EurekAlert! - National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Science
New device could bring optical information processing
Purdue University researchers have created a new type of optical device small enough to fit millions on a computer chip that could lead to faster, more powerful information processing and supercomputers.

US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Molecular Cell
Enzyme that flips switch on cells' sugar cravings could be anti-cancer target
Cancer cells tend to take up more glucose than healthy cells, and researchers are increasingly interested in exploiting this tendency with drugs that target cancer cells' altered metabolism.

NIH/National Cancer Institute

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Cell
Built-in 'self-destruct timer' causes ultimate death of messenger RNA in cells
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered the first known mechanism by which cells control the survival of messenger RNA (mRNA) -- arguably biology's most important molecule. The findings pertain to mRNAs that help regulate cell division and could therefore have implications for reversing cancer's out-of-control cell division. The research is described in today's online edition of the journal Cell.

National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Cell
Long intervening non-coding RNAs play pivotal roles in brain development
Whitehead Institute scientists have identified conserved, long intervening non-coding RNAs that play key roles during brain development in zebrafish, and went on to show that the human versions of these RNAs can substitute for the zebrafish lincRNAs. Until now, lincRNAs have been studied primarily in cell lines rather than at the organismal level, which has precluded research into how lincRNAs affect growth and development.

NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, European Molecular Biology Organization, Human Frontiers Science Program, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Chemistry and Biology
Biochemists develop promising new treatment direction for rare metabolic diseases
A research team led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a key interaction at the heart of a promising new treatment for a rare childhood metabolic disorder known as Fabry disease. The discovery will help understanding of other protein-folding disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, as well. Findings are featured as the cover story in the current issue of Chemistry & Biology.

National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Science
DNA mismatch repair happens only during a brief window of opportunity
In eukaryotes-the group of organisms that include humans �a key to survival is the ability of certain proteins to quickly and accurately repair genetic errors that occur when DNA is replicated to make new cells. Researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the UC San Diego School of Medicine have solved part of the mystery of how these proteins do their job, a process called DNA mismatch repair.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Molecular Cell
For every road there is a tire
Life is complicated enough, so you can forgive the pioneers of DNA biology for glossing over transcriptional elongation control by RNA polymerase II, the quick and seemingly bulletproof penultimate step in the process that copies the information encoded in our DNA into protein-making instructions carried by messenger RNA.

Stowers Institute for Medical Research, NIH/National Cancer Institute.

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Science
How bacteria fight flouride
Yale researchers have uncovered the molecular tricks used by bacteria to fight the effects of fluoride, which is commonly used in toothpaste and mouthwash to combat tooth decay.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Science
Hips that function better and last longer
Engineers and physicians have made a surprising discovery that offers a target for designing new materials for hip implants that are less susceptible to the joint's normal wear and tear. The team, including engineers from Northwestern University, found that graphitic carbon is a key element in a lubricating layer that forms on metal-on-metal hip implants. The lubricant is more similar to the lubrication of a combustion engine than that of a natural joint.

National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Child Development
School absenteeism, mental health problems linked
A new longitudinal study of more than 17,000 youths has found that frequently missing school is associated with a higher prevalence of mental health problems later on in adolescence, and that mental health problems during one year also predict missing additional school days in the following year for students in middle and high school. The data were gathered through regular interviews, surveys, and through school attendance records.

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Public Release: 22-Dec-2011

Child Development
Teens who express own views with mom resist peer pressures best
A longitudinal study of more than 150 diverse teens finds that teens who more openly express their own viewpoints in discussions with their moms, even if their viewpoints disagree, are more likely than others to resist peer pressure to use drugs or drink. Researchers used youth, parent, and peer reports to gather data, in addition to observing of teens' social interactions with family members and peers.

NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development