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Cell Biology & Physiology
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20,000 neurons keep steady time when working together
WUSTL research finds individual cells isolated from the biological clock can keep daily time, but are unreliable
Sept. 9,
2009 --
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| An isolated nerve cell busy keeping time. |
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Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have shown that individual cells isolated from the biological clock can keep daily time all by themselves. However, by themselves, they are unreliable. The neurons get out of synch and capriciously quit or start oscillating again. The biological clock, a one-square millimeter area of the brain just above the roof of the mouth and atop the crossing of the optic nerves, comprises about 20,000 neurons. These cells, remarkably, contain the machinery to generate daily, or circadian, rhythms in gene expression and electrical activity. But the individual cells are sloppy and must communicate with one another to establish a coherent 24-hour rhythm.
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Cancer succumbs to bee stings
Tumors feel the deadly sting of nanobees
Aug. 10,
2009 --
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| A computer simulation of a nanoparticle showing its core of perfluorocarbon (green) and its lipid coating (red, orange and blue). |
When bees sting, they pump poison into their victims. Now the toxin in bee venom has been harnessed to kill tumor cells by researchers at the School of Medicine. The researchers attached the major component of bee venom to nano-sized spheres that they call nanobees.
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New named professorship
Kelle Moley named James Crane Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
June 23,
2009 --
Kelle H. Moley, a world-renowned reproductive biologist, has been named the first James P. Crane Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the School of Medicine. Moley, vice chair for basic science research and director of the Division of Basic Science Research in obstetrics and gynecology, was installed in the new professorship at a ceremony June 10.
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'Nurture, sustain a culture of scientific innovation'
Obama names WUSTL biologist to his science advisory council
May 7,
2009 --
President Obama has appointed Barbara A. Schaal, Ph.D., the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and vice president of the National Academy of Sciences, to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
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"Tiny" collaboration for health care
Nanotechnology institute formed in St. Louis
March 25,
2009 -- Funding from the Missouri Life Sciences Research Fund, part of the 1998 state tobacco settlement, will establish the St. Louis Institute of Nanomedicine Working Group, a collaborative regional effort to apply advances in nanotechnology to the treatment of human diseases.
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'Chips off the old block'
Plant polymerases IV and V are special forms of Polymerase II
Jan. 6,
2009 -- It's a little like finding out that Superman is actually Clark Kent. A team of biologists at Washington University in St. Louis has discovered that two vital cellular components, nuclear RNA Polymerases IV and V (Pol IV and V), found only in plants, are actually specialized forms of RNA Polymerase II, an essential enzyme of all eukaryotic organisms, including humans.
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New fellows
Six Washington University professors named AAAS fellows
Dec. 18,
2008 -- Six faculty members from Washington University in St. Louis have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society. The highest honor awarded by AAAS, the rank of fellow is bestowed upon members by their peers in recognition of scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
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New gene silencing pathway found in plants
Shedding light on the 'dark matter' of genetics
Nov. 14,
2008 --
Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have made major headway in explaining a mechanism by which plant cells silence potentially harmful genes. A team led by Craig Pikaard, Ph.D., WUSTL professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, has published a paper this month in Cell, that explains how RNA polymerases work together to use the non-coding region of DNA to prevent destructive, virus-derived genes from being activated.
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New approach to treating endometrial cancer
Breakthrough shows promise for treating endometrial cancer
Sept. 2,
2008 -- Researchers have found a potential new approach to treating endometrial cancer — a drug that was shown to be effective even against human endometrial cancer cell lines that tend to be treatment resistant. Scientists at the School of Medicine and the Translational Genomics Research Institute discovered that introducing a particular inhibitor drug can turn off cell receptors that are responsible for tumor growth.
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Tiny, roll-shaped disease fighters
New disease-fighting nanoparticles look like miniature pastries
July 29,
2008 --
Ultra-miniature bialy-shaped particles — called nanobialys because they resemble tiny versions of the flat, onion-topped rolls popular in New York City — could soon be carrying medicinal compounds through patients' bloodstreams to tumors or atherosclerotic plaques. The nanobialys are an important addition to the stock of diagnostic and disease-fighting nanoparticles developed by researchers at the School of Medicine.
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