This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry is being shared by Peter Agre, a professor of biological chemistry and director of the graduate program in cellular and molecular medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, for his discovery of water channels called aquaporins—a family of specialized proteins that sit in the membranes of cells and control the flow of water in and out. He shares the award with Roderick MacKinnon of The Rockefeller University in New York City. "Our bodies are primarily made of water, about two-thirds of us are made of water," says Agre. "And that's true also of other species—mammals, fish, plants, bacteria. So the organization of water within our cells and tissues has to be very carefully orchestrated. The mechanisms by which water can cross cell membranes have been defined, and it's a subset of proteins that we refer to as aquaporins—the water pores." These proteins form narrow channels connecting the inside to the outside of cells. Only water, the smallest of biological molecules, is allowed to pass. In 1991, Agre discovered aquaporin-1, the first molecular membrane water channel. "The humbling truth is the first aquaporin protein was discovered in our lab by simple accident. We were purifying the RH bloodgroup antigen from red cells, and we found another protein, similar in size, present in the kidney, related to some proteins in plants. But the function of none of these were known. And it was just the intuitive observation—'What could plants, kidneys, red blood cells share?'—that gave us the idea that maybe this is a fundamental process such as water transport." © ScienCentral, 2000-2003.

Keyword: Miscellaneous
Link ID: 4355 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS In a finding that backs up motherly advice to get a good night's sleep, scientists have found that sleep apparently restores memories lost during a hectic day. It is not just a matter of physical recharge. Researchers say sleep can rescue memories in a biological process of storing and consolidating them deep in the brain's circuitry. The finding is one of several conclusions made in two studies that appear today in the journal Nature. Researchers who conducted the experiments said the results might influence how students learn and could someday be incorporated into treatments for mental illnesses involving memories like post-traumatic stress disorder. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Sleep; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 4354 - Posted: 10.09.2003

Fresh evidence suggests man-made noise can harm marine mammals. REX DALTON The US Congress is considering proposals that will make it easier to get permission to use high-volume sonars in the ocean - just as fresh evidence suggests that their noise can harm marine mammals. Capitol Hill is looking at two measures to loosen the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which sets guidelines for noisy experiments in the oceans. One would simplify the rules, making it easier to get permission to do the experiments. The second would exempt the US Navy from the regulations on the grounds of national security. The changes are supported by the navy and by some geophysicists, who want to use noise-generating devices to study geological formations on the ocean floor. But they are strongly opposed by many marine biologists. "There is a huge split over the issue," says John Hildebrand, who studies marine mammal acoustics at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003

Keyword: Hearing; Animal Communication
Link ID: 4353 - Posted: 06.24.2010

BOSTON – A new study in the Oct. 9 issue of the journal Nature describes three distinct stages in the life of a memory, and helps explain how memories endure – or are forgotten – including the role that sleep plays in safeguarding memories. "To initiate a memory is almost like creating a word processing file on a computer," explains the study's first author, Matthew Walker, Ph.D., instructor of psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. "Once the file has been created, if you don't hit the 'save' button before shutting off the computer it will be lost. Our new research helps explain the process in our brains that enable us to first create the memories and then to stabilize and 'save' the memories we've created." The findings then go on to explain how memories can later be "edited" once they've been saved. Walker, who conducted the research while at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, and his colleagues focused on "procedural skill memory," the "how" type of memory that enables humans to learn coordination-based skills, such as driving, playing a sport, or learning to play a musical instrument or perform a surgical procedure. "This is the type of memory that we often take for granted," says Walker. "But for stroke patients or other individuals who have suffered neurological damage that has injured their motor skills functioning – including how they speak and how they move – it quickly becomes apparent how critically important this type of memory is to our daily existence."

Keyword: Sleep; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 4352 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Lakshmi Sandhana Michelle Thomas is learning to "see", not with her eyes but her ears. Now she can also use a mobile camera phone to do it. Blind since birth, Ms Thomas is able to recognize the walls and doors of her house, discern whether the lights are on or off and even distinguish a CD from a floppy disk after only a week using a revolutionary new system. She is "seeing with sound". Developed by Dr Peter Meijer, a senior scientist at Philips Research Laboratories in the Netherlands, the system is called The vOICe (the three middle letters standing for "Oh I See"). It works by translating images from a camera on-the-fly into highly complex soundscapes, which are then transmitted to the user over headphones. A wearable setup consists of a head-mounted camera, stereo headphones and a notebook PC. (C) BBC

Keyword: Vision; Hearing
Link ID: 4351 - Posted: 10.08.2003

Bob Beale, ABC Science Online — The special sounds and gestures made by infant bonobos also known as pygmy chimpanzees when they are tickled suggest that the origins of laughter may pre-date human evolution, according to a new report. A study of a young bonobo in a German zoo found that when it was tickled it combined vocalizations and facial gestures much like those made by human infants, said the report in the BioMednet science news service. The finding suggests that the rules for how emotion is encoded behaviorally were laid down in the common ancestor humans shared with other great apes, Elke Zimmermann of the Institute of Zoology at the Tieraerztliche Hochschule, in Hanover, told a recent conference of the German Primate Society. Copyright © 2003 Discovery Communications Inc.

Keyword: Emotions; Evolution
Link ID: 4350 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA I'm not sure what wins the prize for my low point. Was it falling asleep at my desk? Forgetting where to catch the bus I ride every day? Trailing off in midsentence in a meeting with my boss and just staring blankly at her? In late August, I became dazed and profoundly fatigued. It came in waves, and in my worst moments I was unable to concentrate, and even focusing my eyes required effort. I felt as if I was moving in slow motion. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Hormones & Behavior
Link ID: 4349 - Posted: 10.08.2003

Humans Share DNA That Helps Mice Move Ears, Eyes, Whiskers -- University of Utah researchers have identified genes that ensure nerves develop in the correct part of the brain so mice can roll their eyeballs sideways, wiggle their whiskers, pull their ears back and blink their eyelids. The genes are common to all mammals, and so they likely help control human facial expressions such as smiles and frowns. “In this study we looked at what nerves are made in a particular part of the brain, the hindbrain,” says geneticist Mario Capecchi, professor and co-chair of human genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). “We see that in certain parts of the hindbrain, the embryo makes nerves that innervate the facial muscles, and in another part of the hindbrain, the embryo makes nerves that innervate eye movement.” The findings will be published in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Development. Capecchi conducted the research with Gary Gaufo, a postdoctoral fellow in human genetics and HHMI research associate, and geneticist Kirk Thomas, formerly of the University of Utah and Howard Hughes Medical Institute and now working at Hydra Biosciences in Boston. © University of Utah

Keyword: Development of the Brain; Emotions
Link ID: 4348 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Scientists believe they may have found a way to treat neuropathic pain, a mystery illness that affects thousands. The pain, which is caused by subtle nerve damage, can be agonising and in many cases fails to improve over time. Scientists at the University of Arizona say they have successfully treated the condition in rats. Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, they said that while further research is needed it could lead to new treatments for humans. Scientists do not know exactly what causes neuropathic pain. It has no physical cause although it appears to be triggered by a number of physical conditions. Viral infections such as shingles, surgery and diabetes have all been known to lead to the problem. (C) BBC

Keyword: Pain & Touch
Link ID: 4347 - Posted: 10.07.2003

By ARMELLE CASAU Half a century of selective breeding has had an unappetizing side effect for the nation's $40 billion-a-year pork industry. In what researchers say is a biochemical chain reaction sometimes caused by a stress syndrome inadvertently bred into many pigs, 10 to 15 percent of pork turns into sweating pale cuts of meat that ooze liquid in the packaging and become leathery when cooked. The pork industry estimates that the problem costs $90 million a year in lost revenue. Now the losses have led to research to seek new ways to improve breeding and handling. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Stress; Animal Rights
Link ID: 4346 - Posted: 10.07.2003

By SANDRA BLAKESLEE With the help of some fat yellow mice, scientists have discovered exactly how a mother's diet can permanently alter the functioning of genes in her offspring without changing the genes themselves. The unusual strain of mouse carries a kind of trigger near the gene that determines not only the color of its coat but also its predisposition to obesity, diabetes and cancer. When pregnant mice were fed extra vitamins and supplements, the supplements interacted with the trigger in the fetal mice and shut down the gene. As a result, obese yellow mothers gave birth to standard brown baby mice that grew up lean and healthy. Scientists have long known that what pregnant mothers eat — whether they are mice, fruit flies or humans — can profoundly affect the susceptibility of their offspring to disease. But until now they have not understood why, said Dr. Randy Jirtle, a professor of radiation oncology at Duke and senior investigator of the study, which was reported in the Aug. 1 issue of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Genes & Behavior; Development of the Brain
Link ID: 4345 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD Mighty as Hercules was, he sometimes prevailed only by means other than his own brute strength. When the need arose, the superhero of Greek mythology armed himself with biochemical weaponry, anticipating the technological innovations of modern warfare. Up against the Many-Headed Hydra, Hercules forced the monstrous serpent from its den by shooting fiery arrows coated with pitch. After finally slaying the Hydra, he cut open the body and dipped his arrows in its poisonous venom. His quiver was never again without a supply of poison arrows. The story of Hercules and the Hydra may be the first description in Western literature of chemical and biological weapons. Because myth often contains a kernel of historical reality, the story suggests that projectiles tipped with combustible or toxic substances must have been known early in Greek history, and widely used in combat. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Neurotoxins
Link ID: 4344 - Posted: 10.07.2003

By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer FALMOUTH, Mass. -- The 75-foot squid boat takes a gentle turn toward a Woods Hole pier on a summer afternoon, its nets filled with an animal whose primitive nervous system holds the secrets of the human brain. Loligo's skipper watches under a hot sky, the squid expelling jets of water as a deckhand scoops them from the boat for transport to the Marine Biological Laboratory, just a few hundred yards away. From the time of delivery, professor George Langford knows he has a few hours, tops, to get his squid dissected so he can continue researching the mysteries of how the brain remembers, and what makes it forget when a disease such as Alzheimer's takes hold. Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 4343 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Alzheimer's could triple in the UK over the next 50 year An anti-dementia drug could give people with Alzheimer's the chance to delay their move to long-term residential care, according to a US study. People who took Aricept were able to remain in their own homes for an extra 18 months before they needed full time care, researchers found. That could provide comfort to many families and also help them save on the average £500 a week cost of a place in a nursing home. Earlier this year the Alzheimer's Research Trust estimated the cost of providing long term care could double to £11bn a year by 2030. But charities for the elderly warned that if patients stayed in the community longer, then adequate support and funding must be given to those who care for them. They also warned that in many areas of the country people are still having difficulty accessing proper care even if they want it. (C) BBC

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 4342 - Posted: 10.06.2003

By REUTERS STOCKHOLM, — Two scientists who developed a way to see inside the body in a way that limits pain and gives more information ahead of surgery won the 2003 Nobel prize for medicine, Sweden's Karolinska Institutet said on Monday. Paul Lauterbur, 74, of the United States and Peter Mansfield, who will turn 70 this week, of Britain won the prize for their discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the university hospital said in a statement. "They have made seminal discoveries concerning the use of magnetic resonance... which represents a breakthrough in medical diagnostics and research," the institute's Nobel Assembly said in its citation for the prize, worth 10 million crowns ($1.3 million). Lauterbur's and Mansfield's discoveries led to the development of modern MRI, a method yielding three-dimensional images of organs inside the human body. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 4341 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Could help improve treatment of anxiety WASHINGTON -- Behavior therapists may have a better way to help anxious patients, thanks to insights from a UCLA study of different ways to get mice past their fears. Rodents have long been used to study learning by association. Neuroscientists compared different ways of exposing mice to a stimulus that they had learned to fear, and found that "massing" the feared stimulus -– delivering it in concentrated bursts, not pacing it with longer pauses in between -- was surprisingly efficient at helping to erase its impact. This study appears in the October issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, which is published by the American Psychological Association. According to the authors, doctoral students Christopher Cain and Ashley Blouin, and Mark Barad, M.D., Ph.D., these findings are significant for clinical behavioral therapy, which has been scientifically proven to work in a range of human anxiety disorders, including specific phobias, panic disorder, social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. At the University of California, Los Angeles, the researchers taught mice (in most conditions, eight at a time) to fear harmless white noise by associating it with a mild shock delivered through the floor of the experimental cage. After a couple of trials, the mice "froze" –- just stopped moving, a fear response –- for about 72 seconds, or 60 percent of the two minutes of white noise. Thus, the white noise became what's called a "conditioned stimulus." It may not have been the original source of pain, but it became sufficiently associated with pain to cause fear all by itself.

Keyword: Emotions; Learning & Memory
Link ID: 4340 - Posted: 06.24.2010

People with manic depression are being urged to demand better medical care. The Manic Depression Fellowship says many doctors fail to provide patients with enough information or choice over which drugs they take. It says this can cause people to stop taking their medication, increasing their risk of committing suicide. The charity has now published a document outlining the different treatments available so they can demand a better standard of care. Manic depression or bipolar disorder affects around two in every 100 people in the UK. However, that figure is beginning to rise as more and more people are being diagnosed with the condition. © BBC MMIII

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 4339 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Happy images trigger sad reactions in the brains of people with severe depression, researchers have found. They were studying people with treatment-resistant depression, which does not respond to conventional therapies. The research, published in Biological Psychiatry, found "happy" images triggered a part of the brain linked to sadness in healthy people. The scientists said the discovery would help them understand depression. They say it may also lead to the development of new drugs for the hard-to-treat group of patients. Around 5 million people in the UK experience depression at any one time. The majority respond to either medication or talking therapies, but around 30 to 40% do not. © BBC MMIII

Keyword: Depression
Link ID: 4338 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By C. CLAIBORNE RAY [Q] . A neighbor lost her husband to a brain infection called fungal cerebral mucormycosis. What is it? A. Luckily this is a rare problem; it comes from certain kinds of very common funguses that may be inhaled or swallowed by almost anyone anywhere. In a few susceptible people, the funguses may take hold of the lining of the mouth or nasal tract, or mucosa, and multiply, moving in a very short time to the brain and sometimes to other organs by way of the bloodstream. Death rates are high, especially when surgery to remove the fungal masses and infiltrated tissues and treatment with antifungal drugs are not undertaken soon enough. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Neuroimmunology
Link ID: 4337 - Posted: 10.05.2003

Further evidence has emerged that an ingredient of cannabis could help prevent epileptic seizures. Some experts are now calling for fresh research into the potential of cannabis-like compounds to help alleviate the condition. Researchers from Germany found that natural brain chemicals which resemble cannabis extracts can interrupt a process which can trigger a seizure. There have been trials of cannabis compounds in MS and cancer patients. There are reports dating from the 15th century talking about the use of cannabis to ease the symptoms of epilepsy. However, there have been few organised trials in humans in recent years, even though cannabis or its extracts are being evaluated in trials against several other illness types illness. (C) BBC

Keyword: Epilepsy
Link ID: 4336 - Posted: 10.04.2003