Life Sciences and Chemistry

An article published today in Journal of Biology shows that the phosphatidylserine receptor, previously thought to be critical for the recognition and engulfment of dying cells, is not in fact necessary for these processes at all. Instead, the researchers found that the receptor is involved in the differentiation of a wide range of tissues during embryogenesis. When cells undergo programmed cell death, they spill their normally hidden contents and their neighbours can thus recognise them as s

Diabetes is one of the major causes of vision loss and blindness in the UK. Now optometry researchers at Aston University’s new £10 million Academy of Life Sciences are to carry out a ground-breaking new study which will lead to a greater understanding of visual problems experienced by diabetics.

Their research, which is the first of its kind in the world, will measure the effects of the daily cycle of blood sugar levels on the vision of diabetic patients via detailed eye examination

New research on the wolves of Isle Royale may shed light on a mystery that has long puzzled biologists: Why do some predators band together to hunt?

“Most species of predators live solitary lives,” says John Vucetich, a research assistant professor of wildlife ecology at Michigan Technological University. “Biologists have always wanted to know why the few exceptions live in groups.”

In his observations of wolves and ravens, Vucetich may have found the answer: Predators th

In this issue of Chemistry & Biology, Lazar and colleagues report an unexpected finding about pheromone transport in the Asian elephant, an endangered species of which only a few thousand individuals remain.

Female elephants communicate their readiness to mate by excreting a sex pheromone in their urine. Male elephants exhibit a range of responses to this pheromone, beginning with sniffing and “check and place” responses, where the male touches his trunk tip to the pheromone-loaded

Thanks to new screening tools, and some luck, researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered three unrelated compounds that inhibit the two toxins – edema factor and lethal factor — that have made anthrax one of the most feared of potential bioterror agents.

In the August 2004 issue of the journal Chemistry and Biology, the researchers report that they used a novel screening technique, developed at the University, to find a small molecule that prevents edema factor from

High-resolution snapshots of a virus attacking its host – which have culminated in a movie of the process – could reveal secrets of viral infection and improve gene therapy techniques, according to a Purdue University research group.

Structural biologists including Michael G. Rossmann have obtained clearer pictures of how the T4 virus, long known to infect E. coli bacteria, alters its shape as it prepares to pierce its host’s cell membrane. The complicated infection process