Beyond base pairs: Mapping the functional genome.

The comparison of 1,000-year-old and modern bacterial genomes provides insights into the disease history.

From skeletons and biopsies, an international team of scientists was successful in reconstructing a dozen medieval and modern genomes of the leprosy-causing bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. Under the direction of Professor Johannes Krause, University of Tübingen, and Professor Stewart Cole, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (EPFL), the research group created a genome from archaeological finds for the first time without having to resort to a reference sequence. Professor Almut Nebel and Dr. Ben Krause-Kyora, both of the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, belong to the team, whose findings are to be published this week in Sciencemagazine.

UC San Francisco Study Examines Role of Immune Cell in Triggering Muscle Regrowth.

UC San Francisco scientists have discovered that muscle repair requires the action of two types of cells better known for causing inflammation and forming fat. 

The finding in mice, published in the April 11 issue of Cell, showed that a well-known immune cell called the eosinophil  [ee-oh-SIN-oh-fil] carries out the beneficial role in two ways – by clearing out cellular debris from damaged tissue and teaming up with a type of cell that can make fat to instead trigger muscle regrowth. 

DALLAS – Feb. 15, 2013 – Two studies by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center could lead to new treatments for lupus and other autoimmune diseases and strengthen current therapies for viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections.

The studies identify a new enzyme that acts as a sensor of innate immunity – the body’s first line of defense against invaders – and describe a novel cell signaling pathway. This pathway detects foreign DNA or even host DNA when it appears in a part of the cell where DNA should not be. In addition, the investigations show that the process enlists a naturally occurring compound in a class known to exist in bacteria but never before seen in humans or other multicellular organisms, said Dr. Zhijian “James” Chen.

Membrane proteins are the "molecular machines" in biological cell envelopes. They control diverse processes, such as the transport of molecules across the lipid membrane, signal transduction, and photosynthesis. Their shape, i.e. folding of the molecules, plays a decisive role in the formation of, e.g., pores in the cell membrane. In the Cellmagazine, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the University of Cagliari are now reporting a novel charge zipper principle used by proteins to form functional units (DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.12.017).

(Embargoed) CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In research published online Dec. 23, 2012 in the journal Nature Genetics, scientists have found three new and relatively rare genetic variants that influence insulin production, offering new clues about the genetic factors behind diabetes..

STANFORD, Calif. — Whether you are an apple tree or an antelope, survival depends on using your energy efficiently. In a difficult or dangerous situation, the key question is whether exerting effort — sending out roots in search of nutrients in a drought or running at top speed from a predator — will be worth the energy.

Scientists discover novel diabetes and obesity therapy, and potential cause of major side effects from hedgehog inhibitors used as a cancer treatment.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Scientists have restored the sense of smell in mice through gene therapy for the first time -- a hopeful sign for people who can’t smell anything from birth or lose it due to disease.

Novel mechanism plays major role in inflammation

SAN DIEGO – (July 1, 2012) – Like detectives seeking footprints and other clues on a television "whodunit," science can also benefit from analyzing the tracks of important players in the body's molecular landscape. Klaus Ley, M.D., a scientist at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, has done just that and illuminated a key step in the journey of inflammation-producing immune cells. The finding provides powerful, previously unknown information about critical biological mechanisms underlying heart disease and many other disorders.

Network Approach to Drug Design May Yield More Effective and Less Toxic Cancer Drugs, UCSF Study Suggests.

A new approach to drug design, pioneered by a group of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Mt. Sinai, New York, promises to help identify future drugs to fight cancer and other diseases that will be more effective and have fewer side effects.