Bacteria Increases Stem Cell Production Bacteria Increases Stem Cell Production Caitlin Schneider The bacterium Wolbachia speeds up germline stem cell production in Drosophila, increasing egg output four-fold. The bacterium Wolbachia increases stem cell proliferation in the fruit fly Drosophila mauritiana, according to a new study from Boston University. In a paper published in Science Express, researchers reported that female Drosophila infected with Wolbachia (W+ flies) produced about four times as many eggs as their non-infected counterparts (W- flies). The bacterium Wolbachia increases stem cell proliferation in the fruit fly Drosophila mauritiana, according to a new study from Boston University. “[Wolbachia] directly affects the germline, and through the infectious process, you end up with two or three eggs infected,” said author Horacio Frydman. But the additional labeled cells could have been the result of arrested development, cells stuck in the mitotic phase. References (1) Fase, E.M., M.E.
Student Investigation on the Immune System and Hemeagglutination Student Investigation on the Immune System and Hemeagglutination The immune system is critical to the survival of most animals. Through evolution, the system developed complexity and specificity. It enables organisms to survive the incredible number of pathogens in the environment and inside the organism. The purpose of this experiment is to demonstrate several of the concepts developed in the in your test and during lectures and classroom discussions about the immune system. Since human body fluids should not be used in the biology classroom because of the potential transmission of AIDS or hepatitis, the use of animal serum and antibodies is a viable alternative for understanding the mechanisms of the immune system. This lab will demonstrate the principles of antibody-antigen binding, the secondary immune response, cross reactivity and complement fixation. Obtain 4 microscope slides. Fellows Collection Index Activities Exchange Index
Nature Publishing Group : science journals, jobs, and information For coral larvae, green means stop, red means go: Scientific American Gallery Coral reefs are home to a stunning array of sea life. Turn on a black light and these watery housing complexes go from shabby chic to day-glo fab. Tiny coral polyps [top right], whose accumulated skeletons make up the massive reefs, contain proteins that fluoresce in a multitude of colors. The biological role of coral fluorescence remains largely a mystery, and proposed explanations range from sensory functions to help-wanted advertisements for symbiotic algae. Coral larvae [bottom right], the free-floating offspring of adult coral, also fluoresce. Researchers crossed parental coral [left] of different fluorescent phenotypes and harvested coral larvae in various shades of red and green. The researchers suggest that larval color could be used to investigate the genetic underpinning of settlement propensity. –Nina Bai
Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American Science on Faith - The Chronicle Review February 6, 2011 Marta Antelo for The Chronicle Review Enlarge Image By Elaine Howard Ecklund Over the past few years I have asked hundreds of university scientists whether or not they engage with religion in their classrooms. The Root of the Problem Human beings have inexorably altered the world’s ecosystems. We’ve plowed and seeded more than 40 percent of the Earth’s land surfaces, introduced alien species into new territories, poured carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, disrupted natural climate cycles, and polluted aquatic ecosystems with excessive nitrogen and other contaminants. These far-reaching changes have spurred scores of researchers to examine the impacts of human activities on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and to devise management strategies that might lessen the damage. Scientists have scoured ecosystems from the ocean’s depths to the highest mountain peaks searching for signals of global change. And these studies may be overturning a commonly held view of how plants help mitigate the impacts of global warming. Getting Down and Dirty Soils are the Earth’s third largest carbon storage depot after oceans and fossil fuels and together with vegetation contain about 2.7 times more carbon than the atmosphere.
Powerful fluorescence tool lights the way to new insights into RNA of living cells The ability to tag proteins with a green fluorescent light to watch how they behave inside cells so revolutionized the understanding of protein biology that it earned the scientific teams who developed the technique Nobel Prizes in 2008. Now, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed a similar fluorescent tool that can track the mysterious workings of the various forms of cellular RNA. In the July 29 issue of Science, the Weill Cornell investigators report how they developed an RNA mimic of green fluorescent protein (GFP) -- which they dubbed Spinach -- and describe how it will help unlock the secrets of the complex ways that RNA sustains human life as well as contributes to disease. "These fluorescent RNAs offer us a tool that will be critical for understanding the diverse roles that RNA plays in human biology," says the study's senior author, Dr. Samie Jaffrey, an associate professor of pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medical College. The study's first author, Dr. Dr.
Standards Portfolio SNIA develops a wide range of standards to enhance the interoperability of various storage systems. Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) The Cloud Data Management Interface defines the functional interface that applications will use to create, retrieve, update and delete data elements from the Cloud. As part of this interface the client will be able to discover the capabilities of the cloud storage offering and use this interface to manage containers and the data that is placed in them. This interface is also used by administrative and management applications to manage containers, accounts, security access and monitoring/billing information, even for storage that is accessible by other protocols. Common RAID Disk Data Format (DDF) The Common RAID Disk Data Format specification defines a standard data structure describing how data is formatted across the disks in a RAID group. Linear Tape File System (LTFS) Format Specification The LTFS Format is particularly suited to these usages:
Far-reaching effects of estrogen signaling mapped in breast cancer cells Southwestern Medical Center researcher has identified the most comprehensive measurement to date of estrogen's effect on breast cancer cells, showing for the first time how immediate and extensive the effect is. The findings, published online May 5 and in the May 13 print edition of the journal Cell, could lead to a new set of therapeutic applications and provide a model for understanding rapid signal-dependent transcription in other biological systems. "We found that estrogen signaling immediately and directly regulates a strikingly large percentage of all the RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules in breast cancer cells in a rapid, robust and unexpectedly transient manner," said Dr. W. Lee Kraus, director of the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study. It's long been known that estrogen action plays an important role in breast cancer cells. "This is potentially a very rich resource," Dr.
Inner Life of the Cell Video This is a user's guide to the video "The Inner Life of the Cell", in part conscripted from previous blog entry. John Liebler of XVIVO, an animation company, has along with his colleagues created this animation. Working closely with Alain Viel and Robert Lue of Harvard University, they attain a near-unimpeachable degree of accuracy combined with lovely artistry. The video may be found at low and high resolution at StudioDaily. If it's at all possible, scroll down a bit and view the high resolution link. Regardless of the actually story, and there is a story, this is an animation of what's going on inside each of your trillions of cells every moment of every day. A lot of people loved the video but have no idea what's going on. This appears to be the story of the activation of a helper T-cell, although to what extent, I'm still not sure. This video appears to address only the earliest stages - the activation of the helper. I've made screenshots, in order, and have described them below.
Infected Insects Fight Dengue Fever It may sound like a far-fetched scheme: Infecting mosquitoes with a bacterium to prevent them from passing a viral disease to humans. But two studies published today show that the scenario might work. Researchers have infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with an odd microbe that makes the insects resistant to the virus that causes dengue fever; when scientists released these insects in two towns in Northern Australia, the bacterium spread rapidly. That suggests the strategy could help make entire mosquito populations permanently unable to sicken humans. Many researchers are trying to tinker with mosquito populations to ward off human disease. Dengue, for which no drugs or vaccines exist, is also the target of medical entomologist Scott O'Neill of Monash University in Australia, but he is using an approach in which mosquitoes are infected with Wolbachia pipientis, an intracellular bacterium. Would the same happen in nature?
NanoDrop Microvolume Quantitation of Nucleic Acids The use of NanoDrop microvolume systems as practical and efficient alternatives to traditional nucleic acid quantitation methodology is described through the demonstration of two microvolume nucleic acid quantitation protocols. Date Published: 11/22/2010, Issue 45; doi: 10.3791/2565 Keywords: Basic Protocols, Issue 45, NanoDrop, Microvolume Quantitation, DNA Quantitation, Nucleic Acid Quantitation, DNA Quantification, RNA Quantification, Microvolume Spectrophotometer, Microvolume Fluorometer, DNA A260, Fluorescence PicoGreen Cite this Article Desjardins, P., Conklin, D. Biomolecular assays are continually being developed that use progressively smaller amounts of material, often precluding the use of conventional cuvette-based instruments for nucleic acid quantitation for those that can perform microvolume quantitation. The need for high-sensitivity fluorescent analysis of limited mass has also emerged with recent experimental advances. 1. Figure 2. 2. Figure 3. Figure 4. Richard W. Metrics
New method to diagnose heart arrhythmias: First non-invasive technique to directly map electrical activation of the heart Abnormalities in cardiac conduction, the rate at which the heart conducts electrical impulses to contract and relax, are a major cause of death and disability around the world. Researchers at Columbia Engineering School have been developing a new method, Electromechanical Wave Imaging (EWI), that is the first non-invasive technique to map the electrical activation of the heart. Based on ultrasound imaging, EWI will enable doctors to treat arrhythmias more efficiently and more precisely. The study was published online in the May 9th Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Up until now, other research groups have mostly focused on measuring the electrical activation directly but invasively, through electrode contact, or non-invasively but indirectly, through complex mathematical modeling based on remote measurements. Arrhythmias occur when the normal electrical activation sequence in the heart is disrupted and their prevalence is expected to rise, as people live longer.
by claralucano63 Jan 26