Genetics News And Research - December 2008 Archives

New edition of laboratory manual includes cutting-edge techniques to study gene regulation (12/30/2008)

A new edition of a popular laboratory manual on transcriptional regulation has just been published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. The manual, "Transcriptional Regulation in Eukaryotes: Concepts, Strategies, and Techniques (Second Edition)," will help molecular biologists decipher the sophisticated signaling networks that turn genes on and off in more complex organisms, including humans. ...> Full Article

Lab demonstrates modulation of gene expression by protein coding regions (12/29/2008)

A research team at the Stowers Institute has discovered how the expression of one of the Hox master control genes is regulated in a specific segment of the developing brain. The findings provide important insight into how and where the brain develops some of its unique and important structures. ...> Full Article

How chromosomes meet in the dark - Switch that turns on X chromosome matchmaking (12/28/2008)

A research group lead by scientists at the University of Warwick has discovered the trigger that pulls together X chromosomes in female cells at a crucial stage of embryo development. This is an important mechanism as the binding together of too many of too few of a particular chromosome can cause a number of medical conditions such as Down Syndrome. ...> Full Article

Researcher finds mechanism underlying alt. splicing of premessenger RNA into messenger RNA (12/27/2008)

A research team led by Tim Nilsen, Ph.D., a professor of medicine and biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University, has discovered an unexpected mechanism governing alternative splicing. The new mechanism suggests that curing the more than half of genetic diseases that are caused by mutations in the genetic code that in turn create mistakes in alternative splicing may be considerably more complicated than researchers have previously assumed. ...> Full Article

Biologists learn structure, mechanism of powerful 'molecular motor' in virus (12/26/2008)

Researchers have discovered the atomic structure of a powerful "molecular motor" that packages DNA into the head segment of some viruses during their assembly, an essential step in their ability to multiply and infect new host organisms. ...> Full Article

New technique is quantum leap forward in understanding proteins (12/25/2008)

Proteins drive critical functioning in the cells of everything from bacteria to humans. But deciphering genomic data to discover just how the thousands upon thousands of proteins in a given organism interact has emerged as one of the most confounding biological challenges of the new century. ...> Full Article

New manual presents robust, state-of-the-art proteomics methods for teaching and research (12/22/2008)

The new book "Proteomics: A Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Course Manual" assembles cutting-edge protocols, helpful hints, and lecture notes to teach researchers from a wide variety of disciplines the essential methods of proteomics using state-of-the-art instrumentation. ...> Full Article

Scientists develop potentially disruptive antibody sequencing technology (12/21/2008)

Bioinformatics researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Genentech have developed a new, quicker way to sequence monoclonal antibodies -- a process that is many times faster than the sequencing technology typically used by academic and industry researchers today. ...> Full Article

Real-time gene monitoring developed (12/19/2008)

USC and Cambridge biologists measure expression of chosen gene at every point and time of a fly's life. The method has many potential applications ...> Full Article

Scientists discover new way in which ubiquitin modifies transcriptional machinery (12/19/2008)

Recent evidence suggests that parts of the ubiquitin-proteasome system are involved in regulating gene expression. Ubiquitylation controls factors such as transcriptional activators, coactivators, and histones, but how precisely it modifies transcription is largely unknown. Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have now discovered that in yeast, the protein Asr1 "glues" ubiquitin to specific spots in RNA pol II -- the enzyme the copies DNA into RNA -- causing it be deactivated. ...> Full Article

Just a little squeeze lets proteins assess DNA (12/18/2008)

To find its target, all a protein needs to do is give quick squeezes as it moves along the DNA strand, suggests new research. Scientists had thought DNA-binding proteins primarily used full-body hugs for accurate readings of the information coded in the DNA's sequence. Doing the quick squeezes that scientists call indirect readout probably works faster, the researchers said. The finding has implications for the development of designer drugs. ...> Full Article

Stressed-out mice reveal role of epigenetics in behavior (12/17/2008)

Research conducted by a team in Switzerland suggests that a family of genes involved in regulating the expression of other genes in the brain is responsible for helping us deal with external inputs such as stress. Their results, appearing in the Dec. 11 advance online version of the journal Neuron, may also give a clue to why some people are more susceptible to anxiety or depression than others. ...> Full Article

New gene variants present opportunities in nutrigenomics (12/17/2008)

A new study uncovers 11 gene variants associated with three blood lipids measured to determine cardiovascular disease risk: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein and triglycerides. Leading nutrigenomics researcher, Jose M. Ordovas, Ph.D., of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, says the discovery opens up new research opportunities. ...> Full Article

Work with fungus uncovering keys to DNA methylation (12/16/2008)

Eric Selker's lab reports progress on biochemical communications among proteins involved in gene silencing ...> Full Article

6 new genes suggest obesity is in your head, not your gut (12/16/2008)

Is obesity all in your head? ...> Full Article

Cueing up at the meiotic starting line (12/15/2008)

Geneticists have been debating if meiosis requires only external or internal signals. Although earlier work revealed that an external cue from retinoic acid is needed, new research shows that embryonic germ cells must first express the Dazl gene in order to process the retinoic acid signal. ...> Full Article

What you give, might not always be received (12/15/2008)

A fundamental process in the transmission of genes from mother to child has been identified by researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University. The new study published in the December issue of the journal Nature Genetics identifies a mechanism that plays a key role in how mutations are transmitted from one generation to the next, providing unprecedented insight into metabolic diseases. ...> Full Article

New research shows how gene function drives natural selection in important class of genetic elements (12/14/2008)

For years, researchers thought that most of DNA was passive "junk" and knew little about it. However, new findings are peeling back the odd and baffling world of transposons. Now, researchers at the University of Georgia have just found that natural selection on gene function is driving the evolution of one kind of transposable element called the LTR retrotransposon. ...> Full Article

Study first to show that RNA interference can facilitate vaccine development (12/13/2008)

Pharmaceutical companies and universities are racing to develop drugs that use the gene silencing mechanism known as RNA interference to treat a host of diseases. Now, a new study opens up an entirely new possibility for this powerful tool: Researchers at the University of Georgia have demonstrated for the first time that RNA interference can be used as a tool in the development of vaccines. ...> Full Article

Properties of unusual virus revealed in research (12/12/2008)

A team of researchers has uncovered clues that may explain how and why a particular virus, called N4, injects an unusual substance -- an RNA polymerase protein -- into an E. coli bacterial cell. The results contribute to improved understanding of the infection strategies used by viruses that attack bacterial cells and they also may help researchers to devise new ways to kill E. coli bacteria, which can be dangerous to humans. ...> Full Article

Completed soybean genome (12/12/2008)

Data released to advance biofuel, food, & feed research ...> Full Article

Lab discovers novel histone demethylase protein complex (12/11/2008)

The Stowers Institute's Workman Lab has discovered a novel histone demethylase protein complex characterized in work published today in Molecular Cell. ...> Full Article

Lab identifies key step in maturation pathway of telomerase (12/10/2008)

The Stowers Institute's Baumann Lab has discovered an important step in the maturation pathway of telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes the sequences that are lost at chromosome ends with every cell division. The findings were published today in the advance online publication of Nature. ...> Full Article

Model unravels rules that govern how genes are switched on and off (12/9/2008)

Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have developed a model of gene expression in yeast that predicts with a high degree of accuracy whether a gene will be switched on or off. enes operate in each cell type at different times, and this careful orchestration is what ultimately distinguishes a brain cell from a liver or skin cell. ...> Full Article

Researchers solve piece of large-scale gene silencing mystery (12/9/2008)

Opening the 'X-files' of biology ...> Full Article

Gene therapy corrects sickle cell disease in laboratory study (12/8/2008)

New St. Jude treatment alleviates long-term anemia and organ damage in mice and paves the way for human applications ...> Full Article

Researchers develop technique to count messages made by single genes (12/7/2008)

Study could yield more clues on what switches genes on ...> Full Article

Plants display 'molecular amnesia' (12/6/2008)

Discovery an important step in genomics research and quest for better crops ...> Full Article

Researchers discover how mosquitoes avoid succumbing to viruses they transmit (12/5/2008)

Mosquitoes can spread viruses which cause disease without themselves getting sick. Scientists long thought that the mosquito didn't care whether it had a virus hitchhiker, but have now discovered, "there is a war going on" at the cellular level, between the host and invading RNA -- the strands of code that produce different kinds of viral proteins. ...> Full Article

Powerful online tool for protein analysis provided pro bono by geneticist (12/4/2008)

Scientists around the world may benefit from a powerful new database, available for free online, that will help them to hone in on the parts of proteins most necessary for their function. Arend Sidow, Ph.D., associate professor of pathology and of genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, recently launched the novel bioinformatics tool, which enlists evolution as the guide to determining the role different proteins play in a wide array of organisms. ...> Full Article

Eating eggs when pregnant affects breast cancer in offspring (12/3/2008)

A stunning discovery based on epigenetics (the inheritance of propensities acquired in the womb) reveals that consuming choline -- a nutrient found in eggs and other foods -- during pregnancy may significantly affect breast cancer outcomes for a mother's offspring. This finding by Boston University biologists is the first to link choline consumption during pregnancy to breast cancer. It also is the first to identify possible choline-related genetic changes that affect breast cancer survival rates. ...> Full Article

Tool helps identify gene function in soybeans (12/2/2008)

Could lead to better crop performance, say researchers ...> Full Article

Keeping chromosomes from cuddling up (12/1/2008)

If chromosomes snuggle up too closely at the wrong times, the results can be a genetic disaster. Now researchers have found the molecular machines in fruit flies that yank chromosomes apart when necessary. The machines, proteins called condensin II, separate chromosomes by twisting them into supercoils that kink up and therefore can no longer touch. Scientists had known of condensin II, but did not know how it functioned inside cells. ...> Full Article