When the human body becomes infected with new influenza viruses, the immune system rapidly activates an inborn protective mechanism to inhibit the intruding pathogen. A protein known as Mx plays an important role in this process, keeping the spread of viruses in check. Exactly how Mx accomplishes this task was previously unknown…
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Douglas E. Koshland, staff scientist at Carnegie’s Department of Embryology, has been elected one of 72 members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for his excellence in original scientific research. Membership in the NAS is one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer in the United States…
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Like all vertebrates, snakes, mice and humans have in common a skeleton made of segments, the vertebrae. But a snake has between 200-400 ribs extending from all vertebrae, from the neck to the tail-end, whereas mice have only 13 pairs of ribs, and humans have 12 pairs, in both cases making up the ribcage…
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Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found a potential new treatment for osteonecrosis, or the death of bone tissue, in people who are treated with steroids for several common medical conditions. There are currently no treatment options for people with this debilitating disease. The research is published in the April 27 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…
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A team of scientists working at beamline 9.0.1 of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has used x-ray diffraction microscopy to make images of whole yeast cells, achieving the highest resolution - 11 to 13 nanometers (billionths of a meter) - ever obtained with this method for biological specimens…
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Imagine your delight while enjoying your favorite Mexican food perhaps a fully loaded bean burrito topped with an ample supply of thinly sliced jalepeño peppers…
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A receptor that is present in the nucleus of cells can, when activated, slow the growth of tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells, a new study found. The study built on the recent discovery that farnesoid X receptor (FXR) a nuclear receptor found mainly in the liver is found in breast cancer tissue…
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Researchers from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy have provided the first evidence-based data on changes in drug metabolism in obese children as compared to healthy weight children…
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Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a global health problem, in part due to the exceptional drug resistance displayed by the TB-causing agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Beyond even acquired drug resistance, these bacteria are also inherently resistant to many other common antibiotics, which limits the available options in finding alternative treatments to resistant TB strains…
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For as long as our ancestors have been drawing pictograms or writing prose about food and culture, humans have been imbibing various forms of alcohol. Once simply a process by which nutritious beverages could be preserved and stored for later use, there is no doubt that the production and consumption of wines, beers, and spirits now provides integral texture to the fabric of many cultures…
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