Localization of Elk-1 protein in neuronal dendrites. Elk-1 appears in red.Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that a protein called Elk-1 interacts with mitochondria, the energy storehouse of a cell, suggesting that this protein -– typically active in the nucleus -- could play a role in cell death and mitochondria-related diseases such as neurodegeneration and schizophrenia.

The creation of an extraordinarily long-lived fruit fly by genetics researchers at the University of Rochester has led scientists down an unexpected new path in the fight against diabetes. The mutant fly is serving as a portal for understanding the factors that determine how nutrition and stress set the foundation for metabolic syndrome and diabetes, why diabetes occurs more frequently as people age, and indeed why people live as long as they do.

Origen Therapeutics announced today that it has succeeded in developing a robust and versatile technology for genetically modifying chickens that, for the first time, puts avian transgenics on a par with transgenic mice. The company made the announcement in conjunction with the publication of an article this week by Origen scientists and a collaborator from the University of California, Davis on its transgenic technology in the journal Nature.

A new drug that could help overcome HIV�fs growing resistance to existing antiviral drugs is about to be tested in combination with standard antivirals. Called PA-457, it is the first of a new class of anti-HIV compounds called maturation inhibitors. The drug is still in its early stages, and will not be generally available for at least three years.

Physicians and surgeons will someday monitor a patient's blood flow, blood pressure and temperature with tiny, implanted devices, thanks to research being conducted by a Cornell University professor and an Ithaca-area high-tech firm.

Research conducted by Delft University of Technology has brought the efficient production of the environmentally-friendly fuel bio-ethanol a great deal closer to fruition. The work of Delft researcher Marko Kuyper was an important factor in this. His research in recent years has greatly improved the conversion of certain sugars from agricultural waste to ethanol. On Tuesday 6 June, Kuyper received his PhD degree for his research into the subject.

In a new study published in the latest issue of Ethology researchers show that female songbirds can alter the size of eggs and possibly the sex of their chicks according to how they perceive their mate's quality.

Newly unveiled models of a group of Europasaurus on display at the Dinopark Münchehagen.When unusually small dinosaur fossils were found in a quarry on the northern edge of the Harz Mountains in 1998, it was initially assumed that these were the remains of a group of young dinosaurs. This was a fallacy, as the Bonn palaeontologist, Dr. Martin Sander, recently discovered.

There is a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer in Asia where people smoke heavily, which may be accounted for by high consumption of tea, particularly green tea, according to a review article published by a Yale School of Medicine researcher.

A Gardenia fruit extract traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat the symptoms of type 2 diabetes does indeed contain a chemical that reverses some of the pancreatic dysfunctions that underlie the disease, researchers report in the June 7, 2006, Cell Metabolism. The chemical therefore represents a useful starting point for new diabetes therapies, they said.

Nerve signals relayed directly to the pancreas after eating a meal play a critical role in normal blood sugar control, according to a report in the June 7, 2006, Cell Metabolism. Therefore, drugs that increase the sensitivity to such signals might offer a new approach to diabetes treatment, the researchers said.