Life Sciences and Chemistry

Lack of regulatory plan could slow scientific advancement and deter public confidence

Researchers are using biotechnology to develop genetically modified (GM) insects for a wide variety of purposes, including fighting insect-borne diseases like malaria and controlling destructive insect agricultural pests, but the federal government lacks a clear regulatory framework for reviewing environmental safety and other issues associated with GM insects, according to Bugs in the System? Issues

Geneticists found sex-related genes escape from X chromosome

Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered there is extensive gene “traffic” on the mammalian X chromosome and overturn a conventional theory about how the genes evolved on the sex chromosome.

The study, published in the Jan. 23, 2004, issue of Science, shows that an excess of genes on the X chromosome “jump” to a non-sex chromosome, or autosome, during germline cell division. This finding contradicts

Rats housed in unpredictable conditions appear to have a more negative outlook than those housed in stable, settled conditions, according to new research by scientists at Bristol University Veterinary School, published in this week’s issue of Nature.

The researchers found that whether an animal anticipates that something good or bad is going to happen can provide a clue as to the emotion it may be experiencing. Emma Harding, Liz Paul and Mike Mendl from the Centre for Behavioural Biology at

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new probe that allows them to watch protein activity in living cells. In their initial study, which focused on a protein tentatively linked to the spread of cancerous cells, the team both proved their new technique works and revealed surprising new details about the protein’s activity.

The protein in this study, neuronal Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP), is naturally found in every cell in the bod

An interaction between two brain proteins that leads to abnormal brain development has been identified by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine in a study published in the January 22, 2004 issue of the journal Neuron.

The studies in mice, conducted in the lab of Joseph G. Gleeson, M.D., UCSD assistant professor of neurosciences, combines work in both humans and mice to identify a protein kinase called Cdk5 as the “off” switch for a crucial neuronal

Simple sugars apparently are the biological signals needed to maintain the steel-like strength of plant cell walls, according to Purdue University scientists.

“This is a really fundamental discovery in the mechanics of plant growth that eventually could have several practical applications,” said Nick Carpita, a botany and plant pathology professor. “These could include controlling crop plant size and shape, improving desirable textural properties of fruits and vegetables, and enhancin