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. Going back for a second dessert after your holiday meal might not be the best strategy for living a long, cancer-free life say researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. That's because they've shown exactly how restricted calorie diets -- specifically in the form of restricted glucose -- help human cells live longer. This discovery, published online in The FASEB Journal could help lead to drugs and treatments that slow human aging and prevent cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news180711805.html Medicine & Health Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:00:02 EST news180711805 Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have determined the structures of two enzymes that customize histones, the spool-like proteins around which DNA coils inside the cell. http://www.physorg.com/news180530290.html Biology Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:00:15 EST news180530290 Humans share at least 97 percent of their genes with chimpanzees, but, as a new study of transcription factors makes clear, what you have in your genome may be less important than how you use it. http://www.physorg.com/news179423972.html Biology Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:30:05 EST news179423972 By measuring the total gene activity in organs relevant for coronary artery disease (CAD), scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have identified a module of genes that is important for the recruitment of white blood cells into the atherosclerotic plaque. The findings, which are to be published in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, suggest that targeting the migration of white blood cells in the development of atherosclerosis may help to reduce the risk for adverse clinical effects such as ischemia and myocardial infarction. http://www.physorg.com/news179147843.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:30:01 EST news179147843 When you eat may be just as vital to your health as what you eat, found researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Their experiments in mice revealed that the daily waxing and waning of thousands of genes in the liver -- the body's metabolic clearinghouse -- is mostly controlled by food intake and not by the body's circadian clock as conventional wisdom had it. http://www.physorg.com/news178369757.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:09:50 EST news178369757 (PhysOrg.com) -- A paper by University of Notre Dame biologist Giles Duffield and a team of researchers offers new insights into a gene that plays a key role in modulating the body`s Circadian system and may also simultaneously modulate its metabolic system. http://www.physorg.com/news177682464.html Chemistry Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:16:12 EST news177682464 A paper by University of Notre Dame biologist Giles Duffield and a team of researchers offers new insights into a gene that plays a key role in modulating the body's Circadian system and may also simultaneously modulate its metabolic system. The relationship between circadian and metabolic systems the researchers describe could have important implications for understanding the higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes among shift workers. http://www.physorg.com/news177268238.html Biology Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:11:20 EST news177268238 Although the chances of surviving advanced melanoma aren't very good with current therapies, some patients can live for years with cancer that has spread beyond the skin to other organs. Now it may be possible to identify which patients are more likely to survive by analyzing the activity of hundreds of genes involved in the immune response and gene proliferation, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center. http://www.physorg.com/news177008484.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:50:05 EST news177008484 Choosing the right cell type is particularly important in genetic studies. This is apparent from research published on 16 October in PLoS Genetics. Dutch researcher Alice Gerrits has shown how variations in the genome can influence the activity of genes. This effect was found to be strongly dependent on the cell type in which these genes were active. http://www.physorg.com/news176575057.html Biology Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:30:03 EST news176575057 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, researchers are able to look at the need for every gene in a bacterial cell in a single experiment. The new method will transform the study of gene activity and the search for weaknesses in bacterial armouries. http://www.physorg.com/news174912631.html Medicine & Health Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:00:03 EST news174912631 Researchers from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have uncovered a large, new cache of genes that act as built-in barriers against cancer. Known as tumor suppressors, the newly identified genes and the insight that they provide into devising new therapeutic strategies against lymphoma are described in a paper published this week in Cancer Cell. http://www.physorg.com/news174645486.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:38:30 EST news174645486 Feeling stressed? Then try savoring the scent of lemon, mango, lavender, or other fragrant plants. Scientists in Japan are reporting the first scientific evidence that inhaling certain fragrances alter gene activity and blood chemistry in ways that can reduce stress levels. Their study appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. http://www.physorg.com/news167478449.html Chemistry Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:00:01 EST news167478449 When a zebra finch hears a new song from a member of its own species, the experience changes gene expression in its brain in unexpected ways, researchers report. The sequential switching on and off of thousands of genes after a bird hears a new tune offers a new picture of memory in the songbird brain. http://www.physorg.com/news165239600.html Biology Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:00:01 EST news165239600 Linking genetic material microRNAs with cells that regulate the immune system could one day lead to new therapies for treating cancer, infections and autoimmune diseases, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. http://www.physorg.com/news163096621.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:37:37 EST news163096621 VIB researchers linked to K.U.Leuven and Harvard University show that stretches of DNA previously believed to be useless 'junk' DNA play a vital role in the evolution of our genome. They found that unstable pieces of junk DNA help tuning gene activity and enable organisms to quickly adapt to changes in their environments. The results will be published in the reputed scientific Journal Science. http://www.physorg.com/news162753069.html Biology Thu, 28 May 2009 18:11:51 EST news162753069 Our genome is a patchwork of neighborhoods that couldn't be more different: Some areas are hustling and bustling with gene activity, while others are sparsely populated and in perpetual lock-down. Breaking down just a few of the molecular fences that separate them blurs the lines and leads to the inactivation of at least two tumor suppressor genes, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. http://www.physorg.com/news161527703.html Medicine & Health Thu, 14 May 2009 13:50:04 EST news161527703 (PhysOrg.com) -- Bioengineers at UC San Diego have developed a breakthrough method for sequencing-based methylation profiling, which could help fuel personalized regenerative medicine and even lead to more efficient and cost-effective methods for studying certain diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news159643088.html Biology Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:19:15 EST news159643088 (PhysOrg.com) -- The circadian clock coordinates physiological and behavioral processes on a 24-hour rhythm, allowing animals to anticipate changes in their environment and prepare accordingly. Scientists already know that some genes are controlled by the clock and are turned on only one time during each 24-hour cycle. http://www.physorg.com/news159642057.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:01:27 EST news159642057 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. http://www.physorg.com/news155371512.html Biology Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:46:08 EST news155371512 A key item in the developmental agenda of a plant leaf is the establishment of an axis that makes a leaf's top half distinct from its bottom half. This asymmetry is crucial for the leaf's function: it ensures that the leaf develops a flattened blade that is optimized for photosynthesis, with a top surface specialized for light harvesting and a bottom surface containing tiny pores that serve as locales for gas exchange. http://www.physorg.com/news155132111.html Biology Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:15:57 EST news155132111 New evidence may explain why it is that we lose not only our youthful looks, but also our youthful pattern of gene activity with age. A report in the November 26th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, reveals that a protein perhaps best known for its role in the life-extending benefits of a low-calorie diet also maintains the stability of the mammalian genome -the complete set of genetic instructions "written" in DNA. http://www.physorg.com/news146922348.html Biology Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:45:48 EST news146922348 Scientists at Penn State have shed light on some of the processes that regulate genes -- such as the processes that ensure that proteins are produced at the correct time, place, and amount in an organism -- and they also have shed light on the evolution of the DNA regions that regulate genes. The team focused on regulatory regions that, when bound to the protein GATA1, are thought to turn on genes that play an important role in the development of red blood cells. "Our findings could help others to develop drugs to treat people who suffer from sickle-cell anemia and other blood disorders," said Ross Hardison, the T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the team's leader. The results will be published on 1 December 2008 in the journal Genome Research. http://www.physorg.com/news146833211.html Biology Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:00:11 EST news146833211 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at Penn State have shed light on some of the processes that regulate genes -- such as the processes that ensure that proteins are produced at the correct time, place, and amount in an organism -- and they also have shed light on the evolution of the DNA regions that regulate genes. The team focused on regulatory regions that, when bound to the protein GATA1, are thought to turn on genes that play an important role in the development of red blood cells. http://www.physorg.com/news146244851.html Biology Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:34:11 EST news146244851 A team of scientists, including Penn State Distinguished Professor of Biology Hong Ma, has identified a gene in rice that controls the size and weight of rice grains. The gene may prove to be useful for breeding high-yield rice and, thus, may benefit the vast number of people who rely on this staple food for survival. "Our work shows that it is possible to increase rice's yield by enhancing the expression of a particular gene," said Ma. The team's results will be published on 28 September 2008 in an early online edition of the journal Nature Genetics, and in the November print issue of the journal. http://www.physorg.com/news141835316.html Biology Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:41:56 EST news141835316