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. Penguins that died 44,000 years ago in Antarctica have provided extraordinary frozen DNA samples that challenge the accuracy of traditional genetic aging measurements, and suggest those approaches have been routinely underestimating the age of many specimens by 200 to 600 percent. http://www.physorg.com/news177083943.html Biology Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:59:42 EST news177083943 A new paper published October 27 in PLoS ONE, the online, open-access scientific journal, unveils for the first time a method to accurately distinguish between all eight tuna species from any kind of processed tissue using genetic sequencing. http://www.physorg.com/news175807975.html Biology Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:34:06 EST news175807975 Soon you could be genetically screened for mitochondrial disorders quickly and comprehensively. Research published in BioMed Central's open access journal, Genome Medicine, outlines an innovative clinical diagnostic test for the early identification of a wide range of mitochondrial disorders. Mutations to one of the mitochondrial genes, or to a number of nuclear genes with roles in mitochondrial function, can cause diseases which have very similar symptoms, making them difficult to diagnose and treat. http://www.physorg.com/news175458133.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:30:09 EST news175458133 Flies fed an "anti-Atkins" low protein diet live longer because their mitochondria function better. The research, done at the Buck Institute for Age Research, shows that the molecular mechanisms responsible for the lifespan extension in the flies have important implications for human aging and diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news173618983.html Biology Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:50:06 EST news173618983 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 Conservation geneticists who study sea turtles have a new tool to help track this highly migratory and endangered group of marine animals: DNA barcodes. DNA barcodes are short genetic sequences that efficiently distinguish species from each other -- even if the samples from which the DNA is extracted are minute or degraded. Now, a recently published research paper by scientists from the American Museum of Natural History and the University of Canberra, among other organizations, demonstrates that this technology can be applied to all seven sea turtle species and can provide insight into the genetic structure of a widely-dispersed and ancient group of animals. http://www.physorg.com/news172161756.html Biology Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:00:01 EST news172161756 In the new print issue of Nature Genetics, scientists in Singapore and Germany report that mutations in the PYCR1 gene cause the rare genetic condition that results in premature skin aging and that is known as "wrinkly skin syndrome." http://www.physorg.com/news170951199.html Medicine & Health Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:20:01 EST news170951199 Mitochondrial diseases disrupt the power generating machinery within cells and increase a person's susceptibility to bacterial infection, particularly in the lungs or respiratory tract. A new study published in Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM), shows that infection with the pneumonia causing bacteria Legionella, is facilitated by an increased amount of a signaling protein that is associated with mitochondrial disease. http://www.physorg.com/news167989907.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:40:04 EST news167989907 University of Utah researchers and their colleagues have identified the gene that is mutated in a hereditary form of a rare neuroendocrine tumor called paraganglioma (PGL). The gene, called hSDH5, is required for activation of an enzyme complex that plays a critical role in the chemical reactions that take place within cells to convert biochemical energy into usable energy. This study will be published in the journal Science, to be released online in Science Express on July 23, 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news167578591.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:36:58 EST news167578591 Genetic research indicates that Australian Aborigines initially arrived via south Asia. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology have found telltale mutations in modern-day Indian populations that are exclusively shared by Aborigines. http://www.physorg.com/news167423399.html Biology Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:30:43 EST news167423399 Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered that gene mutations that once helped humans survive may increase the possibility for diseases, including cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news165754102.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:49:10 EST news165754102 A protein called STAT3 has been found to play a fundamental role in converting normal cells to cancerous cells, according to a new study led by David E. Levy, Ph.D., professor of pathology and microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. http://www.physorg.com/news165159246.html Medicine & Health Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:10:03 EST news165159246 Researchers at the University of Leeds have devised a more accurate method of dating ancient human migration - even when no corroborating archaeological evidence exists. http://www.physorg.com/news163342792.html Biology Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:00:16 EST news163342792 Sensory ataxic neuropathy (SAN) is a recently identified neurological disorder in Golden Retriever dogs with onset during puppyhood. Affected dogs move in an uncoordinated manner and have sensory deficits. Researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala University and the Karolinska Institutet have now revealed that SAN is caused by a mutation in mitochondrial DNA. The study is published May 29 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. http://www.physorg.com/news162796974.html Medicine & Health Fri, 29 May 2009 06:23:39 EST news162796974 The call came unexpectedly a few weeks ago, the sharp ring and a calm voice asking whether she was Starring Winfield's sister. http://www.physorg.com/news162554271.html Other Sciences Tue, 26 May 2009 11:04:05 EST news162554271 Better treatments for acute renal failure may be possible by blocking the mitochondrial fragmentation that occurs when kidneys don't get enough blood or are exposed to toxins, researchers at the Medical College of Georgia report in the may issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://www.physorg.com/news161862652.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 May 2009 10:51:58 EST news161862652 The Neanderthals inhabited a vast geographical area extending from Europe to western Asia and the Middle East 30,000 to 100,000 years ago. Now, a group of researchers are questioning whether or not the Neanderthals constituted a homogenous group or separate sub-groups (between which slight differences could be observed). A new study published April 15 in the online, open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE may provide some answers. http://www.physorg.com/news158992826.html Biology Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:47:34 EST news158992826 Many diseases derive from problems with cellular respiration, the process through which cells extract energy from nutrients. Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now discovered a new function for a protein in the mitochondrion - popularly called the cell's power station - that plays a key part in cell respiration. http://www.physorg.com/news158405697.html Biology Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:35:13 EST news158405697 Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have demonstrated that attacks on the mitochondrial protein Drp1 by the free radical nitric oxide -which causes a chemical reaction called S-nitrosylation -mediates neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease. Prior to this study, the mechanism by which beta-amyloid protein caused synaptic damage to neurons in Alzheimer's disease was unknown. These findings suggest that preventing S-nitrosylation of Drp1 may reduce or even prevent neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's patients. The paper was published in the April 3 issue of the journal Science. http://www.physorg.com/news157900580.html Medicine & Health Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:16:44 EST news157900580 Parents and school nurses take note. Lice are a familiar nuisance around the world and vectors of serious diseases, such as epidemic typhus, in developing regions. New research indicates that lice may actually be quite unique in the animal world. In a study published online in Genome Research (www.genome.org), scientists have analyzed the mitochondrial genome of the human body louse and discovered that it is fragmented into many pieces - a remarkable finding in animals that will surely spark discussion about how it evolved and what advantages it might confer. http://www.physorg.com/news157653023.html Biology Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:30:53 EST news157653023 Mitochondria are restless, continually merging and splitting. But contrary to conventional wisdom, the size of these organelles depends on more than fusion and fission, as Berman et al. show. Mitochondrial growth and degradation are also part of the equation. http://www.physorg.com/news155210544.html Biology Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:02:54 EST news155210544 (PhysOrg.com) -- Head lice are a challenge for parents of primary-school aged children all around the world, including Australia. http://www.physorg.com/news152263110.html Biology Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:18:58 EST news152263110 New molecular research shows that birds within the family Zosteropidae -named white eyes for the feathers that frame their eyes -form new species at a faster rate than any other known bird. Remarkably, unlike other rapid diversifications, which are generally confined in their geography, white eyes have managed to diversify across multiple continents and far-flung islands spanning much of the eastern hemisphere. The research was published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.physorg.com/news152212973.html Biology Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:23:26 EST news152212973 German scientist Otto H. Warburg's theory on the origin of cancer earned him the Nobel Prize in 1931, but the biochemical basis for his theory remained elusive. http://www.physorg.com/news150954448.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:47:28 EST news150954448 A new study by Narendra et al. suggests that Parkin, the product of the Parkinson's disease-related gene Park2, prompts neuronal survival by clearing the cell of its damaged mitochondria. http://www.physorg.com/news146742726.html Medicine & Health Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:52:06 EST news146742726 A study in the Sept. 21 on-line edition of Nature Medicine describes the function and interaction of a critical molecule involved in cell death in Alzheimer's disease patients. These new findings reveal that blocking this molecule, called Cyclophilin D (CypD), and development of surrounding mitochondrial targets may be viable therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, according to Shi Du Yan, Ph.D., professor of clinical pathology in the Department's of Pathology and Surgery and in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center, who led the multi-center research. http://www.physorg.com/news145124623.html Medicine & Health Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:23:43 EST news145124623 (PhysOrg.com) -- Not all enzymes that are assumed to require an RNA component in order to function do actually contain RNA. This surprising discovery was made during a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF that focussed on the enzyme RNase P. Contrary to accepted scientific theory, the project team from Vienna has long believed that certain forms of RNase P do not contain any RNA. They have now succeeded in proving their point through a series of sophisticated experiments, the results of which are being published today in the journal Cell. http://www.physorg.com/news144947904.html Biology Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:18:24 EST news144947904 Treatments that ramp up production of the tiny "motors" that power cells may have promise for treating one of the most common forms of inherited neuromuscular disease, according to a report in the September Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. Neuromuscular disorders caused by defects in those mitochondrial motors affect a large number of children and adults worldwide, but today remain without treatment, the researchers said. http://www.physorg.com/news139579038.html Medicine & Health Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:57:18 EST news139579038 Researchers at the University of Newcastle, England, and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech in the United States have revealed a large reservoir of mitochondrial DNA mutations present in the general population. Clinical analysis of blood samples from almost 3,000 infants born in north Cumbria, England, showed that at least 1 in 200 individuals in the general public harbor mitochondrial DNA mutations that may lead to disease. http://www.physorg.com/news137669677.html Medicine & Health Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:34:37 EST news137669677 A study reported in the August 8th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, reveals the complete mitochondrial genome of a 38,000-year-old Neandertal. The findings open a window into the Neandertals' past and helps answer lingering questions about our relationship to them. http://www.physorg.com/news137334959.html Biology Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:35:59 EST news137334959