Daily non-political popular news in brief.

New research alters concept of how circadian clock functions

12-13-2007 · EurekAlert!

Scientists from the University of Cambridge have identified a molecule that may govern how the circadian clock in plants responds to environmental changes.

Keywords: research, alters, concept, circadian, clock, functions, alter, function

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "New research alters concept of how circadian clock functions":

Research finds that circadian rhythms dominate all life functions
06-14-2007 · EurekAlert!
New research from Colorado State University shows that the function of all genes in mammals is based on circadian -- or daily -- rhythms. The study refutes the current theory that only 10 percent to 15 percent of all genes were affected by nature's clock.
Similar news · Read more »
Description of a gene implicated in the development of Fanconi anemia and predisposition to cancer
06-01-2007 · EurekAlert!
An international research consortium, which included the participation of UAB researchers, has made outstanding progress in the study of Fanconi anemia. They have described the function and the possible mutations of a gene implicated in this disease that affects functions like nerve and skeletal development, blood cell formation and predisposition to cancer. This discovery will aid in detecting the defective gene that causes Fanconi anemia, which is fundamental in prenatal diagnosis and even pre-implantation diagnosis.
Similar news · Read more »
Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
Similar news · Read more »
Scientists find high-fat diet disrupts body clock
11-06-2007 · EurekAlert!
For the first time, a Northwestern University and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare study has shown that overeating alters the core mechanism of the body clock, throwing off the timing of internal signals, including appetite control, critical for good health. Animals on a high-fat diet gained weight and suddenly exhibited a disruption in their circadian clocks, eating extra calories during the time they should have been asleep or at rest.
Similar news · Read more »
Networking around the clock
04-05-2007 · EurekAlert!
A Brandeis University study published in Cell this week shows for the first time experimentally that the circadian cells in fruit flies function as a network that enables the insects to adapt their behavior according to seasonal changes. This discovery leads the way to understanding how mammals, and presumably humans, adjust physiology and behavior to environmental changes such as short winter days and long summer ones.
Similar news · Read more »
Study led by Scripps Research scientist reveals little-known cell networks vital to circadian rhythm
05-03-2007 · EurekAlert!
In a wide-ranging systems biology study of circadian rhythm, a multi-institutional collaboration led by Scripps Research Institute Professor Steve Kay has uncovered some little-known cellular mechanisms for sustaining circadian rhythm and limiting the impact of genetic clock mutations in mammals. The new findings could have important implications for future circadian studies, and point researchers toward new ways to manipulate human circadian rhythm at the molecular level to treat diseases such as bipolar disorder.
Similar news · Read more »
Pre-school program shown to improve key cognitive functions, self-control
11-29-2007 · EurekAlert!
An innovative curriculum for pre-schoolers may improve academic performance, reduce diagnoses of attention deficient hyperactivity disorder, and close the achievement gap between children from poor families and those from wealthier homes, according to research led by a Vancouver neuroscientist who is an expert in the development of cognitive function.
Similar news · Read more »
Discovery of 'overdrive' protein could broaden drug design options
02-12-2008 · EurekAlert!
New research by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows for the first time that an important family of proteins known to function at the cell surface also functions at a site within the cell.
Similar news · Read more »
Scientists discover molecular basis of monarch butterfly migration
01-07-2008 · EurekAlert!
An ancestral circadian clock mechanism is defined in monarch butterflies, in which two CRYPTOCHROME proteins function as critical components. The proteins may also function as output molecules that connect the clock to the sun compass for successful navigation.
Similar news · Read more »
Central and peripheral signals set the circadian liver clock
01-29-2007 · EurekAlert!
Research on mice engineered with an inducible liver clock enabled identification of some genes with expression controlled by the local clock, and other genes (including mPer2) that maintained circadian oscillations thanks to cues from the SCN.
Similar news · Read more »