Life Science Weekly back issues from August 2008:
Why Play a Losing Game? Carnegie Mellon Study Uncovers Why Low-Income People Buy Lottery Tickets.
Aug 05, 2008 ... Although state lotteries, on average, return just 53 cents for every dollar spent on a ticket, people continue to pour money into them -- especially low-income people, who spend a larger percentage of their incomes on lottery tickets than do the wealthier segments of society. A new ...
Convergys to Acquire Intervoice, Enhancing Leadership in Relationship Management.
Aug 05, 2008 ... Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG) and Intervoice, Inc. (NASDAQ: INTV) announced that the Boards of Directors of both companies have approved a definitive merger agreement under which Convergys will acquire Intervoice for $335 million in cash or $8.25 per share. The consideration represents ...
Clinical Trial on Hospitalized Children Suffering from Lead Poisoning Reveals the Safety and Effectiveness of Modified Citrus Pectin MCP.
Aug 05, 2008 ... EcoNugenics announces the results of a collaborative study with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) that reveals the effectiveness and safety of modified citrus pectin (MCP; PectaSol) in dramatically lowering lead toxicity in children who were ...
Published Study Demonstrates Lower Serum Creatinine Levels after Contrast Media Administration with Iodixanol Than with Iopromide.
Aug 05, 2008 ... GE Healthcare's iodixanol, an isosmolar contrast medium, shows lower incidence of elevated serum creatinine (SCr) or decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR) than iopromide, concluded a study written by a team of physicians and researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, and ...
Study Shows Cost-Effectiveness of 64-Slice CT Scanner in Emergency Department Chest Pain Patients.(Clinical report)
Aug 05, 2008 ... A recent study led by Rahul Khare, MD, emergency department physician and assistant director of operations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, sought to determine the cost-effectiveness of utilizing a CT scanner to evaluate low-risk chest pain patients in the emergency room. The study ...
Data from University of Texas, Medical Department provide new insights into bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from the United States, "Upon sensing of peptide pheromone, Enterococcus faecalis efficiently transfers plasmid pCF10 through a type IV secretion (T4S) system to recipient cells. The PcfF accessory factor and PcfG relaxase initiate transfer by catalyzing ...
Findings from Cornell University broaden understanding of bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "The Bacillus subtilis Zur protein regulates zinc homeostasis by repressing at least 10 genes in response to zinc sufficiency. One of these genes, yciC, encodes an abundant protein postulated to function as a metallochaperone," scientists writing in the Journal of Bacteriology report (see ...
New bacteriology research from Korea University described.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58 can transform plant cells to produce and secrete the sugar-phosphate conjugate opines agrocinopines A and B. The bacterium then moves in response to the opines and utilizes them as exclusive sources of carbon, energy, and phosphate via the functions ...
New bacteriology study results from Ohio State University, Medical Department described.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from the United States, "Ehrlichia chaffeensis, an obligatory intracellular gram-negative bacterium, must take up various nutrients and metabolic compounds because it lacks many genes involved in metabolism. Nutrient uptake by a gram-negative bacterium occurs primarily ...
Reports from University of Leuven add new data to research in bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from Louvain, Belgium, "Phage shock protein (Psp) is induced by extracytoplasmic stress that may reduce the energy status of the cell. It is encoded in Escherichia coli by the phage shock protein regulon consisting of pspABCDE and by pspF and pspG." "The ...
Reports outline bacteriology research from Chang-Gung University.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Plasmid pSW100 is 1 of the 13 plasmids from Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii SW2 which has a replicon that resembles that of ColE1. This work uses a pSW100 derivative, pSW140K, to study how the pSW100 replicon is stably maintained in its hosts," scientists in Taiwan report (see also ...
Reports outline bacteriology study results from University of Freiburg.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from Freiburg, Germany, "Depending on the phosphate concentration encountered in the environment Sinorhizobium meliloti 2011 synthesizes two different exopolysaccharides (EPS). Galactoglucan (EPS II) is produced under phosphate starvation but also in the ...
Reports outline bacteriology study results from Vanderbilt University.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from the United States, "During systemic infection, Staphylococcus aureus acquires nutrient iron from heme, the cofactor of vertebrate myoglobin and hemoglobin. Upon exposure to heme, S. aureus up-regulates the expression of the heme-regulated transporter, HrtAB." ...
Research from University of Coimbra provide new insights into bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research published in the Journal of Bacteriology, "A novel strictly anaerobic bacterium designated strain SSD-17B(T) was isolated from the hypersaline brine-sediment interface of the Shaban Deep, Red Sea. Cells were pleomorphic but usually consisted of a central ...
Research from Washington University provides new data about bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "The system I cytochrome c biogenesis pathway requires CcmD, a small polypeptide of 69 residues in Escherichia coli. Here it is shown that CcmD is a component of the CcmABC ATP-binding cassette transporter complex," researchers in the United States report (see also Bacteriology). ...
Research on bacteriology discussed by N.V. Ravin and co-researchers.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from Toulouse, France, "The mitotic stability of the linear plasmid-prophage N15 of Escherichia coli depends on a partition system closely related to that of the F plasmid SopABC. The two Sop systems are distinguished mainly by the arrangement of their centromeric ...
Research on bacteriology reported by scientists at University of Cincinnati, Medical Department.(Report)
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from the United States, "OxyR controls H2O2-dependent gene expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Without OxyR, diluted (< 10(7)/ml) organisms are easily killed by micromolar H2O2." "The goal of this study was to define proteins that contribute to ...
Researchers from Nagoya University publish findings in bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Bacterial flagellar motors use specific ion gradients to drive their rotation. It has been suggested that the electrostatic interactions between charged residues of the stator and rotor proteins are important for rotation in Escherichia coli," investigators in Nagoya, Japan report (see ...
Scientists at Aachen University publish research in bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Human subgingival plaque biofilms are highly complex microbial ecosystems that may depend on H-2-metabolizing processes," scientists in Aachen, Germany report (see also Bacteriology). "Here we investigated the ubiquity and proportions of methanogenic archaea, sulfate reducers, ...
Scientists at Texas A&M University publish research in bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from the United States, "Diverse organisms time their cellular activities to occur at distinct phases of Earth's solar day, not through the direct regulation of these processes by light and darkness but rather through the use of an internal biological (circadian) clock ...
Study data from M. Nemoto et al provide new insights into bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "KVP40 is a T4-related phage, composed of 386 open reading frames (ORFs), that has a broad host range. Here, we overexpressed, purified, and biophysically characterized two of the proteins encoded in the K-VP40 genome, namely, gp5 and ORF334," scientists in Yokohama, Japan report (see also ...
Study findings from University of Tubingen provide new insights into bacteriology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "The two-component system SaeRS of Staphylococcus aureus is closely involved in the regulation of major virulence factors. However, little is known about the signals leading to saeRS activation," scientists in Tubingen, Germany report (see also Bacteriology). "A total of four ...
New biocellular research study results reported from A. Weyers et al.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research published in the journal Biocell, "In the present study, the antioxidant capacity of vitamin C was examined in the liver and the kidney tissues of mice with or without ciprofloxacin (CFX) treatment. The antioxidant capacity of the vitamin was evaluated in terms ...
Reports summarize biocellular research research from G.M. Delfueyo and co-authors.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "The pollen cone and the pollen grain of the two Argentinean species of Araucaria are described with LM, SEM and TEM. Primordia of pollen cones are formed in April and May and reach maturity by inid-October in A. angustifolia (Bert.) O. Kuntze and by mid-November in A. araucana. (Mol.) K ....
Research from University of Buenos Aires has provided new information about biocellular research.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from Buenos Aires, Argentina, "The clustered protocadherins (Pcdhs) are single-pass transmembrane proteins that constitute a subfamily within the cadherin superfamily. In mammals, they are arranged in three consecutive clusters named alpha, beta, and gamma." ...
Research from University of Buenos Aires yields new findings on biocellular research.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from Buenos Aires, Argentina, "Eleven Oxalis L. species from the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina) were investigated with scanning and transmission electron microscopes." "We identified four different types and two subtypes of orbicules," wrote ...
Research on biocellular research published by L.A. Mroginski et al.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Tropical flex species have recalcitrant seeds. This work describes experiments demonstrating the feasibility of long-term conservation of Ilex brasiliensis, I. brevicuspis, I. dumosa, I. intergerrima, I. paraguariensis, I. pseudoboxus, I. taubertiana, and I. theezans through ...
Studies by D.D.O. Pinheiro and co-authors describe new findings in biocellular research.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Diatraea saccharalis, the main pest of sugarcane, has been controlled by Cotesia flavipes. Very little is known about the effect of parasitism on the host organs, including the midgut," scientists in Botucatu, Brazil report (see also Biocellular Research). "The Lepidoptera ...
Data on botany described by L.Q. Qu et al.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from Beijing, People's Republic of China, "The shortage of strong endosperm-specific expression promoters for driving the expression of recombinant protein genes in cereal endosperm is a major limitation in obtaining the required level and pattern of ...
Data on botany detailed by researchers at University of Jena.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Persistent light quality gradients in dense plant populations induce imbalances in the distribution of excitation energy between the photosystems. Plants counteract such conditions by re-adjusting the stoichiometry of photosystems, which involves control of photosynthesis gene expression ...
Data on botany discussed by researchers at Hebrew University.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Epiphyllous plantlets develop on leaves of Bryophyllum marnierianum when they are excised from the plant. Shortly after leaf excision, plantlet shoots develop from primordia located near the leaf margin," researchers in Jerusalem, Israel report (see also Botany). "After the ...
Investigators at University of Minnesota release new data on botany.(Report)
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research published in the Journal of Experimental Botany, "Fusarium head blight (FHB; scab), primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a devastating disease of wheat worldwide. FHB causes yield reductions and contamination of grains with trichothecene mycotoxins such ...
New botany data have been reported by A. Singh and co-authors.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Monitoring transcriptional reorganization triggered in response to a particular stress is an essential first step for the functional analysis of genes involved in the process. To characterize Cicer arietinum L. defence responses against Helicoverpa armigera feeding, transcript patterns ...
New botany research from M. Oreb et al outlined.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Chloroplast function depends on the translocation of cytosolically synthesized precursor proteins into the organelle. The recognition and transfer of most precursor proteins across the outer membrane depend on a membrane inserted complex," investigators in Frankfurt, Germany report (see ...
New botany research from T. Lundstrom et al outlined.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Thirteen Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] trees of different size, age, and social status, and grown under varying conditions, were investigated to see how they react to complex natural static loading under summer and winter conditions, and how they have adapted their growth to ...
New botany study findings have been reported by researchers at University of Oulu.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Present knowledge on plant non-symbiotic class-1 (Hb1) and truncated (TrHb) haemoglobin genes is almost entirely based on herbaceous species while the corresponding tree haemoglobin genes are not well known. The function of these genes has recently been linked with endosymbioses between ...
New botany study findings recently were published by F. Gama and co-researchers.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are ubiquitous thiol-dependent peroxidases capable of eliminating a variety of peroxides through reactive catalytic cysteines, which are regenerated by reducing systems. Based on amino acid sequences and their mode of catalysis, five groups of thiol peroxidases have ...
New botany study results reported from Zhejiang University.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research published in the Journal of Experimental Botany, "Brassinosteroids (BRs) are essential for many biological processes in plants, however, little is known about their roles in early fruit development. To address this, BR levels were manipulated through the ...
New data from University of Saskatchewan illuminate research in botany.(Report)
Aug 05, 2008 ... "A number of COR genes (COld-Regulated genes) have been implicated in the acquisition of low temperature (LT) tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). This study compared the relative expression patterns of selected COR genes in leaf and crown tissues of wheat near-isogenic lines to ...
New findings from Oxford Brookes University in the area of botany published.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from Oxford, the United Kingdom, "Although organelle movement in higher plants is predominantly actin-based, potential roles for the 17 predicted Arabidopsis myosins in motility are only just emerging. It is shown here that two Arabidopsis myosins from class ...
New findings from University of Bielefeld describe advances in botany.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Recent research has established redox-dependent thiol modification of proteins as a major regulatory layer superimposed on most cell functional categories in plants. Modern proteomics and forward as well as reverse genetics approaches have enabled the identification of a high number of ...
Recent studies by A.J. Serrato and co-authors add new data to botany findings.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from Montpellier, France, "The Arabidopsis thaliana thioredoxin subgroup h III is composed of four members and includes the two monocysteinic (CXXS) thioredoxins encoded by the genome. We show that AtCXXS1 is the ortholog of monocysteinic thioredoxins present ...
Reports summarize botany research from University of Guelph.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from Guelph, Canada, "Enzymes that reduce the aldehyde chemical grouping (i.e. H-C=O) to its corresponding alcohol are probably crucial in maintaining plant health during stress." "Succinic semialdehyde (SSA) is a mitochondrially-generated intermediate in ...
Reports summarize botany study results from C. Calderonvazquez and co-researchers.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Maize (Zea mays) is the most widely cultivated crop around the world; however, it is commonly affected by phosphate (Pi) deficiency in many regions, particularly in acid and alkaline soils of developing countries. To cope with Pi deficiency, plants have evolved a large number of ...
Researchers at University of Osnabruck release new data on botany.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from Osnabruck, Germany, "Ferredoxins are the major distributors for electrons to the various acceptor systems in plastids. In green tissues, ferredoxins are reduced by photosynthetic electron flow in the light, while in heterotrophic tissues, nicotinamide ...
Researchers from University of Bielefeld describe findings in botany.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from Bielefeld, Germany, "Transcript profiling of nitrate-grown Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 PsbO-free mutant cells in comparison to wild-type (WT) detected substantial deviations." "Because we had previously observed phenotypical differences between ...
Scientists at Laurentian University publish new data on botany.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "To ensure comparability among leaf fresh mass measurements it is important to handle the leaves in a standardized manner. In the present work constraints of a commonly used method to achieve full turgor, storage between damp paper towels, were investigated," scientists in Sudbury, Canada ...
Scientists at University of Bielefeld describe research in botany.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from Bielefeld, Germany, "The dynamics of the thiol-disulphide redox proteome is central to cell function and its regulation. Altered mobility of proteins in the oxidized and reduced state allows the MS-based identification of those thiol-disulphide proteins ...
Scientists at University of Bonn discuss research in botany.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "The lipophilic biopolyester suberin forms important boundaries to protect the plant from its surrounding environment or to separate different tissues within the plant. In roots, suberin can be found in the cell walls of the endodermis and the hypodermis or periderm," scientists writing in ...
Studies from Cardiff University provide new data on botany.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Callus cultures from olive (Olea europaea L.) were used to study characteristics of desaturation in this oil-rich tissue. The incorporation of [1-C-14]oleate and [1-C-14]linoleate into complex lipids and their further desaturation was followed in incubations of up to 48 h. Both ...
Studies from P. Abbal and colleagues reveal new findings on botany.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from Montpellier, France, "As a first step to investigate whether Rab GTPases are involved in grape berry development, the Vitis vinifera EST and gene databases were searched for members of the VvRab family. The grapevine genome was found to contain 26 VvRabs that ...
Studies from University of Illinois add new findings in the area of botany.(Report)
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from the United States, "Arabidopsis thaliana databases are available that highlight the behavior of the transcriptome under literally hundreds of experimental manipulations, making attempts possible that integrate this information into gene networks. We ...
Study results from University of Buenos Aires in the area of botany published.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research published in the Journal of Experimental Botany, "In sparse canopies, low red to far-red (R/FR) ratios reach only vertically-oriented stems, which respond with faster rates of extension. It is shown here that this signal also promotes stem dry matter ...
Investigators at University of Berlin publish new data on cell biology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "The type I transmembrane protein SorCS1 is a member of the Vps10p-domain receptor family comprised of Sortilin, SorLA and SorCS1, -2 and -3. Current information indicates that Sortilin and SorLA mediate intracellular protein trafficking and sorting, but little is known about the cellular ...
Investigators at University of Tokyo release new data on cell biology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from Tokyo, Japan, "Phytoplasmas are phloem-limited plant pathogens that are transmitted by insect vectors and are associated with diseases in hundreds of plant species. Despite their small sizes, phytoplasma genomes have repeat-rich sequences, which are due to several ...
New cell biology study findings have been reported from B. Wang et al.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from the United States, "In fasted mammals, glucose homeostasis is maintained through induction of the cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) coactivator transducer of regulated CREB activity 2 (TORC2), which stimulates the gluconeogenic program in ...
Report summarizes cell biology study findings from Aarhus University.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research published in the journal Cytokine, "Endothelial-cell dysfunction is central in the preeclamptic pathogenesis. Several components present in the blood of the preeclamptic mother are capable of mediating this dysfunction." "We analyzed the regulation ...
Reports outline cell biology research from University of California.(Report)
Aug 05, 2008 ... "We recently proposed that regulating the single-to-multiple motor transition was a likely strategy for regulating kinesin-based transport in vivo. In this study, we use an in vitro bead assay coupled with an optical trap to investigate how this proposed regulatory mechanism affects ...
Research reports from Shandong University provide new insights into cell biology.(Report)
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from Jinan, People's Republic of China, "NK cells are crucial components of the innate immune system, providing a first line of defense against infectious pathogens and tumors. IL-15 is the major physiologic growth factor responsible for NK cell differentiation, ...
Researchers from Yonsei University, Medical Department describe findings in cell biology.(Report)
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research published in the journal Immunology and Cell Biology, "Activation-induced upregulation of inhibitory killer Ig-like receptor (KIR) is regulated by protein kinase Cs (PKCs). Conventional PKCs increase KIR expression on the post-transcriptional level by ...
Researchers' work from State University of New York focuses on cell biology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... "The expression of striated muscle proteins occurs early in the developing embryo in the somites and forming heart. A major component of the assembling rnyofibrils is the actin-binding protein tropomyosin," investigators in the United States report (see also Cell Biology). "In ...
Scientists at Columbia University, Medical Department release new data on cell biology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from the United States, "Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) is needed to assemble chylomicrons in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of enterocytes. We explored the role of an ER stress protein, inositol-requiring enzyme 1 beta (IRE1 beta), in regulating this ...
Scientists at University of Copenhagen publish new data on cell biology.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to a study from Copenhagen, Denmark, "In recent years, the use of honey has re-emerged as a remedy for wound treatment. Effects of honey have been related to the presence of an unidentified component that induces release of inflammatory cytokines from monocytic cells." ...
Studies from Indiana University further understanding of cell biology.(Report)
Aug 05, 2008 ... "Forisomes are ATP-independent, Ca2+-driven contractile protein bodies acting as reversible valves in the phloem of plants of the legume family. Forisome contraction is anisotropic, as shrinkage in length is associated with radial expansion and vice versa," scientists in the United States ...
Study findings on cell biology are outlined in reports from V.P. Salerno and colleagues.
Aug 05, 2008 ... According to recent research from the United States, "Myosin-Va has been shown to have multiple functions in a variety of cell types, including a role in RNA transport in neurons. Using primary cultures of cells from organs of young dilute-lethal (Myo5a(d-l)/Myo5a(d-l)) null mutant mice ...