news archive May 2004

• Blocking Brain Masculinization With Aspirin
  Research paper reports that drugs like aspirin that block the synthesis of testosterone can interfere with brain masculinization and later male sexual behavior in rats.
  
• A Placebo Response In The Brain
  Sometimes just pretending to give a drug can alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, as long as the patient believes that the treatment is effective.
  
• Prion Proteins In The Human Food Chain
  A new study reports that Prion proteins can be found in the muscles of infected sheep.
  
• Antidepressant Takes The Gloom Off Spinal Injury
  The antidepressant rolipram help rats recover from spinal cord injury.
  
• Stem Cells Key To Sperm Production
  Researchers report the first discovery of a protein expressed within germline stem cells that allows them to proliferate and renew themselves, a process essential to maintain a supply of sperm.
  
• Taming Transposons
  Research shows how retrotransposons might 'fine tune' the genome by modulating the expression of bona fide genes, and also how they might be harnessed to make useful additions to the biotechnological toolkit.
  
• Sperm Donations
  Human sperm also provide the female sex cell with paternal messenger RNAs.
  

• Biochip Technology to Revolutionise the Pharmaceutical Industry
  Biotechnology Industry Impact Service
  
• Scientists Confirm New Breast Cancer Gene
  Inheriting the wrong version of a gene called CHEK2 doubles a woman's risk of developing breast cancer.
  
• Researchers Discover Protein That Dissolves Amyloid Fibers
  The research by a team at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research reports on a natural biological process by which yeast cells dismantle amyloid fibers.
  
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute Seeks up to 50 New Scientists
  The Institute is looking for candidates from the full range of biological and biomedical inquiry who demonstrate exceptional promise early in their careers as independent researchers.
  

• Surprising 'Ultra-conserved' Regions Discovered In Human Genome
  By scanning the human, rat, and mouse genomes for matching regions of 200 or more DNA bases, the researchers found 481 regions that were completely unchanged.
  
• Scientists uncover how the brain retrieves and stores older memories
  New insights into the involvement of the anterior cingulate cortex in remote contextual fear memory
  

• The role of cancer-causing mutations in BRCA1
  Two structural studies reveal how such mutations can affect the function of BRCA1, leading to cancer.
  
• Insulin factories produced by self replication
  Insulin-producing beta-cells can proliferate by making more of themselves, according to a study, which counters the prevailing hypothesis on beta-cell production, and may aid the development of new treatments for type I diabetes.
  
• Genetic trigger for heart attack
  A single base mutation in a key gene may affect an individual's susceptibility to heart attack.
  
• DNA computers could control gene expression
  Researchers have made a tiny molecular-scale computer that can analyse biological information in a test tube and respond appropriately.
  
• Tracking cancer treatments
  A new way of studying the action of a breast-cancer drug in the body promises to facilitate the design of molecular-targeted therapies.
  
• Enhancing incorporation of stem cells
  Research shows that bone marrow stem cells from mice, missing a gene known to inhibit cell division, can overcome the hurdle of inducing efficient repopulation of target tissues by stem cells.
  
• New insights into male infertility
  A protein important for defence against pathogens may also be required for sperm maturation, suggesting a possible common basis for some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and infertility.
  

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