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Scientists find meteorite that came from innermost asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 18 (ANI): In a very rare finding, scientists have discovered an unusual kind of meteorite in the Western Australian desert and have uncovered that it came from the innermost main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Meteorites are the only surviving physical record of the formation of our Solar System.

However, information about where individual meteorites originated, and how they were moving around the Solar System prior to falling to Earth, is available for only a dozen of around 1100 documented meteorite falls over the past two hundred years.

According to Dr Phil Bland from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, the lead author of the study, “We are incredibly excited about our new finding. Meteorites are the most analysed rocks on Earth, but it’s really rare for us to be able to tell where they came from.”

The new meteorite, which is about the size of cricket ball, is the first to be retrieved since researchers from Imperial College London, Ondrejov Observatory in the Czech Republic, and the Western Australian Museum, set up a trial network of cameras in the Nullarbor Desert in Western Australia in 2006.

The researchers aim to use these cameras to find new meteorites, and work out where in the Solar System they came from, by tracking the fireballs that they form in the sky.

The new meteorite was found on the first day of searching using the new network, by the first search expedition, within 100m of the predicted site of the fall.

The meteorite appears to have been following an unusual orbit, or path around the Sun, prior to falling to Earth in July 2007, according to the researchers’ calculations.

The team believes that it started out as part of an asteroid in the innermost main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

It then gradually evolved into an orbit around the Sun that was very similar to Earth’s.

The new meteorite is also unusual because it is composed of a rare type of basaltic igneous rock.

According to the researchers, its composition, together with the data about where the meteorite comes from, fits with a recent theory about how the building blocks for the terrestrial planets were formed.

This theory suggests that the igneous parent asteroids for meteorites like today’s formed deep in the inner Solar System, before being scattered out into the main asteroid belt.

Asteroids are widely believed to be the building blocks for planets like the Earth, so the new finding provides another clue about the origins of the Solar System. (ANI)

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Findings from India’s Chandrayaan to provide new understanding of lunar surface

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 18 (ANI): India’s Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) has gathered data for a total of 30 solar flares, giving the most accurate measurements to date of magnesium, aluminum, silicon, calcium, and iron in the lunar surface.

Although contact was lost with Chandrayaan-1 last month, the enhanced performance of the C1XS instrument, which exceeded its design specification, means that the science team will be able to determine the geochemistry of new areas of the lunar surface, adding some vital pieces to the jigsaw of the mineralogy of the lunar surface.

The miniature C1XS instrument investigated the lunar surface using an effect whereby X-ray illumination from the Sun causes rocks to fluoresce, emitting light at a different wavelength.

This re-emitted light contains spectral peaks that are characteristic of elements contained in the rock, revealing its composition.

Solar flares act like a flash bulb, giving added illumination and allowing C1XS to ‘see’ more elements.

During normal conditions, C1XS could detect magnesium, aluminum, and silicon and collected data on the levels of these elements, enabling detailed mapping of areas of the lunar surface during its operational period.

During the 30 solar flares, C1XS detected calcium and iron (and sometimes titanium, sodium, and potassium) in key areas in the southern hemisphere and on the far side of the Moon.

The spectral resolution of 50 km was much better than previous missions.

According to Professor Grande, “The C1XS team will be analyzing the data collected during the Chandrayaan-1 mission over the next few months, and the results will help us further our knowledge of the Moon and planetary formation.”

In addition, the design of the instrument has been proved very successful in that it withstood passage through the Earth’s radiation belts and went on to produce these wonderful high-resolution spectra. We were able to separate clear peaks for each of the target elements, allowing us not only to identify where they are present but give an accurate estimate for how much is there,” he said.

“The technology developed for C1XS opens up some exciting opportunities for future missions,” he added. (ANI)

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NASA’s Swift satellite makes best-ever ultraviolet portrait of Andromeda galaxy

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 17 (ANI): NASA’s Swift satellite has acquired the highest-resolution view of a neighboring spiral galaxy ever attained in the ultraviolet.

The galaxy, known as M31 in the constellation Andromeda, is the largest and closest spiral galaxy to our own.

“Swift reveals about 20,000 ultraviolet sources in M31, especially hot, young stars and dense star clusters,” said Stefan Immler, a research scientist on the Swift team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“Of particular importance is that we have covered the galaxy in three ultraviolet filters. That will let us study M31′s star-formation processes in much greater detail than previously possible,” he added.

M31, also known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is more than 220,000 light-years across and lies 2.5 million light-years away.

On a clear, dark night, the galaxy is faintly visible as a misty patch to the naked eye.

Between May 25 and July 26, 2008, Swift’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) acquired 330 images of M31 at wavelengths of 192.8, 224.6, and 260 nanometers.

The images represent a total exposure time of 24 hours.

The task of assembling the resulting 85 gigabytes of images fell to Erin Grand, an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland at College Park who worked with Immler as an intern this summer.

“After ten weeks of processing that immense amount of data, I’m extremely proud of this new view of M31,” she said.

Several features are immediately apparent in the new mosaic.

The first is the striking difference between the galaxy’s central bulge and its spiral arms.

“The bulge is smoother and redder because it’s full of older and cooler stars,” Immler explained. “Very few new stars form here because most of the materials needed to make them have been depleted,” he added.

Dense clusters of hot, young, blue stars sparkle beyond the central bulge.

M31′s disk and spiral arms contain most of the gas and dust needed to produce new generations of stars.

Star clusters are especially plentiful in an enormous ring about 150,000 light-years across.

“Swift is surveying nearby galaxies like M31 so astronomers can better understand star- formation conditions and relate them to conditions in the distant galaxies where we see gamma-ray bursts occurring,” said Neil Gehrels, the mission’s principal investigator at NASA Goddard. (ANI)

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Green tea may help improve bone health

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 17 (ANI): Green tea may help improve bone health, researchers in Hong Kong have reported.

The boffins found that the tea contains a group of chemicals that can stimulate bone formation and help slow its breakdown.

The study has been published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

In the study, Ping Chung Leung and colleagues noted that many scientific studies have linked tea to beneficial effects in preventing cancer, heart disease, and other conditions.

To reach the conclusion, scientists exposed a group of cultured bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) to three major green tea components – epigallocatechin (EGC), gallocatechin (GC), and gallocatechin gallate (GCG) – for several days. They found that one in particular, EGC, boosted the activity of a key enzyme that promotes bone growth by up to 79 percent. EGC also significantly boosted levels of bone mineralization in the cells, which strengthens bones.

The scientists also showed that high concentrations of ECG blocked the activity of a type of cell (osteoclast) that breaks down or weakens bones. The green tea components did not cause any toxic effects to the bone cells, they noted. (ANI)

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Scientists unravel chemistry of Titan’s hazy atmosphere

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 16 (ANI): In a new research, a team of scientists has unraveled the chemical evolution of the orange-brownish colored atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan, the only solar system body besides Venus and Earth with a solid surface and thick atmosphere.

Scientists at University of Hawai’i at Manoa carried out the research.

The UH Manoa team, including Xibin Gu and Seol Kim, conducted simulation experiments mimicking the chemical reactions in Titan’s atmosphere utilizing crossed molecular beams in which the consequence of a single collision between molecules can be followed.

The team’s experiments indicate that triacetylene can be formed by a single collision of a “radical” ethynyl molecule and a diacetylene molecule.

An ethynyl radical is produced in Titan’s atmosphere by the photodissociation of acetylene by ultraviolet light.

Photodissociation is a process in which a chemical compound is broken down by photons.

“Surprisingly, the photochemical models show inconsistent mechanisms for the production of polyynes,” said Kaiser, who is the principal investigator of this study.

The mechanism involved in the formation of triacetylene, was also confirmed by accompanying theoretical calculations by Alexander Mebel, a theoretical chemist at Florida International University.

These theoretical computations also provide the 3D distribution of electrons in atoms and thus the overall energy level of a molecule.

To apply these findings to the real atmosphere of Titan, Danie Liang and Yuk Yung, planetary scientists at Taiwan’s Academia Sinica and California Institute of Technology (Caltech), respectively, performed photochemical modeling studies of Titan’s atmosphere.

All data together suggest that triacetylene may serve as a building block to form more complex and longer polyynes and produce potential precursors for the aerosol-based layers of haze surrounding Titan.

The study demonstrated for the first time that a sensible combination of laboratory simulation experiments with theory and modeling studies can shed light on decade old unsolved problems crucial to understand the origin and chemical evolution of the solar system.

The researchers hope to unravel next the mystery of the missing ethane lakes on Titan – postulated to exist for half a century, but not detected conclusively within the framework of the Cassini-Huygens mission.

In the future, the UH Manoa team will combine the research results with terrestrial-based observations of Titan’s atmosphere. (ANI)

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Gene linked to male infertility identified

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 16 (ANI): Scientists from Virginia Commonwealth University have identified a gene that may contribute to male infertility.

The research team hopes that the new findings would lead to new approaches to male contraception.

Sperm are produced in the testicles through a three-step process called spermatogenesis.

During the final stage, known as spermiogenesis, a lot of changes take place, including the packaging of DNA into the sperm head and the formation of the sperm tail, which propels the sperm cell toward the egg.

The study conducted using mouse model showed that mice lacking a protein called meiosis expressed gene 1, or MEIG1, were sterile as a result of impaired spermiogenesis – the process that encompasses changes in the sperm head and the formation of the tail.

The team also found that MEIG1 associates with the Parkin co-regulated gene protein, or PACRG protein, and that testicular PACRG protein is reduced in MEIG1-deficient mice.

PACRG is thought to play a key role in assembly of the sperm tail, and the reproductive phenotype of PACRG -deficient mice mirrors that of the MEIG1-mutant mice.

“We discovered that MEIG1 is essential for male fertility. Moreover, our findings reveal a critical role for the MEIG1/PACRG partnership in the function of a structure that is unique to sperm, the manchette. The absence of a normal manchette in mice lacking MEIG1 totally disrupts the maturation process of sperm,” said Dr Jerome F. Strauss III, dean in the VCU School of Medicine.

“In addition to having an impact on fertility, the discovery identifies a new target for drug discovery for a much needed reversible male method of contraception,” he added.

The study is published in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)

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Declining CO2 levels helped in Antarctic formation 34 million years ago

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 14 (ANI): In a major research study, the link between declining carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the earth’s atmosphere and the formation of the Antarctic ice caps some 34 million years ago has been confirmed for the first time.

The research was carried out by a team of scientists from Cardiff, Bristol and Texas A and M universities, in a small East African village, where they extracted microfossils in samples of rocks which show the level of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere at the time of the formation of the ice-cap.

Geologists have long speculated that the formation of the Antarctic ice-cap was caused by a gradually diminishing natural greenhouse effect.

The study’s findings confirm that atmospheric CO2 declined during the Eocene – Oligocene climate transition and that the Antarctic ice sheet began to form when CO2 in the atmosphere reached a tipping point of around 760 parts per million (by volume).

According to Professor Paul Pearson from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, who led the mission to the remote East Africa village of Stakishari, “About 34 million years ago, the Earth experienced a mysterious cooling trend. Glaciers and small ice sheets developed in Antarctica, sea levels fell and temperate forests began to displace tropical-type vegetation in many areas.”

“The period, known to geologists as the Eocene – Oligocene transition, culminated in the rapid development of a continental-scale ice sheet on Antarctica, which has been there ever since,” he said.

“We therefore set out to establish whether there was a substantial decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels as the Antarctic ice sheet began to grow,” he added.

The team mapped large expanses of bush and wilderness and pieced together the underlying local rock formations using occasional outcrops of rocks and stream beds.

Eventually, they discovered sediments of the right age near a traditional African village called Stakishari.

By assembling a drilling rig and extracting hundreds of meters of samples from under the ground, they were able to obtain exactly the piece of Earth’s history they had been searching for.

According to co-author Dr Gavin Foster from the University of Bristol Earth Sciences Department, “By using the rather unique set of samples from Tanzania and a new analytical technique that I developed, we have, for the first time, been able to reconstruct the concentration of CO2 across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary – the time period about 34 million years ago when ice sheets first started to grow on Eastern Antarctica.” (ANI)

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Centre creates “Invest India” company to promote foreign investment in the country

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 10 (ANI): The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the formation of a company ‘Invest India’ for the promotion of foreign investments under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Announcing the formation of ‘Invest India,’ Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said “The company will be a joint venture between the Government of India, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the State Governments will be responsible for promoting foreign investments into the country in a more focused, comprehensive and structured manner.”

The new company is expected to assist the government in its efforts towards projecting India as an attractive investment destination for foreign investors. The company will also assist foreign investors in identifying and realizing investment opportunities in India.

“The unique feature of this company is the partnership between the private sector organization and the Government of India and the State Governments. This is, unlike anywhere else in the world and seeks both to leverage the synergies of all three as well as address their investment priorities,” Sharma added.

Sharma informed that “The Board of Directors of the Invest India comprises of six members from Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and six members from FICCI.”

“Secretary DIPP will be its Non Executive Chairman. The Board of Directors will appoint a Managing Director and FICCI will provide the administrative, personnel and management support for day to day functioning,” Sharma said.

The authorized capital of the company will be Rs 10crore and the initial paid up capital Rs. one crore. While FICCI will have 51percent share in the equity, DIPP will have 49 percent share to begin with. DIPP’s share will be reduced overtime to 35 percent of paid up capital with induction of fresh equity by the State Governments.

The company will act as the first reference point for any investor interested in India and will also facilitate in setting up business within the country, by making available sector wise consultants and coordinating with the state government on feasible measures, Sharma said. (ANI)

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Vitamin C can help protect DNA damage of skin cells

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 10 (ANI): Researchers at the University of Leicester and Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Portugal have found that vitamin C can help protect DNA damage of skin cells and lead to better skin regeneration.

Previous research has shown that DNA repair is upregulated in people consuming vitamin C supplements.

In the new study, the researchers have provided some mechanistic evidence.

The researchers used affymetrix microarray, for looking at gene expression, and the ‘Comet’ assay to study DNA damage

“The exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation increases in summer, often resulting in a higher incidence of skin lesions. Ultraviolet radiation is also a genotoxic agent responsible for skin cancer, through the formation of free radicals and DNA damage,” said lead researcher Tiago Duarte, formerly of the University of Leicester, and now at the Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Portugal.

“Our study analysed the effect of sustained exposure to a vitamin C derivative, ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (AA2P), in human dermal fibroblasts.

“We investigated which genes are activated by vitamin C in these cells, which are responsible for skin regeneration.

“The results demonstrated that vitamin C may improve wound healing by stimulating quiescent fibroblasts to divide and by promoting their migration into the wounded area. Vitamin C could also protect the skin by increasing the capacity of fibroblasts to repair potentially mutagenic DNA lesions,” Duarte added.

The researchers hope that the results will be of great relevance to the cosmetics industry.

“The study indicates a mechanism by which vitamin C could contribute to the maintenance of a healthy skin by promoting wound healing and by protecting cellular DNA against damage caused by oxidation,” said Dr Marcus S. Cooke from the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine and Department of Genetics, at the University of Leicester.

“These findings are particular importance to our photobiology interests, and we will certainly be looking into this further,” Cooke added.

The findings have been published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. (ANI)

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Nicotine plays “tricks” on the brain

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 10 (ANI): Nicotine, the addictive component in cigarettes, “tricks” the brain into creating memory associations between environmental cues and smoking behavior, say researchers at Baylor College of Medicine.

The study has been published in the journal Neuron.

“Our brains normally make these associations between things that support our existence and environmental cues so that we conduct behaviors leading to successful lives. The brain sends a reward signal when we act in a way that contributes to our well being,” said Dr. John A. Dani, professor of neuroscience at BCM and co-author of the study.

“However, nicotine commandeers this subconscious learning process in the brain so we begin to behave as though smoking is a positive action,” the expert added.

Dani said that environmental events linked with smoking can become cues that prompt the smoking urge. Those cues could include alcohol, a meal with friends, or even the drive home from work.

To understand why the associations are so strong, Dani and Dr. Jianrong Tang, instructor of neuroscience at BCM and co-author of the report, decided to record brain activity of mice as they were exposed to nicotine, the addictive component of tobacco.

The mice were allowed to roam through an apparatus with two separate compartments. In one compartment, they received nicotine. In the other, they got a benign saline solution. Later, the researchers recorded how long the mice spent in each compartment. They also recorded brain activity within the hippocampus, an area of the brain that creates new memories.

“The brain activity change was just amazing. Compared to injections of saline, nicotine strengthened neuronal connections – sometimes up to 200 percent. This strengthening of connections underlies new memory formation,” Dani said.

Consequently, mice learned to spent more time in the compartment where the nicotine was administered compared to the one where saline was given to them.

“We found that nicotine could strengthen neuronal synaptic connections only when the so called reward centers sent a dopamine signal. That was a critical process in creating the memory associations even with bad behavior like smoking,” the expert said. (ANI)

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How addictive drugs influence learning and memory

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 10 (ANI): In a new study on mice, researchers have found why and how the use of addictive drugs take control of reward signals and influence neural processes associated with learning and memory.

The study could help explain how drug-associated memories, such as the place of drug use, drive and perpetuate the addiction.

It is known that the neurochemical dopamine, a key player in the brain’s reward system, is involved in the process of addiction.

Research has indicated that dopamine participates in neural processes associated with learning, such as the strengthening of neuronal connections, called synaptic potentiation.

Evidence has also implicated the hippocampus, a deep-brain structure that is critical for formation of new memories, in the development of drug addiction.

“Although addictive drugs like nicotine have been shown to influence the induction of synaptic potentiation, there has been little or no research in freely moving animals that monitors ongoing induction of synaptic potentiation by a biologically relevant drug dose,” explains senior author Dr. John Dani from the Department of Neuroscience at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

The researchers recorded from the brains of freely moving mice while applying physiologically relevant concentrations of nicotine, the addictive component in tobacco.

The researchers found that nicotine induced synaptic potentiation correlated with the mice learning to prefer a place associated with the nicotine dose.

Importantly, these effects required a local dopamine signal within the hippocampus.

The finding reinforces the view that dopamine enables memory for specific events.

Overall, the results point to some intriguing possibilities about how drug-associated memories might contribute to behaviors associated with addiction.

“An animal’s memories or feelings about the environment are updated when the dopamine signal labels a particular event as important, new, and salient. Normally these memories help us to perform successful behaviors, but in our study, those memories were linked to the addictive drug.

When specific environmental events occur, such as the place or people associated with drug use, they are capable of cuing drug-associated memories or feelings that motivate continued drug use or relapse,” concluded Dani.

The study has been published in the latest issue of the journal Neuron. (ANI)

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Turning off oncogene may inhibit lung cancer stem cells’ growth

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 9 (ANI): A lung cancer oncogene, called PKCiota, is necessary for the proliferation of lung cancer stem cells, and turning it off could act as a key for the treatment of this deadly disease, according to scientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida.

These stem cells are rare and powerful master cells that manufacture the other cells that make up lung tumours, and are resistant to chemotherapy treatment.

The study also shows that an agent, aurothiomalate, being tested at Mayo Clinic in a phase I clinical trial substantially inhibits growth of these cancer stem cells.

“Our data indicate that PKCiota is required for the earliest steps in the development of lung cancer, which is the expansion of tumor-initiating cells or cancer stem cells,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Alan Fields.

“Lung cancer stem cells appear to be the major drivers in many common lung cancers, and in order for a therapeutic treatment to be effective, it has to disrupt these cancer stem cells. We show that aurothiomalate, the agent now being tested in lung cancer patients, can, in fact, target these cells,” he added.

While aurothiomalate was once used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, the researchers have now discovered that it can also target PKCiota.

Currently, the agent is being tested in patients at Mayo Clinic’s sites in Minnesota and Arizona and, based on this phase I trial, a phase II human clinical trial is planned to combine aurothiomalate with agents targeted at other molecules involved in cancer growth.

“We had previously shown that PKCiota is required to maintain tumor growth, but what this study sought to determine is whether PKCiota is involved in the initial steps of lung cancer development,” said Fields.

Fields said that, in mice, an oncogene known as Kras is thought to transform normal lung stem cells into cancer stem cells, thereby initiating lung cancer.

In the present study, the researchers established a strain of mice in which Kras can be activated at the same time that the PKCiota gene is inactivated.

They found that when the PKCiota gene is inactivated, Kras was unable to cause errant growth and expansion of lung stem cells in mice, the process that initiates tumour formation.

“What this told us is that Kras requires PKCiota to transform the lung stem cells and make them proliferate. In other words, PKCiota is downstream from Kras, and is necessary for Kras to initiate lung tumor formation,” said Fields.

After discovering that aurothiomalate disables PKCiota, the researchers tested whether this agent is effective against lung cancer that develops due to Kras mutation.

“The drug showed potent inhibitory effects on the Kras-dependent proliferation of lung cancer stem cells both in cell culture and in animals,” said Fields.

“That further suggests that a drug like aurothiomalate could have an effect on tumors that are dependent on either Kras or PKCiota for growth and survival, and that is potentially a lot of cancers.

Aurothiomalate appears to be one of the few drugs available that can effectively target these critical cancer stem cells. In the clinic, however, it is likely that aurothiomalate will be most effective when combined with other agents designed to target other tumor survival pathways,” he added.

The study has been published in Cancer Research. (ANI)

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Soon, simple jab to prevent prostate cancer

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 8 (ANI): A simple jab may soon help prevent prostate cancer, say researchers.

The research team from University of Utah and University of Columbia have identified a virus, known to trigger leukaemia, in malignant human prostate cancer cells.

The research team hopes that the virus, XMRV (Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus), would open opportunities for developing diagnostic tests, vaccines, and therapies for treating the cancer.

“We found that XMRV was present in 27 percent of prostate cancers we examined and that it was associated with more aggressive tumours,” said Dr Ila R. Singh, associate professor of pathology at University of Utah and the study’s senior author.

“We still don’t know that this virus causes cancer in people, but that is an important question we’re going to investigate,” Singh added.

The study also makes it evident that XMRV is present in malignant cells, and that XMRV is a gammaretrovirus, a simple retrovirus first isolated from prostate cancers in 2006 by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the Cleveland Clinic, known to cause cancer in animals.

During the study, the researchers examined more than 200 human prostate cancers, and compared them to more than 100 non-cancerous prostate tissues.

They found 27 percent of the cancers contained XMRV, compared to only 6 percent of the benign tissues.

The viral proteins were found almost exclusively in malignant prostatic cells, suggesting that XMRV infection may be directly linked to the formation of tumors.

The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)

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Spare gene in fish provides raw materials for evolution of new Traits

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 4 (ANI): In a new research, scientists have discovered that a duplicate copy of a gene involved in embryonic development of fish has taken up a newer role in the evolution of fish scales.

Scientists have suspected that spare parts in the genome-extra copies of functional genes that arise when genes or whole genomes get duplicated-might sometimes provide the raw materials for the evolution of new traits.

Now, researchers say that they have discovered a prime example of this in fish.

The researchers show that a duplicate copy of a gene involved in embryonic development has taken up a newer and decidedly less essential role in the development of fish scales.

Zebrafish carrying a mutant version of that extra fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (fgfr1) gene show decreases in their scale formation.

What’s more, the spare fgfr1 gene is at the root of similar scale loss seen in domesticated carp, which have been selectively bred by humans for the last 2,000 years.

“Our finding is an excellent case for (gene) duplication supporting diverse forms,” said Matthew Harris of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology.

“By ‘tweaking’ the use of one of the two copies of the fish fgfr1, the teleost order that contains zebrafish and carp have a specialized ‘toolbox’ gene that now controls adult-specific variation in form,” added Nicolas Rohner, also of the Max Planck Institute.

Fish species outnumber all other vertebrates combined and include many with spectacular features to match the diverse environments in which they live, according to Harris and Rohner.

Teleost fish in particular represent the largest assemblage of vertebrates, comprising over 26,000 species with astonishing diversity in their form and physiology.

Although little is known about the genetic basis of that diversity, it is clear that gene duplication is commonplace within teleost groups, providing a source of genetic raw material for selection.

To further explore in the new study, the researchers first examined mutant strains of zebrafish in search of those with changes to their fins, skulls, or scales, all structures that tend to vary among species.

They focused their attention on one with fewer scales and in an unusual pattern-an abnormality they traced to fgfr1.

“We were surprised to find severe coding mutations in such an important developmental gene to cause an adult-specific and viable phenotype,” Harris said.

Further study showed the reason why: zebrafish maintain two copies of fgfr1 that function redundantly during embryonic development. One of those two genes is also required for the formation of the scales in juveniles. (ANI)

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Andromeda galaxy expanded by cannibalizing on stars from other galaxies

September 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 3 (ANI): A new research has shown that the vast Andromeda galaxy appears to have expanded by cannibalizing on stars from other galaxies.

According to a report by BBC News, when an international team of scientists mapped Andromeda, they discovered stars that they said were “remnants of dwarf galaxies”.

This consumption of stars has been suggested previously, but the team’s ultra-deep survey has provided detailed images to show that it took place.

This shows the “hierarchical model” of galaxy formation in action.

The model predicts that large galaxies should be surrounded by relics of smaller galaxies they have consumed.

The scientists charted the outskirts of Andromeda in detail for the first time. They discovered stars that could not have formed within the galaxy itself.

Pauline Barmby, an astronomer from the University of Western Ontario told BBC News that the pattern of the stars’ orbits revealed their origin.

“Andromeda is so close that we can map out all the stars,” she said. “And when you see a sort of lump of stars that far out, and with the same orbit, you know they can’t have been there forever,” she added.

Andromeda, which is approximately 2.5 million light years away from Earth is still expanding, say the scientists.

The researchers also saw a “stream of stars” of a nearby galaxy called Triangulum “stretching” towards Andromeda.

According to Dr Scott Chapman, reader in astrophysics at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, “Ultimately, these two galaxies may end up merging completely. Ironically, galaxy formation and galaxy destruction seem to go hand in hand.”

Nickolay Gnedin, an astrophysicist from the University of Chicago, described the work as showing “galactic archaeology in action”. (ANI)

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‘Fifty to Sixty Pak militants waiting to infiltrate into India’

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep. 2 (ANI): About 50 to 60 Pakistani militants have positioned themselves to infiltrate into India, and the Indian defence forces are fully prepared to foil any such attempt, a top military brass has revealed.

“There are approximately 50 to 60 terrorists in various locations operating in Jammu, Smabha, Kathua. And they are waiting on time to infiltrate. However, we are keeping a clear watch of the situation and any attempt by the terrorist to infiltrate will be foiled by the forces deployed along the border. We have absolute synergy in this aspect by the border security force to prevent infiltration,” said Lieutenant General E M Nair, GOC 9 Corps.

The GOC mentioned that Pakistan is building fortifications along the border and more than 50 militants who are operating from various locations along the border could infiltrate.

The 9 Corps with its headquarters at Yole Cantonment oversees the defence operations in the Jammu region overlapping Himachal Pradesh.

Corps is the major formation responsible for a sector under an operational command and the 9 Corps functions under the Northern Command. (ANI)

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Gene behind gum disease, osteoporosis, arthritis identified

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 31 (ANI): An international team of researchers have identified a gene that is common in the development of gum disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoporosis.

Experts at Hospital for Special Surgery say that their findings about the gene, called interferon regulator factor-8 (IRF-8), may lead to new treatments in future.

“The study doesn’t have immediate therapeutic applications, but it does open a new avenue of research that could help identify novel therapeutic approaches or interventions to treat diseases such as periodontitis, rheumatoid arthritis or osteoporosis,” said Nature magazine quoted Dr. Baohong Zhao, a research fellow in the Arthritis and Tissue Degeneration Program at Hospital for Special Surgery located in New York City, as saying.

The researchers discovered that downregulation of IRF-8 (meaning that the gene produces less IRF-8 protein) increases the production of cells called osteoclasts that are responsible for breaking down bone.

In humans and animals, bone formation and bone resorption are closely coupled processes involved in the normal remodelling of bone. Enhanced development of osteoclasts, however, can create canals and cavities that are hallmarks of diseases such as periodontitis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

The genome-wide study showed that the expression of IRF-8 was reduced by 75 percent in the initial phases of osteoclast development.

The genetically engineered mice deficient in IRF-8 had decreased bone mass and severe osteoporosis.

The researchers concluded that IRF-8 suppresses the production of osteoclasts.

“This is the first paper to identify that IRF-8 is a novel key inhibitory factor in osteoclastogenesis (production of osteoclasts),” said Zhao.

“We hope that the understanding of this gene can contribute to understanding the regulatory network of osteoclastogenesis and lead to new therapeutic approaches in the future,” Zhao added.

The study has been published in the journal Nature Medicine. (ANI)

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How plant tissues know which end is their growing tip

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 30 (ANI): A team of scientists has silenced nine genes in a multicellular organism, which allowed them to discover molecular secrets of how certain plant tissues know which end is their growing tip, also referred to as polarized growth.

The research was carried out by biologist Magdalena Bezanilla and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, US.

The biologists conducted these experiments in a moss, but the findings illuminate processes in two tissues-root hairs and pollen tubes-found in all seed plants.

Root hairs are extremely fine individual cells that grow out of a plant’s root, greatly increasing its surface area to collect water, essential minerals and nutrients.

Pollen tubes travel down the flower to fertilize the plant’s egg.

Scientists have “a very limited knowledge” at the molecular level of how such cells determine the direction they’re growing, according to Bezanilla.

Knowing how to interrupt pollen tube formation in plants such as corn and soybeans, for example, could help prevent genetically engineered crops from interbreeding with wild populations.

Aiding root hair growth could boost drought-resistance to other economically important plants.he researchers focused on two proteins, actin and formin.

Actin, in this case a kind of scaffold-builder needed to form root hairs and pollen tubes, forms filamentous polymers and is important for many cellular processes in species ranging from yeast to man. ormins, like actin, are found in many species and help to control actin polymer formation. Formins are critical for actin-based cellular processes.

Tools in a biologist’s kit can now remove the function of specific proteins-usually one or two at a time-to silence a gene, but in this study, the researchers succeeded in silencing a remarkable nine genes at one time.

Bezanilla and colleagues systematically silenced the many actin-regulating formins and determined which members of this protein family are needed to generate cells for proper tip growth.ther tools in the researchers’ kit are methods for re-introducing the silenced genes, either normal or modified versions.

By “swapping parts” from closely related formin proteins and measuring tip growing activity for each combination, her research group eventually concluded that only one intact subclass of formins drives normal growth and controls how the plant recognizes its growing tip.

“If you take away any part of the formin, tip growth stops,” said Bezanilla.

Interestingly, the researchers also discovered that this particular subclass of formins is the fastest yet known in any organism. (ANI)

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Our relation with BJP is that of mother and child: Bhagwat

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 28 (ANI): Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Friday that the relation between the RSS and the BJP is like that of a mother and a child.

Addressing a press conference at the Sangh headquarters here, Bhagwat said, “Our relation with BJP is like mother and child. Now, the child has become elder, and it is capable of taking its own decisions.”

Bhagwat said if the BJP asks for any suggestion of the RSS, it will give, ” If they want any help to reconstruct the party, we will certainly help them, but they have to ask for that.”

Responding to a question, Bhagwat said that the Sangh’s commitment’s to the building of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is intact.

“In 90s, we assured Ram Mandir Andolan leaders that the Sangh will stand with it in building a temple in Ayodhya, and we are still committed on it, we will take the Andolan till we construct the temple at the same site,” he said.

Rejecting the formation of two streams of thoughts in RSS ranks, Bhagwat said: “I don’t see any such deviation.”

” We expect our swayamsevaks (volunteers) to be committed to one nation and one culture, if any one goes beyond this thinking we will not consider him as Swayamsevak,” Bhagwat said.

“Sangh never considered power as ultimate way to achieve the ideological commitment, but power is also a mean to achieve it,” he said.

Bhagwat said it is for the BJP to decide on their way forward, and RSS will not dictate it.

Regarding RSS -Muslim relations, he said there are many Muslim workers who are also regularly attending Shakhas (Branches) and we haven’t stopped or restricted any one from coming to shakhas, “But I agree that the number is not visible at the higher level.”

Comparing the views of Sangh ideologue H.V.Sheshadri and the recent statement of former RSS chief Sudarshan on Jinnah, Bhagwat said, “They (Sheshadri and Sudarshan) did not praise Jinnah at all, they were evaluating a particular context in history with a scholarly touch.”

He also said that the banning of books represents a bad trend,

“We cannot stop others from having different thoughts. The RSS believes in taking all thoughts together in achieving national unity, Bhagwat said. Shreeraj Gudi (ANI)

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Genetic discovery could pave way for obesity, diabetes treatments

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 27 (ANI): Researchers at University of Central Florida have identified a new genetic mechanism that controls the body’s fat-building process, paving way for treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The discovery has the potential to help hundreds of millions of people and dramatically cut health care costs.

Led by Pappachan Kolattukudy, director of UCF’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Medicine, found that a gene called MCPIP (Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Induced Protein) controls the development of fat cells.

Until now, a different protein, known as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma), has been universally accepted as the master controller of fat cell formation, known as adipogenesis.

But the new findings has opened new doors for scientists looking forward to develop drugs that could benefit the more than 300 million people worldwide who are clinically obese, and who have much higher risks of suffering from chronic disease and disability.

Besides, it is projected that more than 300 million people will be diabetic by the year 2025.

Kolattukudy said MCPIP is potentially an ideal target for drugs that would prevent the body from becoming resistant to insulin and prone to type 2 diabetes.

“Our research has shown that MCPIP is a regulator of fat cell formation and blood vessel formation that feeds the growing fat tissue. Therefore, a drug that can shut down its function can prevent obesity and the major inflammatory diseases resulting from obesity, including diabetes and cardiovascular diseases,” the expert said.

For the study, the researchers introduced MCPIP to living cells from mice that had been stripped of the PPAR gamma gene and found that the cells still completed the developmental process necessary to build fat.

Now, the researchers are planning to explore chemical combinations to discover drugs that are effective at shutting down the novel gene.

The development of new drugs that can block or slow down the formation of MCPIP likely would take several years.

The findings will be published in the October issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. (ANI)

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Scientists find meteorite that came from innermost asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter

Findings from India’s Chandrayaan to provide new understanding of lunar surface

NASA’s Swift satellite makes best-ever ultraviolet portrait of Andromeda galaxy

Scientists unravel chemistry of Titan’s hazy atmosphere

Gene linked to male infertility identified

Declining CO2 levels helped in Antarctic formation 34 million years ago

Vitamin C can help protect DNA damage of skin cells

Nicotine plays “tricks” on the brain

How addictive drugs influence learning and memory

Turning off oncogene may inhibit lung cancer stem cells’ growth

Soon, simple jab to prevent prostate cancer

Spare gene in fish provides raw materials for evolution of new Traits

Andromeda galaxy expanded by cannibalizing on stars from other galaxies

‘Fifty to Sixty Pak militants waiting to infiltrate into India’

Gene behind gum disease, osteoporosis, arthritis identified

Our relation with BJP is that of mother and child: Bhagwat

Genetic discovery could pave way for obesity, diabetes treatments

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