Networks in the sky: a new concept of modularity?:
- A recent paper by Batada and colleagues published in PLoS Biology tries to consolidate the available information on protein-protein interactions for S. cerevisiae. The authors have attempted to create a high-confidence set of interactions
CpG Methylation System Revealed in Western Honey Bee:
- Last week Science published several new reports on Apis mellifera, the honey bee, including a report from Wang et al. on the functional CpG methylation system in this newly sequenced genome. The methylation report has a number of key findings and implications for further research…
How the hell does dynamin act to fuse membranes?:
- Jodi Nunnari’s group has a paper in Cell about how Mgm1, a dynamin like protein found in the inner mitochondrial matrix, is required for inner-membrane fusion in mitos. I just don’t get the whole thing, can someone propose a reasonable mechanism as to how dynamin regulates membrane fusion?
Noor and Feder Review the Genetics of Speciation:
- Nature Reviews Genetics has published a review (go figure) of speciation genetics penned by Mohamed Noor and Jeff Feder. Here is the purpose of the review, from the horses’ mouths: “Here, we review how recent advances in molecular and genomic techniques are helping to achieve a greater understanding of the genetics of speciation. …We discuss whether and how molecular techniques are helping to discern the genetic bases and evolutionary origins of barriers that contribute to population divergence. We present some recent discoveries from laboratory and field studies that apply molecular and genomics techniques to the speciation question.”
Neurite growth induced by a biopolymer:
- Yadong Wang and his colleagues at Georgia Tech’s Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering designed and synthesized a biopolymer based on the structure of dopamine. When added to cultured rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12 cells, left) or primary sensory neurons, the polymer induced the outgrowth of neurites. The material, named PCD, is also biodegradable.
And articles on ScienceDaily and EurekAlert:
- Researchers Identify Cell Line That Is Resistant To Retroviruses, Including HIV
- Ghost protein leaves fresh tracks in the cell
- Neuron Cell Stickiness May Hold Key To Evolution Of The Human Brain
- Cells, dyes and videotape: Online scientific methods journal incorporates multimedia
- Groups and grumps: Study identifies ’sociality’ neurons
- Signal Protein Shows Promise For Blocking Tumor Promoters In Skin Cells
