Daily Archives: February 17, 2016
The many faces of macrophages in lung cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, accounting for more deaths than breast, prostate, and colon cancer combined. Within the past decade, the role of the immune system in the development and progression of
Neurodegeneration-associated RNA-binding protein, FUS, regulates mRNA length
RNA processing, including alternative regulations of transcription initiation, splicing, and 3’ end formation of pre – mRNA, is a highly specialized mechanism that enables to generate multiple isoforms from a single gene. This mechanism expands transcriptome and
Understanding conifer responses to environmental changes
Conifers are a group of ancient plants that include tree species of great ecological and economical relevance. Inside this group, we can found trees such as pines, cedars, firs, spruces or cypresses. Coniferous forests dominate vast regions
More than meets the eye in seemingly random wild population abundances
In the wild, animal populations are not fixed but rather fluctuate in size over time in a seemingly random fashion. At first glance is there is no rhyme or reason to this apparent randomness, but we analyzed
Key elements of proteins involved in the bacterial production of the toxin methylmercury
Mercury is a prevalent global pollutant that has adverse effects on human health. This toxin is present in the environment not only as a result of releases during natural events, such as volcanic eruptions, forest fires and
Harmful algal blooms in the Mar Piccolo: what effect may they have on local mariculture?
More than 70% of the world’s human population lives in the coastal environments and in recent years, population growth and related human activities (agriculture, wastewater treatment plans, urban runoff) have increased nutrient inputs (inorganic fertilizing compounds) in
Pitfalls in Acanthamoeba genotyping
Acanthamoeba is a protozoan (a eukaryotic microorganism), widespread in several natural environments such as soil and water as a free-living microbial predator. However, it may occasionally infect humans and other animals causing diseases, like keratitis, a sight-threatening
Get yourself to eat your way out of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases
A cells health is maintained by numerous biological processes one of which termed autophagy (or self-eating) involves the breakdown of parts of the cell in an orderly manner, this is in order to generate energy and replace
The molecular analysis of tumor cells in pancreatic tissue – searching for a needle in a haystack
In cancer research usually the tumor cell specific abnormalities are of interest: gene mutations, production of abnormal proteins, production of abnormal quantity of proteins, tumor cells treatment response. But the molecular analysis of pancreatic tumor samples poses
Do Bucentaur family proteins represent true monsters in the fight against stress?
The BCNT (Bucentaur) protein family, which is conserved from fungi to humans, is classified by the presence of an ~80 amino acid sequence at the C-terminus called BCNT-C. Family members in fungi, flies, fish, and chicken play
