EurekAlert! InContext Modules

Public Release: 4-Apr-2012

mBio
A University of Tennessee professor's hypothesis may be game changer for evolutionary theory
A new hypothesis posed by a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, associate professor and colleagues could be a game changer in the evolution arena. The hypothesis suggests some species are surviving by discarding genes and depending on other species to play their hand.

Public Release: 4-Apr-2012
Linking and lightening: New partnership connects and reveals dark data
Sharing and reuse of data has become a vital part of modern scientific research. Having access to datasets ensures that the pace of scientific discovery is not unnecessarily hindered by data being kept under lock and key or hidden away in lab drawers.

Public Release: 4-Apr-2012

Nature
Scientists uncover multiple faces of deadly breast cancer
An international team of scientists, including four at Simon Fraser University, has made a discovery that will change the way the most deadly form of breast cancer is treated. The journal Nature has just published the team's findings online in the paper The clonal and mutational evolution spectrum of primary triple negative breast cancers. The study is the largest genetic analysis of what were thought to be triple negative breast cancer tumors.

BC Cancer Foundation, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Alberta Cancer Foundation, Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Fund and Alberta Innovates-Health Solutions, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Cancer Research UK

Public Release: 4-Apr-2012

AACR Annual Meeting 2012
Researchers present new findings for glioblastoma at American Association for Cancer Research
Physician-scientists from University Hospitals Case Medical Center's Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine presented new research findings in 24 presentations this week at Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Two innovative studies are investigating novel methods that may help clinicians bring a greater specificity to the treatment of glioblastoma in the future.

NIH/National Cancer Institute

Public Release: 3-Apr-2012

Development
Light switch added to gene tool opens new view of cell development
University of Oregon scientists collaborating with an Oregon company that synthesizes antisense Morpholinos for genetic research have developed a UV light-activated on-off switch for the vital gene-blocking molecule. Based on initial testing in zebrafish embryos, the enhanced molecule promises to deliver new insights for developmental biologists and brain researchers.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 3-Apr-2012
SFU HIV/AIDS vaccine research gets financial boost
Jamie Scott, a Simon Fraser University professor and Canada Research Chair in molecular immunity, and three international collaborators are getting a hefty financial boost in their efforts to develop an effective HIV/AIDS vaccine. The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the four researchers $2.7 million to help them improve the effectiveness of a DNA-based vaccine, first conceived of by a former student of Scott's.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 3-Apr-2012

Nature Communications
Algae biofuels: the wave of the future
Researchers at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have assembled the draft genome of a marine algae sequence to aid scientists across the US in a project that aims to discover the best algae species for producing biodiesel fuel. The results have been published in Nature Communications.

Conoco-Phillips, US Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Public Release: 3-Apr-2012

Computers in Biology and Medicine
A new application allows online statistical analysis of gene-expression data
The journal Computers in Biology and Medicine has published an article on the new IT application BootstRatio, created by IDIBELL researchers. The application allows online statistical analysis of data from gene expression. It is accessible through http://regstattools.net/br and any scientist is ready to use it.

Public Release: 3-Apr-2012

AACR Annual Meeting 2012
TGen-Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center pancreatic cancer clinical trial results released
The feasibility of selecting treatment based on individual molecular characteristics was demonstrated in a first-of-its kind pancreatic cancer clinical trial reported today by the Translational Genomics Research Institute and the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare. The findings were announced during the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2012, March 31-April 4, in Chicago.

Public Release: 2-Apr-2012

AACR Annual Meeting 2012
TGen presents triple-negative breast cancer study supported by Life Technologies
Because cases of triple-negative breast cancer are so genetically different, whole-genome sequencing is needed to detect the subtle molecular differences that might point to specific treatments for individual patients.

Public Release: 29-Mar-2012

Science
Brain wiring a no-brainer?
The brain appears to be wired more like the checkerboard streets of New York City than the curvy lanes of Columbia, Md., suggests a new brain imaging study. The most detailed images, to date, reveal a pervasive 3-D grid structure with no diagonals, say scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

Public Release: 28-Mar-2012

Nature Methods
Major networking opportunity
A new service makes it simple to find solid, experimental data about protein interactions. Writing in the journal Nature Methods, the IMEx consortium describes how a non-redundant experimental dataset will make it much easier for researchers to understand the complex set of protein interactions in cells.

European Commission, FP7 Health

Public Release: 28-Mar-2012

Nature
Novartis launches the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia to catalog world's cancer cell lines
Results of the collaboration, published in the journal Nature, may allow scientists to use the information to improve cancer clinical trial design and further cancer research.

Public Release: 27-Mar-2012

Molecular Systems Biology
TARA OCEANS completes 60,000-mile journey to map marine biodiversity
The two-and-a-half-year TARA OCEANS expedition finishes on March 31 when the ship and crew reach Lorient, France. The arrival completes a journey of 60,000 miles across all the world's major oceans to sample and investigate microorganisms in the largest ecosystem on the planet, reports Eric Karsenti in an editorial published today in Molecular Systems Biology.

Public Release: 26-Mar-2012

Journal of Clinical Oncology
Test for single genetic fault can help tailor cancer treatment for children
A study led by Dr. Janet Shipley from the Institute of Cancer Research in London in collaboration with Dr Mauro Delorenzi from the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics in Lausanne has shown that a simple genetic test could help predict the aggressiveness of rhabdomyosarcoma tumors in children.

Public Release: 26-Mar-2012

Genome Research
Genetic study unravels ancient links between African and European populations
Large numbers of people moved between Africa and Europe during recent and well-documented time periods such as the Roman Empire, the Arab conquest, and the slave trade, and genetic evidence of these migrations lives on in Europeans today. But were there more ancient migrations? In a study published online today in Genome Research, researchers present the first genetic evidence for prehistoric gene flow between Africa and Europe, dating back as far as 11,000 years ago.

Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, EUROTAST Project, Italian Ministry of the University

Public Release: 24-Mar-2012

Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
To get the full story you need to know the motifs
With hundreds of genomes already sequenced, scientists seek new tools to help in identifying the key players controlling the molecular machinery.

São Paulo Research Foundation, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development

Public Release: 23-Mar-2012
BGI signs MOU with TTI GG, NLeSC and NBIC for taming flood of genomic data
BGI signs MOU with TTI GG, NLeSC and NBIC for taming flood of genomic data.

Public Release: 21-Mar-2012

Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Specialization for underwater hearing by the tympanic middle ear of the turtle
A group of biologists from Denmark and the US led by Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard, University of Southern Denmark, and Catherine Carr, University of Maryland, have shown that the turtle ear is specialized for underwater hearing. The new discovery is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B on March 21.

Public Release: 20-Mar-2012

Smart Materials and Structures
Jellyfish inspires latest ocean-powered robot
American researchers have created a robotic jellyfish, named Robojelly, which not only exhibits characteristics ideal to use in underwater search and rescue operations, but could, theoretically at least, never run out of energy thanks to it being fueled by hydrogen.

Public Release: 19-Mar-2012

Clinical Nutrition
Researchers discover novel therapy for Crohn's disease
The Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory research team at Virginia Tech has discovered important new information on the efficacy of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in treating Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease. CLA is a naturally occurring acid found in meat and dairy products known for its anti-cancer and immune modulatory properties.

Cognis GmbH

Public Release: 15-Mar-2012

Genetics
Computer simulations help explain why HIV cure remains elusive
In the March 2012 issue of the Genetics Society of America journal Genetics , Australian scientist Jack da Silva, Ph.D., explains how he used computer simulations to discover that a population starting from a single human immunodeficiency virus can evolve fast enough to escape immune defenses, making development of a cure and treatment difficult. This discovery is novel as it runs counter to the commonly held belief that evolution under these circumstances is very slow.

Public Release: 15-Mar-2012

Cell
CNIO researchers take part in the most comprehensive personalized medicine study performed to date
The availability of cheaper techniques to read and analyze the genome have encouraged more and more people to get theirs sequenced. Although it will be some time before all its information is decoded, science has already identified numerous genetic variants associated to the risk of suffering a specific disease. In the clinic, several types of cancer are now being diagnosed and treated according to patients' individual genetic profiles.

Public Release: 14-Mar-2012
Genomic data in GBIF moves a step closer
Important progress has been achieved towards including genomic-level information in the data made freely available through GBIF. Successful alignment of informatics standards for recording species occurrences and gene-sequence descriptions has opened up new possibilities for integrating the different types of data. The mapping of three standards was completed at a GBIF-led workshop in Oxford, UK, bringing together experts from Europe, the United States, China and Japan.

Public Release: 12-Mar-2012

PLOS ONE
Study of ribosome evolution challenges 'RNA World' hypothesis
In the beginning -- of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building workbench -- there were ribonucleic acids, the molecules we call RNA that today perform a host of vital functions in cells. And according to a new analysis, even before the ribosome's many working parts were recruited for protein synthesis, proteins also were on the scene and interacting with RNA. This finding challenges a long-held hypothesis about the early evolution of life.

National Science Foundation, United Soybean Board


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