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Altered Gene Tracks RNA Editing in Neurons

By Guest PostDecember 26, 2011Scienceadar, brown university, disease, DNA, engineered gene, epilepsy, errors, fluorescent readout, fruit flies, gene expression, glowing green indicator, jellyfish gene, key enzyme, key step, kyle jay, living organisms, mental retardation, molecular biology, molecular reporter, moth, nervous system, radar, rna, rna repair, robert reenan, rube goldberg, schizophrenia, stop codon, suicidal depression, t a g, t g g, ultraviolet light, yannis a savva

*RNA editing is a key step in gene expression. Scientists at Brown University report in Nature Methods that they have engineered a gene capable of visually displaying the activity of the key enzyme ADAR in living fruit flies.*

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — To track what they can’t see, pilots look to the green glow of the radar screen. Now biologists monitoring gene expression, individual variation, and disease have a glowing green indicator of their own: Brown University biologists have developed a “radar” for tracking ADAR, a crucial enzyme for editing RNA in the nervous system.

The advance gives scientists a way to view when and where ADAR is active in a living animal and how much of it is operating. In experiments in fruit flies described in the journal Nature Methods, the researchers show surprising degrees of individual variation in ADAR’s RNA editing activity in the learning and memory centers of the brains of individual flies. (more…)

New Genetic Clues for Schizophrenia

By Guest PostJuly 16, 2011Healthchu sainte-justine hospital, de novo mutations, genetic errors, guy a rouleau, hallucinations, mental retardation, nature genetics, new genetic clues for schizophrenia, schizophrenic patients, university of montreal, wide spectrum of symptoms

De novo mutations – genetic errors that are present in patients but not in their parents – are more frequent in schizophrenic patients than in normal individuals, according to an international group of scientists led by Dr. Guy A. Rouleau of the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital. The discovery, published today in Nature Genetics, may enable researchers to define how the disease results from these mutations and eventually develop new treatments for it.

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Yale Scientists Find Molecular Glue Needed To Wire the Brain

By Guest PostDecember 11, 2010Sciencealzheimer, autism, brain cells, Germany, mental retardation, nerve pulses, neurological disorders, neuron, plasticity, puzzle, researchers, single molecule, synapses, synaptic plasticity, syncam 1, thomas biederer, valentin stein, ways to improve memory, yale university

Yale University researchers have found that a single molecule not only connects brain cells but also changes how we learn. The findings, reported in the December 9 issue of the journal Neuron, may help researchers discover ways to improve memory and could lead to new therapies to correct neurological disorders.

The junctions between brain cells over which nerve pulses pass — called synapses — are crucial for regulating learning and memory and how we think. Aberrations in the structure and function of synapses have been linked to mental retardation and autism, while synapses are lost in the aging brains of Alzheimer’s patients. (more…)

Tag Archives: mental retardation

Altered Gene Tracks RNA Editing in Neurons

New Genetic Clues for Schizophrenia

Yale Scientists Find Molecular Glue Needed To Wire the Brain