Life Sciences and Chemistry

St. Jude studies showing that Mrp4 limits penetration of topotecan suggest that blocking this protein might increase access of anti-cancer drugs to tumor sites and improve treatment of brain cancer

A protein called Mrp4 blocks the access of the anti-cancer drug topotecan into the brain by transporting this agent back into the bloodstream, thus reducing the ability of this agent to reach tumors. Results from a series of studies by investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research H

Dutch researcher Marco Kruijt has discovered two resistance genes that were probably present in an ancestral tomato species, prior to the evolution of modern tomato species. The phytopathologist found these same two genes, which provide resistance against a certain fungus, in several wild tomato species.

Tomatoes resistant to the fungus Cladosporium fulvum possess the so-called Cf resistance genes. Kruijt investigated the evolution of these genes in wild tomato species. The rese

Can signal neighbor cells to repair

A study published in the October 8 issue of Science describes a previously unsuspected capacity of embryonic stem cells to influence neighboring defective cells and restore their capacity to function normally. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center report that 15 embryonic stem cells injected into early embryos of mice whose hearts were genetically predisposed to develop a lethal defect, rescued the heart from developing the disorder

Biotech breakthroughs promise to save millions of lives per year; Experts call for global body to better use knowledge worldwide

New medical tools that quickly and accurately diagnose diseases like AIDS and malaria top a list of 10 biotech breakthroughs deemed most important for improving health in developing countries within the decade, science that will dramatically move the world towards its Millennium Development Goals for 2015, according to scientists and ethicists in a major

A deadly bacterium’s defense against a mortal molecular enemy illuminates the origins and structure of a vital protein involved in human cell signaling, University of Texas Medical School scientists report today in Science Express, the rapid online publication forum for the journal Science.

The paper also details how evolution transformed one of nature’s simplest molecules, nitric oxide (NO), from a toxin to anaerobic bacteria – the planet’s oldest life form – into a

Research at Yale reported in the journal Science identifies a new riboswitch (RNA regulatory sequence) class in bacteria that operates as a rare “ON” switch for genetic regulation of the three proteins in a glycine processing system.

“This seems like something only a biochemist can appreciate, but what it really means is that modern RNA has what it takes to run the complex metabolism of life. It is like what would have been needed in an “RNA World” – or a period in evolution