Something to chew on for the night :

- Tiny Single-Celled Organisms Are Found in Deepest Part of Ocean
- Software Taming Gene Data Pool
- AIDS and Research Therapy, new open access journal thanks to BioMed Central
- Protein chips

For the general interest, when buying antibodies, go for monoclonal ones instead of the cheaper, "just-as-good" polyclonal. 20 fuzzy bands versus one sharp band on a western blot just isn't worth the 50 bucks you save buying polyclonal. Except if you're time ain't worth that, I guess :)

BTW, check out the new poll about the comment authentication system in the forum. Please let me know what you think.

A study led by Princeton biologists has revealed a remarkably simple mechanism that allows flocking birds, schooling fish or running herds to travel in unison without any recognized leaders or signaling system.

The finding, published in the Feb. 3 issue of Nature, helps settle age-old questions about how animals coordinate their actions. Previously, scientists had looked for subtle signals or other explicit systems that animals may use in disseminating information through groups. The new study showed that such complexity is not necessary: Large groups easily make accurate decisions about where to go even when no individuals are regarded as leaders and very few individuals have any pertinent information.

Proteins called coactivators control the process by which a single gene can initiate production of several proteins in a process called alternative splicing, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears in today's issue of the journal Molecular Cell. "A major question in biology today is how human cells with 30,000 genes produce at least 120,000 proteins," said Dr. Bert O'Malley, chair of the BCM department of molecular and cellular biology. The answer is a process called alternative splicing in which certain information from a gene is left out or included, changing the format of the resulting protein.

The microorganism Staphylococcus epidermidis is harmless on human skin, but it is the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections and infections of indwelling medical devices. S. epidermidis is associated with an enormous number of infections in people with prosthetic joints, replacement heart valves, and intravenous catheters, and antibiotic resistance makes it tough to battle. Moreover, the mechanism through which the organism becomes so pathogenic once the protective barrier of the skin is removed remains unclear.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today a new policy designed to accelerate the public's access to published articles resulting from NIH-funded research. The policy — the first of its kind for NIH — calls on scientists to release to the public manuscripts from research supported by NIH as soon as possible, and within 12 months of final publication.

These peer-reviewed, NIH-funded research publications will be available in a Web-based archive to be managed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a component of NIH. The online archive will increase the public's access to health-related publications at a time when demand for such information is on a steady rise.

Durham, N.C. – A new understanding of the causes for symptoms of sickle cell disease, a condition affecting one in every 600 African-Americans, has resulted from a study by researchers at Duke University Medical Center and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Their findings may lead to a new, more direct method for treating the disease, they said.

Their research suggests that an inability of red blood cells to relax blood vessels through the release of nitric oxide is a major factor behind the disease's primary symptoms -- including oxygen deprivation and blocked vessels that can lead to pain, clots and stroke. Thus, therapies that restore nitric oxide to blood cells might serve as a useful method for treating the disease, said HHMI researcher Jonathan Stamler, M.D., professor of pulmonary medicine and cardiology at Duke University Medical Center.

The researchers reported their findings on Jan. 31, 2005, in an early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A Medical College of Wisconsin research team, led by John W. Lough, Ph.D., professor of cell biology, neurobiology and anatomy has found that embryonic stem cells (ES cells) in animals can be cultivated to form new tissue, which eventually may help doctors learn how to replace tissue damaged as a result of a heart attack.

The potential for ES cells to replace damaged or diseased cells in adult tissues has caused extraordinary interest in their therapeutic application. Dr. Lough’s research focuses on cardiac myocytes, which are found in the myocardium tissue, or heat muscles, that helps pump the chambers of the heart.