Credit: © LEAH FASTEN PHOTOGRAPHY" /> Credit: © LEAH FASTEN PHOTOGRAPHY Rachel Wilson isn't used to backing down from a challenge. The subject of her graduate work at the University of California, San Francisco - lovingly referred to by peers as "the project of death" - sought the molecular mediator of retrograde signaling, how postsynaptic cells communicate with presynaptic cells. As the list of candidates on her legal pad dwindled, her colleagues offered some less than helpful advi

NKT-cell triggers lead to therapeutic applications in cancer and asthma.

Credit: PROFESSORS PIETRO M. MOTTA © TOMONORI NAGURO / PHOTO RESEARCHERS" /> Credit: PROFESSORS PIETRO M. MOTTA © TOMONORI NAGURO / PHOTO RESEARCHERS The paper: J.J. Mattapallil et al., "Massive infection and loss of memory CD4+ T cells in multiple tissues during acute SIV infection," Nature, 434:1093-7, 2005. (Cited in 98 papers) The finding: Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) and HIV are known to reduce CD4+ T cells dramati

Credit: PROFESSORS PIETRO M. MOTTA © TOMONORI NAGURO / PHOTO RESEARCHERS" /> Credit: PROFESSORS PIETRO M. MOTTA © TOMONORI NAGURO / PHOTO RESEARCHERS The paper: J. Yu et al., "The genomes of Oryza sativa: a history of duplications," PLoS Biol, 3: e38, 2005. (Cited in 74 papers) The finding: Using computational programs developed at the Beijing Genomics Institute, Jun Yu led a team that improved the genome assemblies of both indica and jap

Credit: JASON VARNEY/VARNEYPHOTO.COM" /> Credit: JASON VARNEY/VARNEYPHOTO.COM With his curly locks, beard, and swarthy complexion, epidemiologist Nathan Wolfe seems to fit right in with the hunters he works with in Cameroon. Sometimes, he even wears one of their traditional robes, blue with gold embroidery, just in case. "He's quite well-accepted," says Don Burke of Pittsburgh University, his former postdoctoral adviser who met Wolfe at a conference on emerging diseases. They sha

New strategy could make cells better transplant candidates

Pioneering microbial geneticist was 83

Expert in cholesterol and dietary fats was 86

Study finds that calorie-restricted rhesus monkeys have a higher percentage of naïve T cells

Hippocampal astrocyte expressing GFP Credit: Courtesy of Khaleel Bhaukaurally" />Hippocampal astrocyte expressing GFP Credit: Courtesy of Khaleel Bhaukaurally The paper: P. Bezzi et al., "Astrocytes contain a vesicular compartment that is competent for regulated exocytosis of glutamate," Nat Neurosci, 7:613-20, 2004. (Cited in 86 papers) The finding: The discovery of a clear, synaptic-like microvesicle in the adult hippocampal astrocyte, by Andr

Hair cell from a bullfrog saccule Credit: © David P. Corey" />Hair cell from a bullfrog saccule Credit: © David P. Corey The paper: D.P. Corey et al., "TRPA1 is a candidate for the mechanosensitive transduction channel of vertebrate hair cells," Nature, 432:723-30, 2004. (Cited in 106 papers) The finding: The mechanotransducing ion channel responsible for auditory function in vertebrate hair cells was difficult to track down. David Corey at Harvard Un

It's more likely to be cash than equity, depending on where you work.

Senate elections and Missouri initiative could influence the direction of research

Berkeley biologist Randy Schekman aims to include more cross-disciplinary science and longer papers

Research could get faster and cheaper if the patents are narrowed, some scientists say