Life Sciences and Chemistry

Discovery of the sequence of events in the binding of p27 to a protein complex is a model for explaining how 30 to 40 percent of the body’s proteins exploit their flexibility in order to do different tasks in the cell

Investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have demonstrated for the first time that–contrary to the long-held belief among scientists that proteins must maintain a rigid structure in order to perform an assigned task–many proteins actually exploit dis

USC study finds meat-tolerant genes offset high cholesterol and disease

When our human ancestors started eating meat, evolution served up a healthy bonus – the development of genes that offset high cholesterol and chronic diseases associated with a meat-rich diet, according to a new USC study.

Those ancestors also started living longer than ever before – an unexpected evolutionary twist.

The research by USC professors Caleb Finch and Craig Stanford appears in Wedne

A new study, published in the March 15th issue of Genes & Development, provides critical new insight into the shared mechanisms of normal organ development and solid tumor formation.

By studying the cerebellum (the structure in the brain largely responsible for coordinating motor activities) Drs. Alvin Kho, Isaac Kohane, David Rowitch, and colleagues at The Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston have developed a novel method for comparing the genetic changes ass

Achieved by Hebrew University, UCLA scientists

A step towards building tiny motors on the scale of a molecule has been demonstrated by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

In an article appearing in the current issue of Science magazine, the researchers from the two institutions described how they were able – through light or electrical stimulation – to cause a molecule to rotate on an axis in a controlled f

To test whether chemicals are toxic to humans, researchers need to use liver cells that have been freshly harvested from mice or other mammals. A new collection of stable cell lines, described in BMC Biotechnology this week, could reduce the numbers of animals needed in such experiments.

The MMH-GH cell lines are derived from the liver cells of transgenic mice. These cells have been engineered to secrete human growth hormone when they are exposed to toxic compounds. The cells also continuou

Five years ago, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers first reported finding that the nutrient choline played a critical role in memory and brain function by positively affecting the brain’s physical development.

Differences in development influenced action, the scientists and their colleagues found. In animal experiments conducted at Duke University, both young and old rats performed significantly better on memory tasks if they received enough choline before birth compared