Misfolded Proteins: The Fundamental Problem Is Aging Aug 28, 2009
27, 2009) Proteins are essential for all biological activities and the health of the cell. Misfolded and damaged proteins spell trouble and are common to all human neurodegenerative diseases and many other age-associated diseases. (Science Daily)
Epigenetics: Evolutionarily Preserved Mechanism Governs Use Of Genes Aug 24, 2009
The same type of packaging is found in the roundworm C elegans, which is a primeval relative of humans ... The scientists also show that the same type of genetic packaging exists in the tiny roundworm C elegans. (Science Daily)
Breakthrough Uses Light To Manipulate Cell Movement Aug 21, 2009
20, 2009) One of the biggest challenges in scientists' quest to develop new and better treatments for cancer is gaining a better understanding of how and why cancer spreads. Recent breakthroughs have uncovered how different cellular proteins are turned 'on' or 'off' at the molecular level, but much remains to be understood about how protein signaling influences cell behavior. (Science Daily)
Worm study provides model to study invasive cancer Aug 21, 2009
Worm study provides new model to study invasive cancer - Science - NEWS - The Times of India. Worm study provides new model to study invasive cancer. (India Times, India)
Discovery Could Help Stem Infections Of Parasitic Roundworms Aug 17, 2009
17, 2009) Working with researchers in China, biologists at UC San Diego have discovered how a Chinese drug effective in killing parasitic roundworms works. Their discovery of the drug's biological mechanism provides important new information about how to combat parasitic roundworms, which infect more than a billion people in tropical regions and are one of the leading causes of debilitation in underdeveloped countries. (Science Daily)
New Insight Into Human Ciliopathy Aug 7, 2009
6, 2009) In the journal Genes & Development, Dr. Karen Oegema (UCSD) and colleagues identify the molecular basis of the lethal developmental disorder, hydrolethalus syndrome, and reveal that hydrolethalus syndrome actually belongs to the emerging class of human ciliopathy diseases. "5 years ago a human genetics study linked Hydrolethalus syndrome to a mutation in a protein named HYLS1. Since this discovery the function of HYLS1 has remained unknown. Our work solves this mystery, showing that... (Science Daily)
Pinhead-sized worm helps develop antibiotics Aug 6, 2009
Pinhead-sized worm may help develop new antibiotics - Health - Health & Science - NEWS - The Times of India. Pinhead-sized worm may help develop new antibiotics. (India Times, India)
Pinhead-size worms + robot = new antibiotics Aug 6, 2009
Public release date: 5-Aug-2009. Contact: Michael Woods. (EurekAlert!)
Shorter Lives For Cold-blooded Animals Jul 31, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 31, 2009) Temperature explains much of why cold-blooded organisms such as fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and lizards live longer at higher latitudes than at lower latitudes, according to research recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) online. Assistant Professor Dr. Stephan Munch and Ph. (Science Daily)
Bad Mitochondria May Actually Be Good For You Jul 24, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 23, 2009) Mice with a defective mitochondrial protein called MCLK1 produce elevated amounts of reactive oxygen when young; that should spell disaster, yet according to a study in this week's JBC these mice actually age at a slower rate and live longer than normal mice. Mitochondrial oxidative stress is a popular theory explaining the aging process; over time, reactive oxygen species produced by mitochondria while they make energy slowly accumulate and begin damaging cells,... (Science Daily)
Variation in gene expression in the early development of dauer larvae of Caenorhabditis elegans. Jul 18, 2009
Other articles by authors. Related articles/pages. (BioMed Central)
Novel Drug Discovery Tool Could Identify Promising New Therapies For Parkinson's Disease Jul 18, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 17, 2009) Researchers have turned simple baker's yeast into a virtual army of medicinal chemists capable of rapidly searching for drugs to treat Parkinson's disease. In a study published online July 13 in Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers showed that they can rescue yeast cells from toxic levels of a protein implicated in Parkinson's disease by stimulating the cells to make very small proteins called cyclic peptides. (Science Daily)
In space, worms help study microgravity effects Jul 10, 2009
Clues from research may also protect astronauts from radiation. updated 4:12 p.m. ET July 9, 2009. (MSNBC -- Technology)
New Actions Of Neurochemicals Discovered Jul 4, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 3, 2009) Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signaling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found... (Science Daily)
Key To Evolutionary Fitness: Cut The Calories Jul 3, 2009
ScienceDaily (July 2, 2009) Charles Darwin and his contemporaries postulated that food consumption in birds and mammals was limited by resource levels, that is, animals would eat as much as they could while food was plentiful and produce as many offspring as this would allow them to. However, recent research has shown that, even when food is abundant, energy intake reaches a limit, even in animals with high nutrient demands, such as lactating females. (Science Daily)
Nematode Courting Caught On Camera Jun 29, 2009
ScienceDaily (June 29, 2009) Caltech researchers studying the nervous control of nematode mating behavior have produced video footage of a male worm preparing to mate with a hermaphrodite. Allyson Whittaker, a senior research fellow in biology, and Paul Sternberg, the Thomas Hunt Morgan Professor of Biology, investigated the role of the excitatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine in regulating tail muscles to achieve an exploratory embrace. (Science Daily)
Why Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespans Jun 28, 2009
Why A Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespans: Critical Enzyme Pair Identified. Why A Low-Calorie Diet Extends Lifespans: Critical Enzyme Pair Identified. (Science Daily)
Curling male tails Jun 25, 2009
Articles citing this article. Other articles by authors. (BioMed Central)
Researchers Gain Ground In Efforts To Fight Parasitic Worm Infections May 28, 2009
In 2006 UT Southwestern scientists led by Dr. David Mangelsdorf, chairman of pharmacology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the new study in PNAS, had made the discovery in C elegans, a nematode about the size of a pinhead. In the new study, the UT Southwestern researchers treated hookworm parasites pharmacologically at the infective larval stage with dafachronic acid, causing them to pass into the feeding larval stage outside a host, where they had no food supply and died. (Science Daily)
Fundamental Mechanism For Cell Organization Discovered May 23, 2009
ScienceDaily (May 22, 2009) Scientists have discovered that cells use a very simple phase transition -- similar to water vapor condensing into dew -- to assemble and localize subcellular structures that are involved in formation of the embryo. The discovery, which was made during the 2008 Physiology course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), is reported in the May 21 early online edition of Science by Clifford P. Brangwynne and Anthony A. Hyman of the Max Planck Institute for Molecular... (Science Daily)
Connections Between Diabetes And Alzheimer’s Disease Explored May 14, 2009
Connections Between Diabetes And Alzheimer s Disease Explored. Connections Between Diabetes And Alzheimer s Disease Explored. (Science Daily)
Skin Color Clue To Nicotine Dependence May 11, 2009
ScienceDaily (May 10, 2009) Higher concentrations of melanin -- the color pigment in skin and hair -- may be placing darker pigmented smokers at increased susceptibility to nicotine dependence and tobacco-related carcinogens than lighter skinned smokers, according to scientists. "We have found that the concentration of melanin is directly related to the number of cigarettes smoked daily, levels of nicotine dependence, and nicotine exposure among African Americans," said Gary King, professor of... (Science Daily)
University to award four honorary degrees May 4, 2009
Published: Monday, May 4, 2009. Updated: Monday, May 4, 2009. (Washington University Student Life, MO)
This year in speakers: From politics to comedy May 4, 2009
Published: Sunday, May 3, 2009. Updated: Sunday, May 3, 2009. (Washington University Student Life, MO)
Throwing The Micro Switch: MicroRNA May Link Smoking Risk Gene To Neurobiology Of Addiction Apr 28, 2009
27, 2009) During the past several years, significant progress has been made in identifying susceptibility genes for nicotine dependence through genetic linkage and association analyses. Although a large number of genes have been associated with tobacco smoking, only a very limited number of genetic variants are considered to be causative. (Science Daily)
News Briefs | Apr. 27 Apr 28, 2009
Published: Monday, April 27, 2009. Updated: Monday, April 27, 2009. (Washington University Student Life, MO)
Neurons That Control Sociability In Worms Apr 19, 2009
19, 2009) Ants colonize. Flamingos flock and caribou herd. (Science Daily)
Worms Control Lifespan At High Temperatures Apr 18, 2009
17, 2009) The common research worm, C. elegans, is able to use heat-sensing nerve cells to not only regulate its response to hotter environments, but also to control the pace of its aging as a result of that heat, according to new research at the University of California, San Francisco. The new findings have turned upside down a widespread assumption about how cold-blooded animals respond to and regulate heat, the researchers say. (Science Daily)
New Clues To How Stem Cells Form Apr 18, 2009
17, 2009) An Emory University study shows some of the first direct evidence of a process required for epigenetic reprogramming between generations a finding that could shed more light on the mechanisms of fertilization, stem-cell formation and cloning. The journal Cell published the results of the study on the nematode C. elegans in its April 17 issue. (Science Daily)
Nobel Laureates to Speak at Keystone Symposia RNA Silencing Conference Apr 18, 2009
Text hiding to spacing. April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology will convene its conference on "The Biology of RNA Silencing" on April 25, 2009 at the Fairmont Empress Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia. (PR Newswire)
Researchers Unravel Neuronal Circuitry Keeping Metabolism And Fat Storage In Check Apr 17, 2009
16, 2009) Scientists at the Babraham Institute, the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the University of Cambridge have unravelled novel aspects of the biochemical signalling pathways that enable the tiny roundworm, C. elegans, to modify its metabolism in response to food using a neurochemical signalling system that has parallels in mammals. To survive and reproduce, animals must be able to modify their food-seeking behaviour and metabolism in response to food availability in their... (Science Daily)
Scientists Closer To Creating Safe Embryonic-like Stem Cells Apr 14, 2009
13, 2009) A team of UCSF researchers has for the first time used tiny molecules called microRNAs to help turn adult mouse cells back to their embryonic state. These reprogrammed cells are pluripotent, meaning that, like embryonic stem cells, they have the capacity to become any cell type in the body. (Science Daily)
Scientists Show How A Neuron Gets Its Shape Apr 14, 2009
13, 2009) Ask a simple question, get a simple answer: When Abraham Lincoln was asked how long a man s legs should be, he absurdly replied, Long enough to reach the ground. Now, by using a new microscopy technique to watch the growth of individual neurons in the microscopic roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, Rockefeller University researchers are turning another deceptively simple question on its head. (Science Daily)
Modification Of Mutant Huntingtin Protein Increases Its Clearance From Brain Cells Apr 14, 2009
13, 2009) A new study has identified a potential strategy for removing the abnormal protein that causes Huntington's disease (HD) from brain cells, which could slow the progression of the devastating neurological disorder. In the April 3 issue of Cell, a team of researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MGH-MIND) describes how an alteration to the mutated form of the huntingtin protein appears to accelerate its breakdown and removal through normal cellular... (Science Daily)
Nuclear Hormone Receptors, MicroRNAs Form Developmental Switch Apr 9, 2009
9, 2009) A particular nuclear hormone receptor called DAF-12 and molecules called microRNAs in the let-7 family form a molecular switch that encourages cells in the larvae of a model worm to shift to a more developed state, said a consortium led by researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the journal Science. As organisms go through the stages of life, hormones coordinate the changes. (Science Daily)
To Swim Or To Crawl: For The Worm It's A No Brainer Apr 9, 2009
8, 2009) A study at the University of Leeds has shown, for the first time, that C. elegans worms crawl and swim using the same gait, overturning the widely accepted belief that these two behaviours are completely different. The findings have important implications for biologists and geneticists using C. elegans for their research. (Science Daily)
Lowly worms wiggle with style Apr 8, 2009
Minimal nervous system can exhibit and switch different behaviors instantly. Slimy, stinky, icky and ugly these organisms gross out some, while others consider a few delightful delicacies. (MSNBC -- Environment)
What Flies And Worms Have In Common Mar 22, 2009
21, 2009) Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have, for the first time, compared the proteomes of two different multi cellular organisms. They found surprising correlations between two animals that, at first sight, couldn t be more different. (Science Daily)
Pondering the puzzling platypus Mar 18, 2009
The platypus is one of two kinds of mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Scientists are studying these creatures to better understand how reptiles gave rise to mammals. (Science News for Kids)
Optimistic Worms Are Ready For Rapid Recovery, Biologists Find Mar 16, 2009
15, 2009) For the tiny soil-dwelling nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, life is usually a situation of feast or famine. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have found that this worm has evolved a surprisingly optimistic genetic strategy to cope with these disparate conditions--one that could eventually point the way to new treatments for a host of human diseases caused by parasitic worms. (Science Daily)
Common Genes Tied To Alcohol, Nicotine, Cocaine Addictions Mar 16, 2009
16, 2009) For decades, finding clues to substance addiction has been much like searching for a needle in a haystack. But researchers may finally be honing in on specific genes tied to all types of addictions - and finding that some of the same genes associated with alcohol dependence are also closely linked with addictions to nicotine, cocaine, opoids, heroin and other substances. (Science Daily)
Caltech biologists find optimistic worms are ready for rapid recovery Mar 10, 2009
Public release date: 9-Mar-2009. Contact: Kathy Svitil. (EurekAlert!)
Immune Cells From Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Have Prematurely Aged Chromosomes Mar 6, 2009
5, 2009) Telomeres, structures that cap the ends of cells' chromosomes, grow shorter with each round of cell division unless a specialized enzyme replenishes them. Maintaining telomeres is thought to be important for healthy aging and cancer prevention. (Science Daily)
With Genomes, Bigger May Really Be Better Mar 6, 2009
5, 2009) Biologists analyzing DNA in search of the molecular underpinnings of life have consistently favored species with small genomes, which are cheaper to sequence and lack the repetitive "junk" that clutters bigger genomes. But a new study by Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists suggests that when it comes to figuring out how genes are controlled, bigger genomes are much more useful. (Science Daily)
Nature Genetics Feb 8, 2009
Advance online publication. Thyroid cancer association. (Nature News Service)
