Life Sciences and Chemistry

Genome of Ciona intestinalis yields new insights into the origins of complex biological systems

The streamlined genome of Ciona intestinalis, a common sea squirt closely related to vertebrates on the evolutionary tree, is providing new clues about the origins of key vertebrate systems and structures including the human hormone, nervous and immune systems.

In an article for the December 13, 2002 issue of the journal Science, an international consortium of researchers reports

Using clusters of gold atoms and a microscopic lever, University of Toronto chemists have created a tiny circuit critical to the future of electronic engineering.

“When things are this small, they are fantastically sensitive,” says Professor Al-Amin Dhirani. “Such a circuit could make possible a bio-sensor that is activated by the reaction of just one molecule.” This has the potential for detecting important biological molecules including DNA, he notes.

Dhirani found that when the

Key step in process of developing targeted therapeutics to combat epilepsy

Scientists from Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital are able to depict for the first time how an important molecule called IP3 and its receptor interact to control calcium levels in cells, a process that is vital to normal brain function.

The study is published in this week’s edition of the international scientific journal Nature, and is a collaboration between scientists at Princess Margar

Sure Santa Claus asks boys and girls what toys they want, but, why they want them is a better question. The answer may have to do with a biological pre-wiring that influences boys’ and girls’ preferences based on the early roles of males and females, says a Texas A&M University psychologist.

It’s commonly believed that boys and girls learn what types of toys they should like based solely on society’s expectations, but psychologist Gerianne Alexander’s work with verv

A University of Sheffield scientist has isolated a bacterium that may cause cancers in those with a genetic pre-disposition to the disease.

Dr Milton Wainwright, of the University’s Molecular Biology and Biotechnology department, researched historical literature and found that, as early as the 1890s, bacteria were believed to cause cancer. Unfortunately, none of the bacteria involved in these studies were ever kept or even named, making it impossible to verify claims about their role

Findings based on ’knock-out’ mice detailed in the journal Physiology and Behavior

A team led by University of Massachusetts Amherst researcher Deborah J. Good has identified a gene that appears to play a role in obesity, physical activity, and sex behaviors in mice. Good works with so-called “knock-out” mice, which have a specific gene deleted. Scientists then monitor the animals for changes in their physiology and behavior, in an effort to determine the gene’s role. H