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. In technology that promises to one day allow drug delivery to be tailored to an individual patient and a particular cancer tumor, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have developed an efficient system for delivering siRNA into primary cells. The work will be published in the May 17 in the advance on-line edition of Nature Biotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news161750021.html Biology Sun, 17 May 2009 03:34:29 EST news161750021 (PhysOrg.com) -- When evolution has lucked into efficient solutions for life`s most fundamental problems, it adopts them as invaluable family heirlooms, passing them down as one species evolves into another. So it was reasonable to expect that a key regulator of embryonic development - a strand of RNA that shepherds stem cells through the process of differentiation - might play the same role in all vertebrates, from fish to people. New research, however, has shown that when it comes to microRNAs, what works for one animal may not work the same way in another. http://www.physorg.com/news161613204.html Biology Fri, 15 May 2009 13:34:51 EST news161613204 (PhysOrg.com) -- An ingenious new method of obtaining marine microbe samples while preserving the microbes' natural gene expression has yielded an unexpected boon: the presence of many varieties of small RNAs -- snippets of RNA that act as switches to regulate gene expression in these single-celled creatures. Before now, small RNA could only be studied in lab-cultured microorganisms; the discovery of its presence in a natural setting may make it possible finally to learn on a broad scale how microbial communities living at different ocean depths and regions respond to environmental stimuli. http://www.physorg.com/news161532776.html Biology Thu, 14 May 2009 15:14:11 EST news161532776 Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed an experiment that sheds new and fascinating light on how life on Earth might have begun. http://www.physorg.com/news161456485.html Chemistry Wed, 13 May 2009 18:02:05 EST news161456485 An ingenious new method of obtaining marine microbe samples while preserving the microbes' natural gene expression has yielded an unexpected boon: the presence of many varieties of small RNAs - snippets of RNA that act as switches to regulate gene expression in these single-celled creatures. Before now, small RNA could only be studied in lab-cultured microorganisms; the discovery of its presence in a natural setting may make it possible finally to learn on a broad scale how microbial communities living at different ocean depths and regions respond to environmental stimuli. http://www.physorg.com/news161439205.html Biology Wed, 13 May 2009 13:14:02 EST news161439205 (PhysOrg.com) -- Diagnosis and treatment in one go: Korean researchers led by Tae Gwan Park and Jinwoo Cheon have developed the basis for a four-in-one agent that can detect, target, and disable tumor cells while also making them macroscopically and microscopically visible. http://www.physorg.com/news160820306.html Chemistry Wed, 06 May 2009 09:19:25 EST news160820306 Cells of higher organisms are in a constant struggle against some of their own DNA - repeated bits of DNA sequence called transposons that have infiltrated host genomes over the eons. Transposons damage the rest of the genome when they copy themselves and jump into new genomic sites. http://www.physorg.com/news160756336.html Biology Tue, 05 May 2009 15:32:39 EST news160756336 Yale researchers describe a breakthrough in safe and effective administration of potential antiviral drugs - small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules that silence genes - the first step in development of a new kind of treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The work is reported May 4 as an advance online publication of Nature Materials. http://www.physorg.com/news160590617.html Nanotechnology Sun, 03 May 2009 17:30:45 EST news160590617 Recycling is important not only on a global scale, but also at the cellular level, since key molecules tend to be available in limited numbers. This means a cell needs to have efficient recycling mechanisms. Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and Heidelberg University, Germany, have now uncovered the first step in the recycling of a crucial molecular tag which ensures the instructions encoded in our genes are correctly carried out. The study, published this week in the journal Cell, sheds new light on a proof-reading process that helps protect us from genetic diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news160315057.html Biology Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:58:13 EST news160315057 Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) report today on a novel approach to the delivery of small bits of genetic material in order to silence genes using "RNA interference" -and in the process, discovered a potent method of suppressing inflammation in mice similar to what occurs in a range of human diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news160229724.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:15:58 EST news160229724 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) -- Building on a technique they used to produce nanomovies of RNA molecules in motion, researchers have created "high definition" versions of the animations that reveal even more details about how RNA changes shape and binds with drug molecules. http://www.physorg.com/news159469888.html Biology Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:12:12 EST news159469888 Bioinformatics researchers from UC San Diego just moved closer to unlocking the mystery of how human cells switch from "proliferation mode" to "specialization mode." This computational biology work from the Jacobs School of Engineering's bioengineering department could lead to new ideas for curbing unwanted cell proliferation -including some cancers. This research, published in Nature Genetics, could also improve our understanding of how organs and other complex tissues develop. http://www.physorg.com/news159467954.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:39:38 EST news159467954 (PhysOrg.com) -- An international consortium of scientists, including researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ), have probed further into the human genome than ever before. http://www.physorg.com/news159426773.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:13:21 EST news159426773 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using the same protein molecule that scientists have used for decades to copy genetic material, researchers have developed a molecular motor for propelling DNA. http://www.physorg.com/news159119973.html Chemistry Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:00:29 EST news159119973 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the past decade, researchers have tried to tweak cells at the gene and nucleus level to reprogram their identity. Now, working on the idea that the signature of a cell is defined by molecules called messenger RNAs, which contain the chemical blueprint for how to make a protein, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, School of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering have found another way to change one cell type into another. http://www.physorg.com/news159111087.html Biology Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:32:10 EST news159111087 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois have identified and visualized the signaling pathways in protein-RNA complexes that help set the genetic code in all organisms. The genetic code allows information stored in DNA to be translated into proteins. http://www.physorg.com/news158936293.html Chemistry Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:58:55 EST news158936293 (PhysOrg.com) -- A research project led by University of Notre Dame biologist Malcolm J. Fraser Jr. may soon lead to the eradication of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease that annually infects more than 50 million people worldwide. http://www.physorg.com/news158860958.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:03:37 EST news158860958 In parallel studies in human and mouse, two groups of researchers have come to the same conclusion: that a new kind of gene is associated with progressive hearing loss. The new gene - called a microRNA - is a tiny fragment of RNA that affects the production of hundreds of other molecules within sensory hair cells of the inner ear. http://www.physorg.com/news158772214.html Medicine & Health Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:24:49 EST news158772214 Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have designed tiny RNA molecules that shut off the gene that causes Huntington's disease without damaging that gene's healthy counterpart, which maintains the health and vitality of neurons. Laboratory studies suggest that a single small interfering RNA could reduce production of the damaging Huntingtin protein in nearly half of people with the disease. Another 25 percent of patients might benefit from one of a set of four additional small interfering RNAs. http://www.physorg.com/news158503609.html Medicine & Health Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:47:30 EST news158503609 University of Nevada School of Medicine scientists in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology have discovered insight into the reproductive workings of the male sex chromosome that may have significant implications for male infertility and contraception. http://www.physorg.com/news158502651.html Biology Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:31:21 EST news158502651 Leave it to geneticists to answer a question that has perplexed humanity since the dawn of time: does love at first sight truly exist? According to a study published in the April 2009 issue of the journal Genetics, a team of scientists from the United States and Australia discovered that at the genetic level, some males and females are more compatible than others, and that this compatibility plays an important role in mate selection, mating outcomes, and future reproductive behaviors. In experiments involving fruit flies, the researchers found that before mating, females experience what amounts to "genetic priming," making them more likely to mate with certain males over others. http://www.physorg.com/news158331876.html Biology Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:04:59 EST news158331876 Biomedical engineers have developed a new type of probe that allows them to visualize single ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules within live cells more easily than existing methods. The tool will help scientists learn more about how RNA operates within living cells. http://www.physorg.com/news158245779.html Chemistry Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:10:04 EST news158245779 Results from a new study identify a biomarker that may be useful for predicting the outcome of treatment for neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in young children. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 7th issue of the journal Cancer Cell, also provides new information about the molecular signals that are involved in the progression of this often devastating pediatric cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news158245194.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:00:25 EST news158245194 At least 200 million individuals are currently infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. Approximately 30%-50% of patients respond to interferon/ribavirin combination therapy. Response to interferon therapy depends mainly on viral and host genetic factors. The HCV is continually mutating which allows the virus to evade the immune system and overcome interferon treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news157632931.html Medicine & Health Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:56:25 EST news157632931 A new study suggests that previously noted low rates of successful hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy in African Americans are in large part due to very early differences in the antiviral activity induced by interferon. The study is published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. http://www.physorg.com/news156782952.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:49:46 EST news156782952 Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified genetic markers that signal poor outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer. These findings could one day lead to a genetic test that could help select or predict successful treatment options for patients with this type of cancer. The results were published in the American Journal of Pathology. http://www.physorg.com/news156619491.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:25:25 EST news156619491 A small piece of RNA, or microRNA (miRNA), ratchets down the activity of the tumor-suppressor gene p53, according to a study by Whitehead Institute and National University of Singapore researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news156531009.html Biology Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:50:53 EST news156531009 (PhysOrg.com) -- When the Human Genome Project was complete, DNA bowed out of the limelight and gave way to RNA as a major player in genetic regulation. Now, findings at Rockefeller University mirror this ideological shift, revealing that one of the most important physiological events in the body - the wiring of motor neurons and muscles - is regulated at the level of RNA. The findings upturn dogma in the field and further point to the increasingly indisputable role of RNA as the molecule behind biological complexity. http://www.physorg.com/news156444528.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:50:00 EST news156444528 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a master switch that might prevent cancer cells from metastasizing from a primary tumor to other organs. The switch is a protein that, when in the "on" position, maintains the normal character of cells that line the surface of organs and body cavities. These epithelial cells are the type of cell from which most solid tumors arise. However, when the switch is turned "off" or absent, epithelial cells acquire characteristics of another cell type, called mesenchymal cells, and gain the ability to migrate and move away from the primary tumor. The researchers report their findings in this month's issue of Molecular Cell. http://www.physorg.com/news156434837.html Medicine & Health Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:07:55 EST news156434837