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 week’s issue of Nature, show how myosin V can move ’hand-over-hand’ on tracks, composed of a protein called actin,

New research at the Institute of Food Research shows that two food components recognised for their ability to fight cancer are up to 13 times more powerful when put to work together. The results are published in the latest issue of international journal Carcinogenesis.

The study focuses on genes that play an important role in tumour formation, tumour progression, and the spread of tumour cells. The food components sulforaphane and selenium were found to have an increased impact on these gene

Most people are familiar with the fact that sensitive instruments known as seismographs can detect earthquakes taking place many hundreds or thousands of miles away. By studying the waves from these tremors, scientists can find out about the conditions deep inside our rocky planet.

In the same way, astronomers are now able to measure millions of sound waves that propagate throughout the Sun, causing it to vibrate or ring like a bell. This technique, known as helioseismology, is the solar eq

Patients with sickle cell disease have mutant haemoglobin proteins that form deadly long, stiff fibres inside red blood cells. A research team led by University of Warwick researcher Dr Matthew Turner, propose a mathematical model in the 28 March online issue of PRL to explain the persistent stability of these deadly fibres. The theory suggests that an inherent “twistiness” in the strands that make up the fibres could be the key to their durability and possibly to new treatments.

Red blood

Patchy woods-common in cities and suburbia, and even in rural areas-may have more Lyme disease-carrying ticks, which could increase risk of the disease in these forest remnants, scientists have found. While forest fragments generally have fewer species than continuous habitat does, some species actually fare better in small patches, according to biologist Felicia Keesing of Bard College in Annandale, NY, and her colleagues. Lyme disease incidence is rising in the United States, and is in fact far mor

Greater use of clean electricity from the sun should be a step closer, thanks to new research carried out in the UK.

The research has shown how the cost of generating solar electricity can be reduced, laying the foundation for a major expansion in the use of this sustainable energy technology.

The project has been undertaken by a team of physicists, chemists, material scientists and engineers at Sheffield Hallam University, with funding from the Swindon-based Engineering and