http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. It is the concentration of a few signaling molecules that determines the fate of individual cells during the early development of organisms. In the renowned journal Current Biology, a team of molecular biologists led by Pia Aanstad of the University of Innsbruck reports that a variety of molecular mechanisms accounts for the interpretation of the concentration of the signaling molecule Hedgehog. http://www.physorg.com/news162215335.html Biology Fri, 22 May 2009 12:49:30 EST news162215335 A class of drugs already approved as cancer treatments might also help to beat alcohol addiction. That's the conclusion of a discovery in flies of a gene, dubbed happyhour, that has an important and previously unknown role in controlling the insects' response to alcohol. http://www.physorg.com/news162132556.html Medicine & Health Thu, 21 May 2009 13:49:56 EST news162132556 For years, genes have been considered the one and only way biological traits could be passed down through generations of organisms. Not anymore. http://www.physorg.com/news161864762.html Biology Mon, 18 May 2009 11:26:52 EST news161864762 A team of University of Oregon biologists, using fruit flies, has created a way to isolate RNA from specific cells, opening a new window on how gene expression drives normal development and disease-causing breakdowns. http://www.physorg.com/news161861163.html Biology Mon, 18 May 2009 10:27:44 EST news161861163 Manipulation of male and/or female genitalia results in a suite of changes in female reproductive behavior in tsetse flies, carriers of African sleeping sickness. http://www.physorg.com/news161529000.html Biology Thu, 14 May 2009 14:10:34 EST news161529000 A popular view among evolutionary biologists that fundamental genes do not acquire new functions was challenged this week by a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.physorg.com/news161280793.html Biology Mon, 11 May 2009 17:13:54 EST news161280793 A new study published online on May 7th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, has found the source of silkworms' attraction to mulberry leaves, their primary food source. A jasmine-scented chemical emitted in small quantities by the leaves triggers a single, highly tuned olfactory receptor in the silkworms' antennae, they show. http://www.physorg.com/news160921154.html Biology Thu, 07 May 2009 13:20:44 EST news160921154 (PhysOrg.com) -- Even the most alluring scent can turn repellant when the smell is too strong, but how that switch between attraction and aversion gets flipped in the brain was unknown. http://www.physorg.com/news160762519.html Biology Tue, 05 May 2009 17:16:07 EST news160762519 The Stowers Institute's Hawley Lab and Molecular Biology Facility have developed a "whole-genome sequencing approach" to mapping mutations in fruit flies. The novel methodology promises to reduce the time and effort required to identify mutations of biological interest. The work was published in the May issue of the journal Genetics. http://www.physorg.com/news160751592.html Medicine & Health Tue, 05 May 2009 14:16:47 EST news160751592 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have discovered a new protein complex operating in fruit fly circadian clocks, which may also help to regulate our own biological clocks. http://www.physorg.com/news160215248.html Biology Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:14:51 EST news160215248 (PhysOrg.com) -- Stress can be adaptive. It can make you sharper, help you focus and it can even improve your performance. But too much of it can tax cells to the point where they can no longer cope and slowly self-destruct. Scientists at Rockefeller University now show that when the protein-making factory of the cell is exposed to moderate stress, neurons in the fruit fly retina and other cells not only resist death but also shore up their defenses against damaging free radicals and ultraviolet radiation. http://www.physorg.com/news160159407.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:43:48 EST news160159407 A new study challenges long-standing expectations that men are promiscuous and women tend to be more particular when it comes to choosing a mate. The research, published by Cell Press in the April issue of the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, suggests that human mating strategies are not likely to conform to a single universal pattern and provides important insights that may impact future investigations of human mating behaviors. http://www.physorg.com/news159799620.html Biology Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:47:42 EST news159799620 By painstakingly silencing genes one at a time, scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified dozens of proteins the dengue fever virus depends upon to grow and spread among mosquitoes and humans. http://www.physorg.com/news159626121.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:35:46 EST news159626121 (PhysOrg.com) -- When it comes to wooing females, males of all species -- even fruit flies -- try to gain a competitive edge. http://www.physorg.com/news158947334.html Biology Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:02:49 EST news158947334 That annoying kitchen pest, the fruit fly, occupies an honored place in science and medicine, despite slurs from politicians such as Sen. John McCain and his 2008 sidekick, Sarah Palin. http://www.physorg.com/news158155616.html Biology Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:07:39 EST news158155616 (PhysOrg.com) -- If you've ever been sleep-deprived, you know the feeling that your brain is full of wool. http://www.physorg.com/news157901492.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:32:05 EST news157901492 (PhysOrg.com) -- While science has yet to discover what makes that little ol' ant think he'll move that rubber tree plant, researchers at the University of Toronto Mississauga have identified an enzyme in ant brains that determines if they will defend the nest or gather food. http://www.physorg.com/news157652094.html Biology Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:15:42 EST news157652094 Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found evidence that houseflies collected near broiler poultry operations may contribute to the dispersion of drug-resistant bacteria and thus increase the potential for human exposure to drug-resistant bacteria. The findings demonstrate another potential link between industrial food animal production and exposures to antibiotic resistant pathogens. Previous studies have linked antibiotic use in poultry production to antibiotic resistant bacteria in farm workers, consumer poultry products and the environment surrounding confined poultry operations, as well as releases from poultry transport. http://www.physorg.com/news156424656.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:18:05 EST news156424656 Scientists have identified the first gene that pulls the plug on ailing nerve cell branches from within the nerve cell, possibly helping to trigger the painful condition known as neuropathy. http://www.physorg.com/news156346708.html Medicine & Health Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:39:41 EST news156346708 When it comes to the aging process, yeast, nematode worms and fruit flies have more in common with humans than previously expected. In addition to highlighting the similarities between species, a large-scale human protein network reveals a complex web of interactions among the human equivalents of the many longevity genes found in simple-animals. http://www.physorg.com/news156180138.html Biology Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:22:54 EST news156180138 Tiny, lightweight fruit flies need to know when it's windy out so they can steady themselves and avoid being knocked off their feet or blown off course. But how do they figure out that it's time to hunker down? According to a team led by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) scientists reporting in this week's issue of the journal Nature, the flies have evolved a specialized population of neurons in their antennae that let them know not only when the wind is blowing, but also the direction from which it is coming. http://www.physorg.com/news156088179.html Biology Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:50:19 EST news156088179 Animals have an astonishing ability to develop reliably, in spite of variable conditions during embryogenesis. New research, published in parallel this week in PLoS Biology and PLoS Computational Biology, addresses how living things can develop into precise, adult forms when there is so much variation present during their development stages. A team led by John Reinitz at Stony Brook University, and funded by the National Institutes of Health, shows how fruit fly embryos can "forget" initial incorrect versions of their body plan and develop into recognizable adult flies. http://www.physorg.com/news155888495.html Biology Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:24:48 EST news155888495 Buzzing with excitement, the "fly people" swarmed into Chicago this week to hear the latest news about an unsung hero of science: the humble fruit fly. http://www.physorg.com/news155751263.html Biology Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:15:08 EST news155751263 For many animals, sleep is a risk: foraging for food, mingling with mates and guarding against predators just aren't possible while snoozing. http://www.physorg.com/news154540566.html Medicine & Health Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:56:43 EST news154540566 Researchers have known for decades that the brain has a remarkable ability to "reprogram" itself to compensate for problems such as traumatic injury. Now, a research article published in the February 2009 issue of the journal Genetics suggests that the brain may also be able to compensate for problems with key neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. This finding may open the doors to entirely new lines of research and treatments for a wide range of brain disorders, including addiction, depression, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia. http://www.physorg.com/news154350455.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:08:14 EST news154350455 Fruit flies and humans share most of their genes, including 70 percent of all known human disease genes. Taking advantage of this remarkable evolutionary conservation, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies transformed the fruit fly into a laboratory model for an innovative study of gliomas, the most common malignant brain tumors. http://www.physorg.com/news153738376.html Biology Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:06:40 EST news153738376 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers are reporting the ongoing emergence of a new species of fruit fly--and the sequential development of a new species of wasp--in the February 6 issue of the journal Science. http://www.physorg.com/news153072466.html Biology Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:16:06 EST news153072466 (PhysOrg.com) -- Heinrich Jasper, assistant professor of biology at the University of Rochester, has won a $900,000 Senior Fellow Award from the Ellison Medical Foundation for his work showing how stress affects stem cell function, leading to symptoms of aging. http://www.physorg.com/news152813533.html Biology Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:12:45 EST news152813533 Large-scale data mining of gene networks in fruit flies has led researchers to a sensitive and specific diagnostic biomarker for human renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. In the journal Science, published early online January 22, a team based at the University of Chicago shows that the biomarker known as SPOP is produced by 99 percent of clear cell renal cell carcinomas but not by normal kidney tissue. http://www.physorg.com/news152273169.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:06:47 EST news152273169 For the first time, male flies of a serious agricultural pest, the medfly, have been bred to generate offspring that die whilst they are still embryos. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology describe the creation of the flies that, when released into a wild population, could out-compete the normal male flies and cause a generation of pests to be stillborn - protecting important crops. http://www.physorg.com/news152263307.html Biology Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:22:20 EST news152263307