The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), one of the National Institutes of Health, supports all research featured in this digest. Although only the lead scientists are named, coworkers and other collaborators also contributed to the findings.
In This Issue... May 18, 2011 |
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Cool Image: Goading the GonadKaren Oegema • UC San Diego School of Medicine Form reveals function—at least in this gonad from an adult C. elegans. Here, fluorescent markers highlight cell boundaries (red) and DNA (green). To predict what many of the worm's essential genes do, researchers first silenced genes and then looked for phenotypic changes in the gonad structure. By grouping genes with similar effects, they were able to predict gene function across a range of cellular processes. Their new technique could provide important clues to the function of similar genes in humans.Read more...  NIH's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development also supported this work. |
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 Using Computers to Combat CholeraIra Longini and Elizabeth Halloran • Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The devastating earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 resulted in a re-emergence of cholera. Using computer modeling to simulate the disease's spread, scientists tested the potential outcomes of various cholera vaccination strategies. The researchers found that vaccinating 50 to 70 percent of individuals living in high-risk regions could quell the rate of infection and reduce mortality by half. These findings could lead to new disease intervention strategies and help prevent or mitigate future cholera epidemics. Caption: Simulating disease spread could help prevent another cholera epidemic. |
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C-tail Detail Keeps Cancer Cells AliveJan Karlseder • Salk Institute for Biological Studies Like all living things, normal cells are mortal and eventually die. Cancer cells, however, evade this fate, usually by regenerating tail ends of DNA called telomeres that keep their DNA from degrading. Some cancer cells use an alternative lengthening of telomeres, or ALT, mechanism. While exploring this mechanism, researchers made a surprising discovery: ALT cancer cells had a tail of cytosines, or C-tail, hanging over the tip of the telomeres. Knowledge about this unique feature could lead to a new target for anti-cancer therapies. Read
more... Caption: A new device acts as a microscopic assembly line to
synthesize cell membranes. |
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 Bacteria Play Dead to Evade AntibioticsErica Larschan • Texas A&M University Many bacteria genetically mutate to resist antibiotic drugs. Others, as scientists just discovered, merely shut down their vital signs and wait. These dormant bacteria are essentially invisible to many drugs. Bacteria induce this catatonic state by exposing themselves to near suicidal levels of their own toxins. To eradicate them, we might need a wake-up drug plus an antibiotic. Read
more... Caption: E. coli K-12 and other bacteria can shut down to evade antibiotics. High res. image (JPG, 173KB) |
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Zooming in on Recombination HotspotsGalina Petukhova • Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences During egg and sperm cell formation, paired chromosomes swap segments, shuffling the genetic deck and contributing to each person's unique make-up. The swaps usually occur at specific spots on the chromosomes, rather than at random positions. Scientists now have used cutting-edge DNA sequencing techniques and powerful computers to produce close-up views and a high-resolution map of where these "recombination hotspots" are located in mice. The findings will help scientists find genetic disease genes and better understand the root causes of birth defects.
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more... Caption: Recombination hotspots (red) on chromosomes (green) from a mouse sperm precursor cell. Credit: Fatima Smagulova and Kevin Brick. High res. image (JPG, 31KB) |
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