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EMBL researchers discover a mechanism by which cells monitor estrogen
The hormone estrogen is recognized by most people because of its important role in womens reproductive cycles. It also has other functions in the body: it drives some types of cells to replicate themselves, and it has been linked to the development of tumors. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg have now described a new model of how cells constantly monitor their exposur
Until now, scientists believed that a single area in the brain generated breathing rhythm, enabling breathing to speed up or slow down to adapt to the body’s activity and position. But UCLA neurobiologists have discovered that two systems in the brain interact to generate breathing rhythm — a finding that may translate into better treatment for sleep apnea and sudden infant death syndrome. The journal Neuron reported the findings in its March 6 issue.
“We originally thought that only one bra
Unique Hand-Over-Hand Rotation Transports Molecules Through Cells
Within every neuron is a vast protein trail system traversed by a small protein engine called Myosin V. The long-standing question of how this molecule moves may have finally been resolved by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Their findings, presented in this weeks issue of Nature, show how myosin V can move hand-over-hand on tracks, composed of a protein called actin,
Using a laser beam scalpel so fine it could inscribe words on the surface of a fly egg, researchers have snipped their way to a new understanding of a key process in a fruit fly’s embryonic development. The process, called dorsal closure, is the complex mechanism by which the embryonic skin of the fruit fly Drosophila knits itself together to protect its innards from the outside world.
Understanding this seemingly arcane process is important because dorsal closure uses molecular and cellular
Sometimes finding out what doesn’t matter in science is just as important as finding what does.
That’s the case for a study that looked at the function of the viral protein, MTase1. Researchers found that the rate of virus replication in tissue culture was not affected when MTase1 was removed.
The finding is important as researchers look for what proteins are essential and how they function in cells, potentially providing answers to everything from insect control to the co
Technique could lead to new drug delivery systems, biological warfare sensors
Using a lab technique called domain insertion, Johns Hopkins researchers have joined two proteins in a way that creates a molecular “switch.” The result, the researchers say, is a microscopic protein partnership in which one member controls the activity of the other. Similarly coupled proteins may someday be used to produce specialized molecules that deliver lethal drugs only to cancerous cells. They also m