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Berkeley Lab Scientists Create First 3-D Model of a Protein Critical to Embryo Development

By Guest PostSeptember 21, 2012Science3d model, aebp2, alessio maiolica, angstroms, arm1, arm2, berkeley lab, birth defect, cancer, chromatin environment, claudio ciferri, complex, complex 2, crystal structure, DNA, electron microscopy, eva nogales, franz herzog, function, gabriel lander, human, mass spectrometry, mechanism, model, molecular architecture, nucleosome, polycomb, prc2, progression, protein, protein biochemistry, repressive, ruedi aebersold, therapeutic drug

The first detailed and complete picture of a protein complex that is tied to human birth defects as well as the progression of many forms of cancer has been obtained by an international team of researchers led by scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Knowing the architecture of this protein, PRC2, for Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, should be a boon to its future use in the development of new and improved therapeutic drugs.

“We present a complete molecular organization of human PRC2 that offers an invaluable structural context for understanding all of the previous biochemical and functional data that has been collected on this complex,” says Berkeley Lab biophysicist Eva Nogales, an electron microscopy expert who led this research. “Our model should also be an invaluable tool for the design of new experiments aimed at asking detailed questions about the mechanisms that enable PRC2 to function and how those mechanisms might be exploited.” (more…)

UCLA Engineers Shed New Light on 3-D Motion of Human Sperm Cells

By Guest PostSeptember 20, 2012Health, Scienceaydogan ozcan, biophysics, corkscrew, curved, distance, helical, human, illumination, liang xue, light source, linear, micrometers, microorganism, optical microscope, rotation speed, sperm cell, statistical behavior, swimming pattern, three-dimensional, ting wei su

Using new lensless imaging platform, team observes rare helical movements

A team of researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has, for the first time, directly recorded the three-dimensional helical swimming patterns of human sperm cells.

The team, led by Aydogan Ozcan, associate professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering, developed a novel lensless computational imaging platform that accurately tracked more than 24,000 individual sperm cells in a large volume. This involved observing the individual rotations of each sperm cell, including helical movement patterns, rotation speed, and linear and curved distances traveled. (more…)

UCLA Scientists Discover ‘Missing Link’ Between Blood Stem Cells, Immune System

By Guest PostSeptember 5, 2012Health, Scienceblood, blood lineage, bone marrow, cell, diseases, gay crooks, gene, haystack, human, immune deficiency, immune function, immune system, infection, leukemia, lisa kohn, lymphocytes, missing link, needle, platelets, post natal life, progenitors, red blood cell, researcher, set, stem cell, type, ucla

UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the “missing link” between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function.

The research was done using human bone marrow, which contains all the stem cells that produce blood during post-natal life. (more…)

Tigers Take the Night Shift to Coexist with People

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2012Naturebinoj shresthaof, camera trap, carnivore, chitwan, chitwan tiger, coexist, human, jack liu, jhamak karkiof, jianguo, michigan state university, motion detecting, NASA, national park, Nature, neil carter, nepal, night shift, road, tiger, trail

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Tigers aren’t known for being accommodating, but a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that the carnivores in Nepal are taking the night shift to better coexist with humans.

The revelation that tigers and people are sharing exactly the same space – the same roads and trails – of Chitwan National Park flies in the face of long-held convictions in conservation circles. It also underscores how successful conservation efforts need sciences that takes into account both nature and humans.

“As our planet becomes more crowded, we need to find creative solutions that consider both human and natural systems,” said Jianguo “Jack” Liu, the director of the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability at Michigan State University. “Sustainability can be achieved if we have a good understanding of the complicated connections between both worlds. We’ve found something very interesting is happening in Nepal that holds promise for both humans and nature to thrive.” (more…)

More Sophisticated Wiring, Not Just a Bigger Brain, Helped Humans Evolve Beyond Chimps

By Guest PostAugust 26, 2012Scienceamino acids, autism, bipolar syndrome, brain disease, brain region, brain tissue, cellular protein, chimp, chimp brain, chimpanzee, circadian rhythm, clock, daniel geschwind, DNA, expression, foxp1, foxp2, frontal cortex, frontal lobe, function, gene manufacture, genevieve konopka, genome, hippocampus, human, human brain, human evolution, human gene, hypothesis, jeremy davis turak, kellen winden, plasticity, schizophrenia, striatum, tara friedrich, ucla

Human and chimp brains look anatomically similar because both evolved from the same ancestor millions of years ago. But where does the chimp brain end and the human brain begin?

A new UCLA study pinpoints uniquely human patterns of gene activity in the brain that could shed light on how we evolved differently than our closest relative. The identification of these genes could improve understanding of human brain diseases like autism and schizophrenia, as well as learning disorders and addictions.

The research appears Aug. 22 in the advance online edition of the journal Neuron. (more…)

Engineered Microvessels Provide a 3-D Test Bed for Human Diseases

By Guest PostMay 31, 2012Science3 d test bed, abraham stroock, abundant protein, bioengineering, blood clots, bloodstream, cancer, chemical factor, collagen, cornell university, disease, endothelial cells, honeycomb, human, human blood vessels, human cancer, human cell, jose lopez, mechanical, mice and monkeys, michael craven, model, petri dish, samuel totorica, shear stress, tumor progression, university of washington, ying zheng

Mice and monkeys don’t develop diseases in the same way that humans do. Nevertheless, after medical researchers have studied human cells in a Petri dish, they have little choice but to move on to study mice and primates.

University of Washington bioengineers have developed the first structure to grow small human blood vessels, creating a 3-D test bed that offers a better way to study disease, test drugs and perhaps someday grow human tissues for transplant.

The findings are published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

Insect Glands May Illuminate Human Fertilization Process

By Guest PostMay 12, 2012Health, Scienceallan spradling, bee, cellular physiology, egg, fertilization, fruit fly, gene, hr39, human, insect glands, jianjun sun, lrh 1, mammals, receptor protein, reproductive glands, secretion, secretion glands, sperm

Baltimore, MD — Insect glands are responsible for producing a host of secretions that allow bees to sting and ants to lay down trails to and from their nests. New research from Carnegie scientists focuses on secretions from glands in the reproductive tract that help sperm survive and guide the sperm on the trip to fertilize an egg. The gene that controls the development of these glands in fruit flies provides important information about gland development in all insects, as well as potential clues to similar human reproductive glands. Their work is published this month in Current Biology.

When a female fruit fly receives sperm from a male fruit fly, lubricating secretions in her reproductive tract activate the sperm, store it, and guide it to fertilization. Without the aid of these secretions, sperm would not make it to the eggs. Carnegie’s Allan Spradling and Jianjun Sun demonstrated that the gene in charge of regulating the development of fruit fly secretion glands is called Hr39. It encodes a steroid receptor protein. (more…)

Compound from Wild Tomatoes is Natural, Effective Herbicide

By Guest PostApril 29, 2012Environmentchemical, compound, concentration, deet, entomologist, george kennedy, groundwater contamination, herbicidal effect, herbicide, human, insect repellent, insecticide, mike roe, nontoxic herbicide, organic farming, plant, soil, undecanone, weed, wild tomato

A naturally occurring compound derived from wild tomato plants is also a fast-acting, nontoxic herbicide, according to researchers at North Carolina State University.

NC State entomologist Dr. Mike Roe had previously worked with the compound – known as 2-undecanone – as a natural replacement for the chemical DEET in insect repellents. Both he and his NC State colleague, entomologist Dr. George Kennedy, were exploring whether 2-undecanone could be used as an insecticide on plants, when they noticed an unexpected side effect: it killed the plants. (more…)

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