Life Sciences and Chemistry

NDUFS6 mutations are a novel cause of lethal neonatal mitochondrial complex I deficiency

A whole range of human muscular and neuromuscular diseases are caused by mutations in the mitochondrial respiratory chain/oxidative phosphorylation system. The problem is that there are about 120 genes involved in this system, some that are found in the mitochondria, and thus inherited through the mother, and some that are found in the nucleus and are inherited from both the mother and the fathe

Roles of thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin in the development of atherosclerosis in apoE-deficient mice

Atherosclerosis is an inflammation in the lining of the arteries. Biological chemicals in the body called pros-tanoids, which are made from the breakdown of arachidonic acid by the action of an enzyme called COX have been implicated in the development of atherosclerosis. The role of prostanoids in inflammation is well known, based on studies of aspirin-like non-steroidal anti-inflamm

When he’s not in the operating room performing surgery, Donald M. O’Rourke, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is fighting brain tumors from the research laboratory bench. He and colleagues are making inroads to understanding the basic molecular biology that makes brain tumors so hard to treat. An estimated 41,000 new cases of primary brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2004, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

Disease genes, important regulatory elements populate vast terrain

Four years after publicly revealing the official draft human genetic sequence, researchers have reached the halfway point in dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s of the genetic sentences describing how to build a human. The newly finalized chromosome 5 is the 12th chromosome polished off, with 12 more to go. As the new sequence reveals, this chromosome is a genetic behemoth containing key disease genes an

By combining stem cell science with orthopedic surgery, a team of researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute aims to reduce the 10 per cent failure rate in hip replacements and make repeat replacements and other joint repairs obsolete within 10-15 years .

With $1.5 million over five years in funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, a group of seven UBC scientists will explore how stem cells – the body’s “mast

A genetically engineered ’mighty mouse’ is helping Medical College of Georgia researchers find the best way for young people to build bone and avoid osteoporosis.

“We are interested in kids; we want to know how to maximize their bone during peak periods of growth while they still can,” says Dr. Mark Hamrick, bone biologist. “One of the best predictors of who is going to get osteoporosis and who is not is how much bone you have at sexual maturity. So we want to know what