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New Insight into an Emerging Genome-Editing Tool

By Guest PostMarch 11, 2014Scienceactinomyces naeslundii, anacas9, bacteria, bacterial immune system, berkeley lab, biochemist, biophysicist, cas9, cas9 enzymes, crispr, david taylor, DNA, enzyme, eva nogales, fuguo jiang, genetic element, genetically engineered, genome editing tool, guide rna, jennifer doudna, microbes, spycas, streptococcus pyogenes

Berkeley Researchers Show Expanded Role for Guide RNA in Cas9 Interactions with DNA

The potential is there for bacteria and other microbes to be genetically engineered to perform a cornucopia of valuable goods and services, from the production of safer, more effective medicines and clean, green, sustainable fuels, to the clean-up and restoration of our air, water and land. Cells from eukaryotic organisms can also be modified for research or to fight disease. To achieve these and other worthy goals, the ability to precisely edit the instructions contained within a target’s genome is a must. A powerful new tool for genome editing and gene regulation has emerged in the form of a family of enzymes known as Cas9, which plays a critical role in the bacterial immune system. Cas9 should become an even more valuable tool with the creation of the first detailed picture of its three-dimensional shape by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley. (more…)

Fischlarven im Schichtbetrieb

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2014Health, Sciencearbeit, die innere uhr, erythrozyten, fabriken, fachzeitschrift chronobiology international, fischlarven im schichtbetrieb, herz kreislauf erkrankungen, margit egg, nachtrhythmus, risiko, schlaf wach rhythmus, simulation, tag, universitaet innsbruck, zoologie

Eine Störung des Schlaf-Wach-Rhythmus erhöht bei Zebrafischlarven das Risiko für Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen. Das zeigt eine aktuelle Studie von Forscherinnen und Forschern um Dr. Margit Egg von der Universität Innsbruck. Die Untersuchung könnte einen wichtigen Hinweis auf die Ursache vermehrter kardiovaskulärer Erkrankungen bei Arbeitnehmern in Schichtbetrieben liefern.

In Fabriken, Krankenhäusern und Verkehrsbetrieben verrichten Bedienstete ihre Arbeit zu sehr unterschiedlichen Zeiten. Sie haben einen zeitlich verschobenen Tagesablauf und wechseln immer wieder die Schicht. Nun haben Wissenschaftler um Dr. Margit Egg vom Institut für Zoologie der Universität Innsbruck in der Fachzeitschrift Chronobiology International eine Studie veröffentlicht, in der sie den Einfluss der inneren Uhr auf physiologische Parameter in Zebrafischlarven aufklären konnten. Störungen des zirkadianen Rhythmus verändern demnach bei den Larven die Anzahl und Qualität der roten Blutkörperchen deutlich und beeinflussen die Lebenserwartung der Tiere. Im vergangenen Jahr hatten die Innsbrucker Wissenschaftler bereits gezeigt, dass Sauerstoffmangel bei Zebrafischen die innere Uhr verstellen und umgekehrt Störungen der inneren Uhr die molekulare Reaktion auf Sauerstoffmangel verändern kann. (more…)

‘Life as Research Scientist’: Lauren Cruz, Wildlife Ecologist

By BlogArenaMarch 9, 2014Education, Interview, Nature, Scienceanthropogenic factors, coastal ecosystems, ecology of leatherback, environmental leadership lab, incubation temperature, jim spotila, john wnek, kayak tours, lauren cruz, leatherback trust, pacific leatherback population, playa grande, sea turtle species, turtle nesting, young biologist

Wildlife biologist Lauren Cruz is dedicated to the conservation of coastal ecosystems. She is a recent graduate from the University of Delaware and currently having a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation, Agricultural and Natural Resources and a minor in Entomology. Miss Cruz plans to pursue a M.S. in Marine Science. She attended the Brown University Environmental Leadership Lab on the Big Island of Hawai’i and participated in several projects in different wildlife fields while at the University of Delaware. During her summers, she worked at the Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center where she lead kayak tours and taught visiting groups about the marsh ecosystem and its inhabitants. (more…)

Touching the brain

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2014Health, Scienceafter stroke, brain damage, brain remapping, brenda rapp, cognitive psychologist, experience dependent plasticity, hyper plasticity, jared medina, neural map, patients, phenomenon, touching the brain, university of delaware

Research finds rapid brain ‘remapping’ in patients years after stroke

By examining the sense of touch in stroke patients, a University of Delaware cognitive psychologist has found evidence that the brains of these individuals may be highly plastic even years after being damaged.

The research is published in the March 6 edition of the journal Current Biology, in an article written by Jared Medina, assistant professor of psychology at UD, and Brenda Rapp of Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Cognitive Science. The findings, which are focused on patients who lost the sense of touch in their hands after a stroke, also have potential implications for other impairments caused by brain damage, Medina said. (more…)

Lavaströme am Fuß des Mistretta-Kraters auf dem Mars

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2014Sciencedaedalia planum, der krater mistretta, dlr, high resolution, hrsc, lavastrom, mars, mars express sonde, mistretta gebiets, mistretta krater, stereo camera, topographie, vulkan arsia mons, vulkanismus

Diese Bilder der vom Deutschen Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) betriebenen hochauflösenden Stereokamera HRSC auf der europäischen Mars Express-Sonde lassen erkennen, wie stark der Vulkanismus die Oberfläche des Mars geprägt hat. Der Krater Mistretta und die ihn umgebende Hochlandebene Daedalia Planum wurden von Lavaströmen überflutet, die vom Vulkan Arsia Mons stammen. Er ist fast 18 Kilometer hoch und liegt 900 Kilometer im Nordwesten. (more…)

NASA: Warm Rivers Play Role in Arctic Sea Ice Melt

By Guest PostMarch 8, 2014ScienceArctic, arctic ocean, Arctic sea ice, beaufort sea, consumption rate, dorothy hall, drainage basins, energy, factor, ignatius rigor, mackenzie river, NASA, northern hemisphere, reflective sea ice, sea ice melt, son nghiem, united states, warm rivers, watersheds

The heat from warm river waters draining into the Arctic Ocean is contributing to the melting of Arctic sea ice each summer, a new NASA study finds.

A research team led by Son Nghiem of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., used satellite data to measure the surface temperature of the waters discharging from a Canadian river into the icy Beaufort Sea during the summer of 2012. They observed a sudden influx of warm river waters into the sea that rapidly warmed the surface layers of the ocean, enhancing the melting of sea ice. A paper describing the study is now published online in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. (more…)

Study in Mice Raises Question: Could PTSD Involve Immune Cell Response to Stress?

By Guest PostMarch 8, 2014Scienceanxiety, anxiety like behavior, behavioral marker, behavioral terms, cellular component, central nervous system, chronic stress, immune cell response, inflammation, inflammatory immune response, john sheridan, jonathan godbout, monocytes, monocytes in brain, mood disorders, ohio state university, post traumatic, pro inflammatory proteins, ptsd, single acute stressor, stress, stress disorder, study in mice, symptom

After chronic stress, primed immune cells in spleen lead to excessive reaction to later event

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Chronic stress that produces inflammation and anxiety in mice appears to prime their immune systems for a prolonged fight, causing the animals to have an excessive reaction to a single acute stressor weeks later, new research suggests.

After the mice recovered from the effects of chronic stress, a single stressful event 24 days later quickly returned them to a chronically stressed state in biological and behavioral terms. Mice that had not experienced the chronic stress were unaffected by the single acute stressor. (more…)

Laserstrahl vom Mond bis zur Erde

By Guest PostMarch 7, 2014Scienceapollo 13, blu ray version, deutschen zentrums, dirk giggenbach, dlr, erde, esa, flugzeug, laserstrahl, llcd, llst, luft, lunar laser, MIT, mond, nasa sonde ladee, raumfahrt, signal

Rund 400 000 Kilometer hat das Signal zurückgelegt und die Erdatmosphäre durchquert, wenn es von Wissenschaftlern des Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) analysiert wird. Das Ergebnis: “Der Einfluss der Atmosphäre ist weniger stark als erwartet, die Qualität des Signals ist sehr gut”, sagt Dr. Dirk Giggenbach vom DLR-Institut für Navigation und Kommunikation. Gesendet wurde das Signal vom Lunar Lasercomm Space Terminal (LLST) an Bord der NASA-Sonde LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer), die seit Oktober 2013 um den Mond kreist. Damit wurde erstmals ein optischer Link nach seinem langen Weg durch den Weltraum vermessen. In Zukunft könnten beispielsweise Mond- oder planetare Missionen von dieser Art der Datenübertragung profitieren und Rover hochaufgelöste 3D-Aufnahmen in Echtzeit übermitteln. (more…)

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