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. (PhysOrg.com) -- UNSW students have sequenced the chloroplast genome of the ancient Wollemi Pine - a world first that could reveal how a "dinosaur" of the tree kingdom survived 200 million years of shifting continents and changing climates. http://www.physorg.com/news180285175.html Biology Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:50:07 EST news180285175 Bacteria don't have easy lives. In addition to mammalian immune systems that besiege the bugs, they have natural enemies called bacteriophages, viruses that kill half the bacteria on Earth every two days. http://www.physorg.com/news178375259.html Biology Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:42:43 EST news178375259 Researchers at Queen's University have found a link between two genes involved in cancer formation in humans, by examining the genes in worms. The groundbreaking discovery provides a foundation for how tumor-forming genes interact, and may offer a drug target for cancer treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news177089021.html Biology Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:25:02 EST news177089021 (PhysOrg.com) -- A researcher at Iowa State University has discovered how a group of proteins from plant pathogenic bacteria interact with DNA in the plant cell, opening up the possibility for what the scientist calls a "cascade of advances." http://www.physorg.com/news177018700.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:30:03 EST news177018700 The hormones, called androgens, are important in the development of masculine characteristics such as aggression and strength. It is also thought that prenatal androgens affect finger length during development in the womb. High levels of androgens, such as testosterone, increase the length of the fourth finger in comparison to the second finger. Scientists used finger ratios as an indicator of the levels of exposure to the hormone and compared this data with social behaviour in primate groups. http://www.physorg.com/news176555766.html Biology Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:17:05 EST news176555766 (PhysOrg.com) -- We are on the brink of another new age of discovery- this time of countless new proteins, which could be used in a whole range of situations from medicine to industry, following the successful development of a new laboratory technique. http://www.physorg.com/news174312566.html Chemistry Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:20:01 EST news174312566 Researchers are delving into abnormal gene function in mitochondria, structures within cells that power our lives. Mitochondria are the place where energy is generated from the most basic molecules of food. Because this function is essential to life, defects in mitochondria may affect a wide range of organ systems in humans and animals. http://www.physorg.com/news173012799.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:07:55 EST news173012799 While the art of fine winemaking is a beautiful thing, winemakers are increasingly turning to the power of science to give them the tools they need to ensure a high quality pour each and every time. http://www.physorg.com/news171713377.html Biology Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:25:06 EST news171713377 When bees sting, they pump into their victims a peptide toxin called melittin that destroys cell membranes. Now, by encapsulating this extremely potent molecule within a nanoparticle, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have created a potential new type of anticancer therapy with the potential to target a wide range of tumors. This work was reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://www.physorg.com/news170690607.html Nanotechnology Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:10:02 EST news170690607 (PhysOrg.com) -- Why do some plants blossom even when days are short and gray? Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology have found the answer to this question: An endogenous mechanism allows them to flower in the absence of external influences such as long days. A small piece of RNA, a so-called microRNA, has a central role in this process, as a decline of its concentration in the shoot apex triggers flowering. http://www.physorg.com/news169995560.html Biology Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:20:02 EST news169995560 Ten articles describing how a universal language to describe genes is bringing benefits to the study of the microbial world have been published in a special issue of Trends in Microbiology, co-edited by Virginia Bioinformatics Institute professor Brett Tyler. The Gene Ontology is a powerful language that gives researchers a shared vocabulary to describe disease-related and beneficial interactions between a microbe and its host. By allowing scientists to link experimental results to a computer-readable language, the Gene Ontology provides scientists with an important bridge between specific experiments that characterize gene function and larger-scale, systems biology efforts to provide a global picture of host-microbe interactions. http://www.physorg.com/news166808777.html Biology Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:46:55 EST news166808777 The Myc-gene plays an important role in cell regulation; in about 50 percent of all tumors this gene is mutated. Scientists led by Professor Klaus Bister of the University of Innsbruck, Austria have shown that the gene BASP1 specifically inhibits the effect of this oncogene, thereby preventing uncontrolled cell growth which is typical for tumors. The biochemists have just published their findings in the renowned journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.physorg.com/news156619414.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:24:11 EST news156619414 Think researchers know all there is to know about Escherichia coli, commonly known as E. coli? Think again. "E. coli has more than four thousand genes, and the functions of one-fourth of these remain unknown," says Dr. Deborah Siegele, a biology professor at Texas A&M University whose laboratory specializes in carrying out research using the bacterium. http://www.physorg.com/news137301112.html Biology Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:11:52 EST news137301112