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October 17, 2006
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Cool Image: Neural Development
Using techniques that took 4 years to design, a team of developmental biologists has shown that certain proteins can direct the subdivision of fruit fly and chicken nervous system tissue into the regions depicted here in blue, green, and red. Molecules called bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) helped form this fruit fly embryo. While scientists knew that BMPs play a major role earlier in embryonic development, they didn't know how the proteins help organize nervous tissue. The findings suggest that BMPs are part of an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for organizing the nervous system. Courtesy of Mieko Mizutani and Ethan Bier of the University of California, San Diego, and Henk Roelink of the University of Washington.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke also supported this work.
Full
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Bier home page
Roelink home page
Article abstract (from the September 2006 issue of PLoS Biology)
Worm Sperm Helps Explain Male Infertility
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Caption: Fluorescent microscopic photo of worm sperm production: sperm DNA (red); sperm proteins (green). Courtesy of Chu and Meyer. |
Male infertility accounts for about 30 percent of all cases of reproductive failure in the United States, but the root causes are unknown. In a study supported by an NIGMS Minority Opportunities in Research program, San Francisco State University biologist Diana Chu and her team used roundworms to unravel the mystery. Like human sperm, worm sperm is bundled in protein-rich packages. Working with Barbara Meyer at the University of California, Berkeley, Chu used a powerful microscope to get a closer look at the proteins that associate with worm sperm. After follow-up study, she found several proteins that appear to be key for maintaining healthy sperm in worms. Since humans have nearly the same proteins, the findings may lead to better infertility treatments and birth control approaches.
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Chu
lab home page
Article abstract (from the September 7, 2006, issue of Nature)
Research Training for Underrepresented Minorities
Harnessing Yeast to Sugarcoat Drug Production
Tinkering with the genes of yeast cells or bacteria has enabled biotechnology companies to mass-produce a number of protein-based medicines including insulin, human growth hormone, and some childhood vaccines. Although this genetic engineering approach works well for drugs that are made solely of protein, it doesn't work well for drugs that are part protein and part sugar. With support from an NIGMS Small Business Innovation Research grant and other sources, the biotechnology company GlycoFi, Inc. has taken a giant step toward solving this problem. Scientists there have sliced out the sugar-making machinery from yeast and genetically replaced it with the human version. This technique allows the researchers to produce protein-based drugs complete with their sugar parts, using a tried-and-true yeast system. The new technique promises to improve and speed the production of countless medicines.
Full
story
Article abstract (from the September 8, 2006 issue of Science)
NIGMS Grantees Sweep Up Nobel Prizes
The 2006 Nobel Prizes recognize breakthroughs made by three
long-time NIGMS grantees. Andrew Z. Fire, Ph.D., of Stanford
University School of Medicine and Craig C. Mello, Ph.D.,
of the University of Massachusetts Medical School share
the Nobel in physiology or medicine for the discovery of
a gene-silencing process called RNA interference. RNAi,
which occurs in cells from a wide range of organisms, is
a powerful tool for decoding the human genome and holds
promise as a medical therapy for human diseases such as
cancer and viral infections. Roger D. Kornberg, Ph.D., also
of the Stanford University School of Medicine, won the Nobel
in chemistry for his seminal studies on transcription, or
how DNA is converted into RNA for the purpose of making
proteins. When transcription fails to happen, cellular processes
cease and the cell subsequently dies. Kornberg used approaches
in biochemistry and structural biology to reveal the first
picture of how transcription occurs in eukaryotic organisms,
such as yeast and humans. To date, NIGMS has supported the
research of 62 Nobel laureates.
Full
story (transcription)
Full
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NIGMS Nobel fact sheet
Profiles in Discovery: Sleepy Flies and Fused Cells
Find out what's cooking in the lab of Chiara Cirelli, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who uses fruit flies as a research tool for studying sleep. Read about her discoveries on why we snooze—and her love of cooking—in "Recipe for Sleep," appearing in the September 2006 issue of Findings. In the same issue, read "Hunting a Killer" to find out what Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientist and martial arts aficionado Yuri Lazebnik is learning about cell fusion and the role this process might play in the development of certain cancers.
Recipe
for Sleep
Hunting a Killer
Cirelli home page
Lazebnik home page
Findings home page | 
