All Stories by Jessa Netting
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Gene variations police the storage of fat
Researchers have uncovered genetic variations controlling a calorie-draining spigot in the body.
- Health & Medicine
Poliovirus slaughters brain tumors in mice
Scientists have altered a live polio virus, inducing it to target and kill brain tumor cells without causing polio.
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Anticancer Protein Locks onto DNA
The protein encoded by the normal form of BRCA1 attaches to DNA directly, seeks out unusual DNA structures, and joins multiple DNA strands together—all activities suggesting a direct role in DNA repair.
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A More Perfect Union
Forsaking life in the outside world, endosymbiotic bacteria of some insects traded freedom and nutrients for life inside a cell.
- Health & Medicine
Memory may draw addicts back to cocaine
The hippocampus may be the seat of powerful cravings for cocaine in rats and play a key role in drug-addiction relapse.
- Health & Medicine
Fat may spur heart cells on to suicide
Fat in the heart may kill cells and eventually lead to heart failure.
- Health & Medicine
Virulent bacterium’s DNA is sequenced
The completed genome sequence of Staphylococcus aureus reveals transfers from other organisms of many of the antibiotic-resistance and virulence genes.
- Health & Medicine
Epileptic seizures may be predictable
Patterns of mild electrical disturbance in the brains of epilepsy patients appear to foreshadow a seizure hours before its onset.
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Teams find probable gene for sweet sense
Two labs tasted victory in a race to identify a candidate gene for controlling our proverbial sweet tooth.
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Worm sperm stimulate ovulation
A sperm protein for movement also prompts egg maturation and ovulation.
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Huntington’s protein may be kidnapper
An abnormal protein associated with Huntington's disease kills cells by stealing another protein needed for cell survival.
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The early nerve gets the brain space
Sensory nerves of the star-nosed mole may race to occupy brain space early in development.
