Biotechnology

ScienceDaily (Oct. 30, 2012) — A team of Duke Medicine researchers has engineered cartilage from induced pluripotent stem cells that were successfully grown and sorted for use in tissue repair and studies into cartilage injury and osteoarthritis. The finding is reported online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , and suggests that induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, may be a viable source of patient-specific articular cartilage tissue. "This technique of creating induced pluripotent stem cells -- an achievement honored with this year's Nobel Prize in medicine for Shimya Yamanaka of Kyoto University -- is a way to take adult stem cells and convert them so they have the properties of embryonic stem cells," said Farshid Guilak, PhD, Laszlo Ormandy Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Duke and senior author of the study. "Adult stems cells are limited in what they can do, and embryonic stem cells have ethical issu...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 30, 2012) — Of course, pet owners may base their choice of animal companions on personality but -- as with humans -- appearance may play a large part in the selection of partner. For reasons on which the reader is free to speculate, in many human societies curly hair represents a highly desirable trait -- Sam's song in "Casablanca" recognizes this and generations of hairdressers have grown rich by offering perms. So it should come as no surprise that pet owners and animal breeders are frequently attracted by curly-haired animals. Indeed, three curly-haired varieties of cat are already recognized and have been developed into competitive breeds. Serina Filler at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna now shows that a fourth curly-haired breed, Selkirk Rex, is genetically distinct from previously known breeds and presents a genetic analysis of the new cats. Her results are published in the current issue of the Journal...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2012) — Scientists have determined the three-dimensional structure of a complete, unmodified G-protein-coupled receptor in its native environment: embedded in a membrane in physiological conditions. Using NMR spectroscopy, the team mapped the arrangement of atoms in a protein called CXCR1, which detects the inflammatory signal interleukin 8 and, through a G protein located inside the cell, triggers a cascade of events that can mobilize immune cells, for example. Because G protein-coupled receptors are critical for many cellular responses to external signals, they have been a major target for drugs. More precise knowledge of the shapes of these receptors will allow drugmakers to tailor small molecules to better fit specific targets, avoiding collateral hits that can cause detrimental side effects. "This finding will have a major impact on structure-based drug development since for the first time the principal class of drug r...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) — The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae -- which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and sepsis -- likes to share its antibiotic-defeating weaponry with its neighbors. Individual cells can pass resistance genes to one another through a process called horizontal gene transfer, or by "transformation," the uptake of DNA from the environment. Now researchers report that they can interrupt the cascade of cellular events that allows S. pneumoniae to swap or suck up DNA. The new findings, reported in the journal PLoS ONE, advance the effort to develop a reliable method for shutting down the spread of drug resistance in bacteria. "Within the last few decades, S. pneumoniae has developed resistance to several classes of antibiotics," said University of Illinois pathobiology professor Gee Lau, who led the study. "Importantly, it has been shown that antibiotic stress -- the use of antibiotics to tre...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 26, 2012) — Our master circadian clock resides in a small group of about 10'000 neurons in the brain, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. However, similar clocks are ticking in nearly all cells of the body, as demonstrated by the group of Ueli Schibler, professor at the Department of Molecular Biology of the University of Geneva, Switzerland. The molecular mechanisms of circadian clocks can thus be studied outside of the animals, in cultured cells. A system to study gene regulation live in single cells "Given the important role of the DBP protein in the regulation of detoxifying enzymes, we were interested in studying the molecular mechanisms underlying the rhythmic transcription of the DBP gene," points out the biologist, who is member of the NCCR Frontiers in Genetics. To do so, his team devised an elegant method to watch directly under the microscope how the clock's molecular "cogwheels" govern the activ...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2012) — Researchers have learned how a synthetic molecule destroys complexes that induce allergic responses -- a discovery that could lead to the development of highly potent, rapidly acting interventions for a host of acute allergic reactions. The study, published online Oct. 28 in Nature , was led by scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Bern, Switzerland. The new inhibitor disarms IgE antibodies, pivotal players in acute allergies, by detaching the antibody from its partner in crime, a molecule called FcR. (Other mechanisms lead to slower-developing allergic reactions.) "It would be an incredible intervention if you could rapidly disconnect IgE antibodies in the midst of an acute allergic response," said Ted Jardetzky, PhD, professor of structural biology and senior investigator for the study. It turns out the inhibitor used by the team does just that. A myriad of allergens...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2012) — Boosting the activity of a vitamin-sensitive cell adhesion pathway has the potential to counteract the muscle degeneration and reduced mobility caused by muscular dystrophies, according to a research team led by scientists at the University of Maine. The discovery, published 23 October in the open access journal PLOS Biology , is particularly important for congenital muscular dystrophies, which are progressive, debilitating and often lethal diseases that currently remain without cure. The researchers found that they could improve muscle structure and function in a zebrafish version of muscular dystrophy by supplying a common cellular chemical (or its precursor, vitamin B3) to activate a cell adhesion pathway. Muscle cells are in themselves relatively delicate, but derive important additional mechanical strength from adhesion protein complexes; these anchor the muscle cells to an external framework known as the basement mem...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2012) — A team of researchers from North Carolina State University and the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has found more evidence for the preservation of ancient dinosaur proteins, including reactivity to antibodies that target specific proteins normally found in bone cells of vertebrates. These results further rule out sample contamination, and help solidify the case for preservation of cells -- and possibly DNA -- in ancient remains. Dr. Mary Schweitzer, professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences with a joint appointment at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, first discovered what appeared to be preserved soft tissue in a 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex in 2005. Subsequent research revealed similar preservation in an even older (about 80-million-year-old) Brachylophosaurus canadensis . In 2007 and again in 2009, Schweitzer and colleagues used chemical and molecular analyses to confirm that the fibrous ...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2012) — A team of neuroscientists has proposed a new and potentially revolutionary way of obtaining a neuronal connectivity map (the "connectome") of the whole brain of the mouse. The details are set forth in an essay published October 23 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology . The team, led by Professor Anthony Zador, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, aims to provide a comprehensive account of neural connectivity. At present the only method for obtaining this information with high precision relies on examining individual cell-to-cell contacts (synapses) in electron microscopes. But such methods are slow, expensive and labor-intensive. Zador and colleagues instead propose to exploit high-throughput DNA sequencing to probe the connectivity of neural circuits at the resolution of single neurons. "Our method renders the connectivity problem in a format in which the data are readable by currently available hi...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2012) — In a new study published in the Oct. 16 issue of Developmental Cell , corresponding author Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Phillip Newmark and colleagues report the identification of genes that control growth and regeneration of the intestine in the freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea . How animals repair their internal organs after injury is not well understood. Planarian flatworms are useful models for studying this question. After injury, they are able to re-grow missing body parts, as well as all as organs that are damaged or lost, such as brain, eyes, and intestine. Injury initiates a complex set of cellular events. In planarians, specialized somatic stem cells called neoblasts divide and give rise to all of the different cell types required to rebuild fully functional body parts. Old tissue remaining after amputation remodels and integrates with the...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) — A number of herbs and dietary supplements (HDS) can cause potentially harmful drug interactions, particularly among people receiving medication for problems with their central nervous or cardiovascular systems. Those are the key findings of an extensive research review published in the November issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice . Researchers examined 54 review articles and 31 original studies. They found that the greatest problems were caused by interactions between prescribed drugs and HDS that included ingredients such as St John's Wort, magnesium, calcium, iron or ginkgo. "Consumer use of HDS has risen dramatically over the past two decades" says co-author Dr Hsiang-Wen Lin from the College of Pharmacy, China Medical School, Taiwan. "In the USA, for example, it is estimated that more than 50 per cent of patients with chronic diseases or cancer use them and that many pat...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2012) — The details of memory formation are still largely unknown. It has, however, been established that the two kinds of memory -- long term and short term -- use different mechanisms. When short-term memory is formed, certain proteins in the nerve cells (neurons) of the brain are transiently modified. To establish long-term memory, the cells have to synthesize new protein molecules. This has been shown in experiments with animals. When drugs were used to block protein synthesis, the treated animals were not able to form long-term memory. The precise mechanism by which the newly synthesized proteins regulate memory formation is still poorly understood. They are thought to strengthen existing connections between neurons, as well as establish new connections. Both processes are required for long-term memory formation. A nerve cell in the brain makes connections with tens of thousands of other nerve cells through so-called synapses...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2012) — New evidence shows there is no cross-breeding between endangered manatees in Puerto Rico and those in Florida, resulting in less genetic diversity in Puerto Rico's small manatee population and impacting its odds of survival. The findings, which come from a study of West Indian manatees by the U.S. Geological Survey and Puerto Rico Manatee Conservation Center, could help resource managers make decisions about how to conserve the endangered marine mammal. "Wildlife management has been one of the fields to benefit greatly from the ability to determine relatedness of individuals from DNA analysis, allowing management decisions to be based on concrete scientific evidence for genetic diversity and prospects for it to increase," said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. "These results for Puerto Rico's manatees are a wake-up call." One key management concern is the ability of Puerto Rico's manatees to ab...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2012) — The zebrafish is a potential tool for testing one class of unique individual genetic differences found in humans, and may yield information helpful for the emerging field of personalized medicine, according to a team led by Penn State College of Medicine scientists. The differences, or mutations, in question create minor changes in amino acids -- the building blocks of DNA -- from person to person. Zebrafish can be used as a model to understand what biological effects result from these genetic mutations. Personalized medicine uses modern technology and tools to find biological and genetic differences in individuals so that treatment is more effectively delivered. "A major challenge of personalized medicine is the lack of a standard way to define the importance of each of the many unique mutations found in an individual's genetic code," said Keith Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology and lead researcher....

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2012) — Evolution, often perceived as a series of random changes, might in fact be driven by a simple and repeated genetic solution to an environmental pressure that a broad range of species happen to share, according to new research. Princeton University research published in the journal Science suggests that knowledge of a species' genes -- and how certain external conditions affect the proteins encoded by those genes -- could be used to determine a predictable evolutionary pattern driven by outside factors. Scientists could then pinpoint how the diversity of adaptations seen in the natural world developed even in distantly related animals. "Is evolution predictable? To a surprising extent the answer is yes," said senior researcher Peter Andolfatto, an assistant professor in Princeton's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. He worked with lead a...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) — Enzymes remove spots from our laundry, whiten paper and help with brewing beer. To wit: They facilitate many industrial processes. In many cases, enzymes are obtained from fruits. However, if the harvest is poor, this might lead to shortfalls. Researchers therefore designed a process to produce enzymes microbiologically. A multifunctional facility now opening in Leuna should help with adapting these new processes to an industrial scale. Papayas are delicious and healthy -- and they contain papain, an enzyme that is isolated from the fruit and used in countless industries. They are used for brewing beer, the handling of meat products, the treating of wool in the textile industry and the treating of inflammation in the medical field. A similar example is represented by horseradish: Its enzyme -- horseradish peroxidase -- is used in large quantities in several diagnostic and immunological tests. But the horseradish harvest va...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2012) — Pop music megastar Lady Gaga is being honored with the name of a new genus of ferns found in Central and South America, Mexico, Arizona and Texas. A genus is a group of closely related species; in this case, 19 species of ferns will carry the name Gaga. At one stage of its life, the new genus Gaga has somewhat fluid definitions of gender and bears a striking resemblance to one of Gaga's famous costumes. Members of the new genus also bear a distinct DNA sequence spelling GAGA. Two of the species in the Gaga genus are new to science: Gaga germanotta from Costa Rica is named to honor the family of the artist, who was born Stefani Germanotta. And a newly discovered Mexican species is being dubbed Gaga monstraparva (literally monster-little) in honor of Gaga's fans, whom she calls â€Å"little monsters.” "We wanted to name this genus for Lady Gaga because of her fervent defense of equality and individ...