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Genome-wide Atlas of Gene Enhancers in the Brain On-line

By Guest PostFebruary 6, 2013Scienceautism, axel visel, basal ganglia, berkeley lab, biological functions, brain on line, cerebral cortex, cerebrum, chip seq studies, chromatin immunoprecipitation, cognition, collection of data, dalit may, dna basepairs, dna elements, embryonic forebrain, emotion, epilepsy, evolution, gene, gene enhancers, gene regulating elements, gene regulatory functions, genetic mutations, genome wide atlas, gray matter, hani girgis, human brain, human diseases, junk dna, leila taher, molecular toolbox, motor functions, neurological disorders, non coding mutation, olga golonzhka, protein coding genes, schizophrenia, sequences of dna, telencephalon

Collaboration Led by Berkeley Lab Researchers Creates High-Resolution Map of Gene Regulatory Elements in the Brain

Future research into the underlying causes of neurological disorders such as autism, epilepsy and schizophrenia, should greatly benefit from a first-of-its-kind atlas of gene-enhancers in the cerebrum (telencephalon). This new atlas, developed by a team led by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is a publicly accessible Web-based collection of data that identifies and locates thousands of gene-regulating elements in a region of the brain that is of critical importance for cognition, motor functions and emotion.

“Understanding how the brain develops and functions, and how it malfunctions in neurological disorders, remains one of the most daunting challenges in contemporary science,” says Axel Visel, a geneticist with Berkeley Lab’s Genomics Division. “We’ve created a genome-wide digital atlas of gene enhancers in the human brain – the switches that tell genes when and where they need to be switched on or off. This enhancer atlas will enable other scientists to study in more detail how individual genes are regulated during development of the brain, and how genetic mutations may impact human neurological disorders.” (more…)

Mutant Gene Responsible for Pigeons’ Head Crests

By Guest PostFebruary 5, 2013Nature, Scienceanna vickery, bgi shenzhen, cancers, columba livia, elizabethan collar, ephrin receptor b2, eric domyan, feral pigeons kinship, gene affects, gene named ephb2, genes in humans, genetic blueprint, george gilchrist, human genome, mark yandell, michael campbell, mutant gene, pigeon embryos, prostate cancer, reference genome, sydney stringham, zev kronenberg

Decoded genome reveals secrets of pigeon traits and origins

Scientists have decoded the genetic blueprint of the rock pigeon, unlocking secrets about pigeons’ Middle East origins, feral pigeons’ kinship with escaped racing birds and how mutations give pigeons traits like feather head crests.

“Birds are a huge part of life on Earth, but we know surprisingly little about their genetics,” says Michael Shapiro, one of the study’s two principal authors and a biologist at the University of Utah. (more…)

How Planets Form: Astronomers Weigh a Protoplanetary Disk with Unprecedented Accuracy

By Guest PostFebruary 5, 2013Scienceabundant element, accuracy, amount of hydrogen, astronomers, constellation hydra, discrepancy, dust and gas, dust grains, edwin bergin, european space agency, extra neutron, five solar systems, fraction, gaseous hydrogen, goran pilbratt, herschel space observatory, how planets form, human hair, ilsedore cleeves, jupiter, like earth, Nature, nucleus, orbiting radio telescope, origin of planets, planet building process, planet forming disk, planetary birth, protoplanetary disk, solar systems, starlight, sun, terrestrial worlds, total gas mass, tw hydra, universe, university of michigan, water and carbon, weighing a disc, young star

ANN ARBOR — In a study that gives astronomers new insights into how planets form, research led by the University of Michigan has enabled a dramatically more precise measurement of the amount of dust and gas in the planet-forming disk around a young star.

The findings speak, in a way, to a fundamental question: “Why are we here?” (more…)

Solar Fuel Success

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2013Environment, Science45 degree angle, ajay prasad, aldo steinfeld, ceramic surface, chemically reacting environment, concentrated light cone, critical reaction temperatures, electrical, energy security, environmental responsibility, erik koepf, eriks project, exposure, gravity, high temperature environment, hydrogen from sunlight, long term energy, mechanical, michael giuliano, paul scherrer institute, reactant, reaction cavity, reactor with mirror, solar fuel success, solar hydrogen, solar process laboratory, solar reactor, suresh advani, sustainability, swiss federal institute, switzerland, Technology, thermal systems, thermochemical reaction, two vials, university of delaware, water, zinc oxide powder, zurich

UD-developed solar reactor can produce solar hydrogen, but how much?

Last spring University of Delaware doctoral candidate Erik Koepf and research associate Michael Giuliano spent two months in Switzerland testing a novel solar reactor Koepf developed to produce hydrogen from sunlight.

Eight weeks of sophisticated testing at temperatures up to 1,200 degrees Celsius revealed that the reactor’s mechanical, electrical and thermal systems worked just as Koepf had predicted. (more…)

Small Asteroid to Whiz Past Earth Safely

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2013Sciencegeosynchronous satellites, geosynchronous weather, small asteroid

The small near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass very close to Earth on February 15, so close that it will pass inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites. NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office can accurately predict the asteroid’s path with the observations obtained, and it is therefore known that there is no chance that the asteroid might be on a collision course with Earth. Nevertheless, the flyby will provide a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close. (more…)

Researchers Create Self-Healing, Stretchable Wires Using Liquid Metal

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2013Scienceconductive properties, liquid metal, liquid metal alloy, microfluidic channels, self healing polymer, self healing wires

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed elastic, self-healing wires in which both the liquid-metal core and the polymer sheath reconnect at the molecular level after being severed. (more…)

Aging Cells Lose Their Grip on DNA Rogues

By Guest PostFebruary 3, 2013Scienceabigail peterson, aging bodies, aging cells, balls of protein, barbara mcclintock, brown university, chromatin, chromosomes, computational biologist, desirable genes, DNA, edward peckham, eliza hamm, enzyme, essential genes, euchromatin formations, faire, genetic material, genome, genomic havoc, heterochromatin, heterochromatin prison system, high stakes warfare, hiv drugs, human fibroblast cells, human retrotransposons, jayameenakshi manivannan, jill kreiling, john sedivy, l1, marco de cecco, mobile strands, molecular parasites, nicola neretti, nobel prize, nucleosomes, parasitic strands, reverse transcriptases, rna, sara hillenmeyer, senescent, senescent cells, steven criscione, technique, transposable elements, transposons, transposons in maize, useful genes

Transposable elements are mobile strands of DNA that insert themselves into chromosomes with mostly harmful consequences. Cells try to keep them locked down, but in a new study, Brown University researchers report that aging cells lose their ability to maintain this control. The result may be a further decline in the health of senescent cells and of the aging bodies they compose.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Even in our DNA there is no refuge from rogues that prey on the elderly. Parasitic strands of genetic material called transposable elements — transposons — lurk in our chromosomes, poised to wreak genomic havoc. Cells have evolved ways to defend themselves, but in a new study, Brown University researchers describe how cells lose this ability as they age, possibly resulting in a decline in their function and health. (more…)

Aztec Conquest Altered Genetics among Early Mexico Inhabitants, New DNA Study Shows

By Guest PostFebruary 3, 2013Science1395 ad, adna, alter, ancient dna, anthropological research, archeological dig, austin, aztec conquest, aztec empire, aztec imperialism, capital, case of xaltocan, colonization, dna study, early mexico inhabitants, exodus, genetic evidence, genetic impact, genetic shift, genetic transition, genetics, historical events, imperial conquest, jaime mata míguez, lisa overholtzer, mesoamerican populations, mexican city state, migration, mitochondrial adna, otomi inhabitants, otomi people, otomi population, otomi skull, post conquest era, pre aztec, university of texas, washington state university, wichita state university, xaltocan, xaltocan dig site, xaltocan households

AUSTIN, Texas — For centuries, the fate of the original Otomí inhabitants of Xaltocan, the capital of a pre-Aztec Mexican city-state, has remained unknown. Researchers have long wondered whether they assimilated with the Aztecs or abandoned the town altogether.

According to new anthropological research from The University of Texas at Austin, Wichita State University and Washington State University, the answers may lie in DNA. Following this line of evidence, the researchers theorize that some original Otomies, possibly elite rulers, may have fled the town. Their exodus may have led to the reorganization of the original residents within Xaltocan, or to the influx of new residents, who may have intermarried with the Otomí population. (more…)

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