher, demonstrated earlier this year that slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of clumping, or aggregation, which is the first step of diseases such as Parkinson’s. A new study led by Ahmad, which appears in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that curcumin can help prevent clumping. (more…)

A Shiny New Tool for Imaging Biomolecules

By Guest PostApril 1, 2012Scienceartificial membranes, cellular communication, cellular signaling networks, gold nanoantennas

Berkeley Lab Researchers Embed Artificial Membranes with Billions of Nanoantennas for Enhanced Optical Studies

At the heart of the immune system that protects our bodies from disease and foreign invaders is a vast and complex communications network involving millions of cells, sending and receiving chemical signals that can mean life or death. At the heart of this vast cellular signaling network are interactions between billions of proteins and other biomolecules. These interactions, in turn, are greatly influenced by the spatial patterning of signaling and receptor molecules. The ability to observe signaling spatial patterns in the immune and other cellular systems as they evolve, and to study the impact on molecular interactions and, ultimately, cellular communication, would be a critical tool in the fight against immunological and other disorders that lead to a broad range of health problems including cancer. Such a tool is now at hand. (more…)

Evolving to Fight Epidemics: Weakness Can Be an Advantage

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2012Scienceecological factors, epidemic size, infection assays, parasite epidemic, resistant to infection, small epidemics, water fleas

Less resistance can sometimes be better than more–at least in a freshwater lake

When battling a deadly parasite epidemic, less resistance can sometimes be better than more, a new study suggests.

A freshwater zooplankton species known as Daphnia dentifera endures periodic epidemics of a virulent yeast parasite that can infect more than 60 percent of the Daphnia population. (more…)

Mapping Grasslands for Biofuel Potential

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2012Environmentalternative, america, biofuel crop, cell wall, cellulosic, energy, environmental impact, fertilizer, fossil fuel, grassland, irrigation water, marcia mcnutt, miscanthus, municipal wastes, nebraska, non food crop, north american, overgrazing, plant, platte river basin, prairie, switchgrass, tallgrass, united states, usgs, woody biomass

USGS scientists have developed a new method for mapping grasslands that demonstrate high potential for growing biofuel crops with relatively little energy input and environmental impact.

The pioneering investigation used remote sensing data from satellites to identify detailed areas of the Greater Platte River Basin (most of Nebraska, parts of adjacent states) that are best suited for producing cellulosic (from the cell walls of plants) biofuel derived from hardy switchgrass, a native plant that grows wild or is easily cultivated. (more…)

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