Life Sciences and Chemistry

In a study of changes in gene expression covering taxa from bacteria to human published in the PNAS Online Early Edition issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Hiroki R. Ueda of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (Kobe, Japan) and colleagues report their discovery of a fundamental governing principle to the dynamics capable of producing the heterogeneous distribution of gene expression.

Ueda, who heads the CDB Laboratory for Systems Biology, found that changes

Certain ions bouncing around on the ocean’s surface and in droplets formed by waves may play a role in increasing ozone levels in the air we breathe, new research suggests.

These ions cover the surface of the sea in an ultra-thin blanket – about one-millionth the thickness of a sheet of paper. Researchers call this region the “interface.”

Using a technique that employs highly accurate laser beams, chemists for the first time saw the actual structures formed by these halo

Considered the princes of the plant world, palms are unlike many plant families in the fact that they provide both food and shelter to people, while at the same time are admired and collected for aesthetic reasons. But according to plant pathologists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS), the same genetic structure that gives the palm so many wonderful attributes is the same structure that makes them susceptible to lethal and destructive diseases.

According to Monica Elliott, pl

Scientists have created a mouse model for migraine headache that may serve as an invaluable tool for future study of these debilitating headaches that are often accompanied by severe neurological symptoms. The research, published in the March 4 issue of Neuron, is a major step towards development of more successful treatments targeted at specific neurobiological events that underlie migraines.

Migraine is a common, chronic disorder characterized by recurrent disabling headaches. Approximate

Scientists have created a new mouse model for spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), a disease characterized by adult-onset progressive weakness and degeneration of limb muscles, often resulting in the patient being confined to a wheel chair. SBMA causes the death of cells called motor neurons that control muscle function. The study, published in the March 4 issue of Neuron, presents a clearer picture of the pathology underlying SBMA and associated diseases and even points to a possible therapeut

Why aren’t left and right-handers equally common? New research* demonstrates that the prevalence of bias or handedness in one direction (Lateralisation) is likely to result from social selection pressures, rather than mere evolutionary chance or genetics. The research is published in Proceedings B, a learned journal published by The Royal Society.

We have long known that the two sides of the brain perform different functions – the left hemisphere for language and the right for visual-spatial