Futurity.org » biology

Therapy for MS prods brain to re-cloak neurons

Deborah Williams-Hedges-Caltech — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:15:49 +0000

CALTECH (US) — A new gene therapy, applied directly to the brain, may help protect neurons from damage by diseases like multiple sclerosis.

Our bodies are full of tiny superheroes—antibodies that fight foreign invaders, cells that regenerate, and structures that ensure our systems run smoothly. One such structure is myelin—a material that forms a protective, insulating cape around the axons of our nerve cells so that they can send signals quickly and efficiently.

Older flies with sexy smell turn on males

Mary Masson-Michigan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:01:47 +0000

U. MICHIGAN (US) — Changes in pheromone production that occur with age can reduce sexual attractiveness, according to a recent study with fruit flies.

Pheromones are chemicals produced by an organism to communicate or attract another. The new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, examined how pheromones play a role in the sexual attractiveness and aging process of the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, says Scott D. Pletcher, senior author of the study, associate professor in the department of molecular and integrative physiology at the University of Michigan.

With obstacles, worms wiggle faster

James Devitt-NYU — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:24:30 +0000

NYU (US) — Obstacles in an organism’s path can help it to move faster, not slower, according to a series of experiments and computer simulations.

The findings by researchers at New York University have implications for a better understanding of basic locomotion strategies found in biology, and the survival and propagation of the parasite that causes malaria.

Vitamin B6 may beat malaria pathogen

Andrew Duff-Southampton — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:13:26 +0000

U. SOUTHAMPTON (UK) — New research on vitamin B6 could lead to drugs that target the pathogen that causes malaria.

The University of Southampton research will enable scientists to learn more about the nature of the enzymes required for vitamin biosynthesis by the malaria-causing pathogen Plasmodium.

Restored wetlands may never recover

Robert Sanders-UC Berkeley — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:30:28 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Even after a century of restoration efforts, some wetlands are never able to return to their original natural state.

“Once you degrade a wetland, it doesn’t recover its normal assemblage of plants or its rich stores of organic soil carbon, which both affect natural cycles of water and nutrients, for many years,” says David Moreno-Mateos, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. “Even after 100 years, the restored wetland is still different from what was there before, and it may never recover.”

Could stem cells save snow leopards?

Emily Walker-Monash — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:41:43 +0000

MONASH U. (AUS) — Scientists have produced embryonic stem-like cells from the tissue of an adult snow leopard for the first time.

Never before have induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which share many of the useful properties of embryonic stem cells, been generated from a member of the cat family.

Common metal wipes out deadly toxin

Jocelyn Duffy-Carnegie Mellon — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:37:51 +0000

CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — An element commonly found in nature might be a way to neutralize the potentially lethal effects of a compound known as Shiga toxin..

Published in the journal Science, a new study shows how manganese completely protects against Shiga toxicosis in animal models. Produced by certain bacteria, including Shigella and some strains of E. coli, Shiga toxin can cause symptoms ranging from mild intestinal disease to kidney failure.

Magnetic ‘blueprints’ show brain at work

Peter Dunn-Warwick — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:32:42 +0000

U. WARWICK (UK) — Technology developed for fusion plasma may also allow better noninvasive observation of brain activity.

Neuroscientists are limited to external sensing when studying live brains, unless they undertake invasive techniques. One key method researchers use is magnetoencephalography (MEG), in which sensors measure the tiny magnetic fields outside the head that are generated as our brains think.

Minnows may inherit ideal temperatures

Jacob Levich-Stony Brook — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:28:08 +0000

STONY BROOK (US) — Fish can be preconditioned to grow fastest in the same water temperature their parents experienced, say researchers.

This preconditioning, known as transgenerational plasticity (TGP), occurs whenever environmental cues experienced by either parent prior to fertilization change how offspring respond to the environment.

Toy car gets stability from ‘lizard tail’

Robert Sanders-UC Berkeley — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:21:36 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Inspired by the way lizards keep their balance, researchers have developed a robotic car named “Tailbot” that has a stabilizing tail.

Biologists and engineers at University of California, Berkeley, studied how lizards manage to leap successfully even when they slip and stumble. They found that lizards swing their tails upward to prevent them from pitching head-over-heels into a rock.