Research Front Page

A Cro-Magnon Capulet? ©2003 The National Academy of Sciences Long ago, in what is now northwestern Europe, a Neanderthal Romeo and Cro-Magnon Juliet may have met, fallen in love, and had children--or not. Debate rages as to whether human ancestors migrating out of Africa displaced archaic humans like Neanderthals, or mixed with them. A new report lends credence to the displacement camp. Geneticist Giorgio Bertorelle, University of Ferrara, Italy, purified and sequenced segments of mit

One Link Found, Many To Go Researchers at the UK's Cambridge Institute of Medical Research (CIMR) and Merck & Co. reported a link between cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) and autoimmunity (H. Ueda et al., "Association of the T-cell regulatory gene CTLA4 with susceptibility to autoimmune disease," Nature, e-pub ahead of print, doi:10.1038/nature01621, April 30, 2003). The researchers used positional cloning to search a 330 kb region surrounding the CTLA4 gene for polymorp

Front Page Saving Tabby; C35 Expression as a Cancer Marker?; Interdisciplinary Research Saving Tabby Reprinted with permission from Nature © online April 7, 2003 Researchers in Switzerland reversed a genetic developmental defect in mice by injecting their pregnant mothers with a recombinant protein. These smaller-than-normal patients, so-called Tabby mice, lack specialized hairs, teeth, and sweat glands. Both Tabby and its human counterpart of this disease, an X-linked form

Bear Bones Research Courtesy of Nova Scientists interested in fending off bone degradation have looked to one of the animal kingdom's most naturally gifted bone preservationists: the black bear. Researchers at the Pennsylvania State University recently investigated the ability of Ursus americanus to maintain bone integrity despite extended activity-free hibernation (S.W. Donahue et al., "Serum markers of bone metabolism show bone loss in hibernating bears," Clin Orthop, 408:295-301, March 20

Courtesy of Michael Kahn Synthetic Molecule Turns Off Asthma-Invoking Protein Asthma's trademark is a complex inflammatory response in the lungs that produces swelling and mucus, therefore making it difficult to breathe. One of the main components of this disease is an oxidant/antioxidant imbalance that can trigger production of activator protein-1 (AP-1). Researchers have designed a novel synthetic molecule with the power to target and turn-off this asthma-invoking protein (C. Nguyen et a

Front Page | Smoking Out Skin Cancer; Evolution in Action; Colon Cancer Resistance Found in Traveler's Diarrhea Anne Macnamara Ah, the Irony: Colon Cancer Resistance Found in Traveler's Diarrhea Put the Imodium away, fly to an exotic location, and please drink the water. A new study--prompted by a manuscript outline on a dinner napkin--links resistance to colon cancer with "travelers' diarrhea" (G.M. Pitari et al., "Bacterial enterotoxins are associated with resistance to colon cancer,"

Front Page | Science Seen; Models and Targets; Interdisciplinary Research SCIENCE SEEN Courtesy of Science Photo Library ROCKETTES MATERIAL? This diatom, belonging to the Bacillariophyceae class of minute planktonic unicellular or colonial algae, could be called the daddy longlegs of the unicellular marine world. Found in plankton, this Bacteriastrum delicatulum has very ornate cell walls made of silica; its legs may aid flotation. Plankton forms the basis for the entire marine food ch

Front Page | New Lead for Sporadic CJD Cause; Enlisting Evolutionary Help; Science Seen Courtesy of Astrid & Hanns-Frieder Michler/Science, Photo Library  SCIENCE SEENA cross section of a madonna lily anther shows four pollen sacs filled with pollen grains (blue dots with red nuclei). Some of the pollen grains of this Lilium candidum are undergoing meiosis, the process whereby a normal diploid cell divides to form four haploid cells, called gametes.   Courtesy of Keith Welle

Front Page | New Pill Box Possibilities; Super Monkey Moms; Science Seen PhotoDisc GENE THERAPY | New Pill Box Possibilities "Take two genes and call me in the morning"--not exactly what one would expect a family doctor to say, but it could become a common prescription if a new "gene pill" pans out. James Hagstrom, vice president of Mirus, Madison, Wis., says "This technology would be extremely useful for wide ranging therapeutic applications." Hagstrom moderated a talk at the recent Kno

West Nile Virus Triggers Apoptosis; Smelling Good May Cost Too Much; Three Green Mice... Three Green Mice Courtesy of NASA IMMUNOLOGY | West Nile Virus Triggers Apoptosis Even as West Nile virus (WNV) spreads, researchers still know little about its infective choreography. To track the steps, David B. Weiner, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues marked WNV capsid protein with green fluorescent protein (GFP) and trans