http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Human cells are thought to produce thousands of different microRNAs (miRNAs)—small pieces of genetic material that help determine which genes are turned on or off at a given time. miRNAs are an important part of normal cellular function, but they can also contribute to human disease—some are elevated in certain tumors, for example, where they promote cell survival. But to better understand how miRNAs influence health and disease, researchers first need to know which miRNAs are acting upon which genes—a big challenge considering their sheer number and the fact that each single miRNA can regulate hundreds of target genes. Enter miR-TRAP, a new easy-to-use method to directly identify miRNA targets in cells. This technique, developed by Tariq Rana, Ph.D., professor and program director at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), and his team, was first revealed in a paper published May 8 by the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition. http://phys.org/news255803122.html Chemistry Wed, 09 May 2012 17:26:12 EST news255803122 (Phys.org) -- Our genes control many aspects of who we are — from the colour of our hair to our vulnerability to certain diseases — but how are the genes, and consequently the proteins they make themselves controlled?  Researchers have discovered a new group of molecules which control some of the fundamental processes behind memory function and may hold the key to developing new therapies for treating neurodegenerative diseases. http://phys.org/news254723253.html Chemistry Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:27:54 EST news254723253 About 10 years ago, scientists discovered a new type of genetic material called microRNA, which appears to turn genes on or off inside a cell. More recently, they found that these genetic snippets often go haywire in cancer cells, contributing to tumors’ uncontrollable growth. http://phys.org/news233992058.html Chemistry Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:47:52 EST news233992058 Whenever it hears an unfamiliar song from a bird of the same species, a zebra finch stops chirping, hopping and grooming. It listens attentively for minutes at a time, occasionally cocking its head but otherwise immobile. Once it becomes familiar with the song, it goes back to its busy routine. http://phys.org/news228659242.html Biology Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:27:56 EST news228659242 The project, led by Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Nham Tran and Head of the Translational Cancer Research Group Dr. Rosetta Martiniello-Wilks, will establish if microRNA collected from body fluids can signal the early stages of the disease. http://phys.org/news217178760.html Medicine & Health Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:26:12 EST news217178760 New research from the University of Sheffield has revealed that the molecular mechanism underlying deafness is caused by a mutation of a specific microRNA called miR-96. The discovery could provide the basis for treating progressive hearing loss and deafness. http://phys.org/news214830026.html Medicine & Health Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:00:43 EST news214830026 Each year, dengue fever infects as many as 100 million people while yellow fever is responsible for about 30,000 deaths worldwide. Both diseases are spread by infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which require vertebrate blood to produce eggs. The blood feeding and the egg development are tightly linked to how the mosquito transmits the disease-causing virus. http://phys.org/news210528024.html Biology Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:00:46 EST news210528024 (PhysOrg.com) -- Whitehead Institute researchers have shown in mouse models that overexpression of the microRNA 125b (miR-125b) can independently cause leukemia and accelerate the disease's progression. Their results are published in this week's online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://phys.org/news210269484.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:11:36 EST news210269484 In two out of three breast tumors, extraordinarily high levels of the estrogen receptor ERalpha are found. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center have now uncovered a mechanism which causes this overproduction. This result might contribute to developing new strategies for fighting the most frequent type of cancer affecting women. http://phys.org/news209729553.html Medicine & Health Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:12:42 EST news209729553 Hormones, growth factors and several proteins ensure that development occurs in the right way, at the right time. The components that cause breast development in mammals, for example, were thought to be largely known. However, as a team of scientists from Göttingen, Frankfurt and Hanover have now discovered, in the case of breast development, hormones and proteins do not account for the full story. The scientists have shown that tiny ribonucleic acid molecules play a key role in this process. The mammary glands of mice lacking the gene for the microRNAs 212 and 132 failed to grow at puberty. (Nature Genetics, Nov. 7, 2010) http://phys.org/news208521898.html Medicine & Health Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:20:01 EST news208521898 A variant site linked to poor outcome in advanced colorectal cancer has now been found to predict improved prognosis in early stages of cancer, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research special conference on Colorectal Cancer: Biology to Therapy, held Oct. 27-30, 2010. http://phys.org/news207492665.html Medicine & Health Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:30:02 EST news207492665 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a new electronic method for detecting microRNA isolated from living cells. MicroRNAs are a class of small biomolecules that control gene expression into proteins, the “workers” of the cell. MicroRNAs act by binding to specific messenger RNAs that code for proteins, and, by doing so, inhibit protein synthesis. http://phys.org/news207297812.html Nanotechnology Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:43:50 EST news207297812 While most commonly associated with mononucleosis, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been linked to many diseases that affect people long after the initial infection takes place, including some forms of cancer. In the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists at The Wistar Institute describe how viral microRNA – small segments of RNA that suppress the effects of gene activity – allows EBV to hide within cells and evade the immune system. The scientists believe their findings may one day enable physicians to flush EBV out of hiding, allowing a healthy immune system to rid the body of the virus. http://phys.org/news207241861.html Chemistry Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:11:09 EST news207241861 Thanks to a discovery by a Saint Louis University researcher, scientists have identified an important microRNA that may allow us to better control cholesterol levels in blood. http://phys.org/news205501301.html Medicine & Health Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:42:16 EST news205501301 A new microRNA (miRNA) screening assay detected the majority of early-stage colorectal cancers with good specificity and sensitivity. http://phys.org/news204998148.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:00:01 EST news204998148 Scientists may have discovered a way to diagnose bladder cancer at its earliest and, therefore, most treatable stages by measuring the presence or absence of microRNA using already available laboratory tests. http://phys.org/news204910402.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:40:01 EST news204910402 Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a new way to regulate the uncontrolled growth of blood vessels, a major problem in a broad range of diseases and conditions. http://phys.org/news199886285.html Medicine & Health Sun, 01 Aug 2010 13:00:01 EST news199886285 Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a molecular pathway responsible for the death of key nerve cells whose loss causes Parkinson's disease. This discovery not only may explain how a genetic mutation linked to Parkinson's causes the cells' death, but could also open the door to new therapeutic approaches for the malady. http://phys.org/news199471154.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:00:03 EST news199471154 Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have found that a particular type of genetic material plays a key role in determining vulnerability to cocaine addiction and may offer an entirely new direction for the development of anti-addiction therapies. In animal studies, the scientists found that a molecule called microRNA-212 was increased in the brains of test animals that had extended access to cocaine. MicroRNA-212 controlled how much cocaine the animals consumed. http://phys.org/news197741188.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:07:02 EST news197741188 (PhysOrg.com) -- Yale University researchers have discovered a novel viral survival strategy, an insight that could help scientists better understand how viruses contribute to diseases such as cancer and AIDS. http://phys.org/news196065180.html Chemistry Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:34:05 EST news196065180 (PhysOrg.com) -- MicroRNAs can move between cells and play a role in their communication. This discovery was made by plant researchers at Uppsala University together with colleagues from Finland and the US when they were studying mechanisms that control the development of plant roots. The study is published in the Web edition of the journal Nature. http://phys.org/news192216256.html Biology Tue, 04 May 2010 18:50:01 EST news192216256 Ever since tiny bits of genetic material known as microRNA were first characterized in the early 1990s, scientists have been discovering just how important they are to regulating the activity of genes within cells. http://phys.org/news191068798.html Biology Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:00:14 EST news191068798 Researchers have identified a self-feeding "vicious circle" of molecules that keeps acute leukemia cells alive and growing and that drives the disease forward. http://phys.org/news190395813.html Medicine & Health Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:44:18 EST news190395813 Scientists have determined that chronic wounds might have trouble healing because of the actions of a tiny piece of a molecular structure in cells known as RNA. http://phys.org/news188497286.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:21:41 EST news188497286 Researchers around the globe are working on turning microRNAs, over 5,000 of which already have been identified, into novel drugs for a wide range of applications, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). These noncoding single-stranded RNAs act through binding to complementary mRNA sequences, thus preventing their translation into protein or accelerating mRNA breakdown, according to the March 15 issue of GEN. http://phys.org/news188218129.html Biology Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:49:17 EST news188218129 Scientists may have uncovered a mechanism for resistance to paclitaxel in ovarian cancer, microRNA-31, suggesting a possible therapeutic target for overcoming chemotherapy resistance. http://phys.org/news187509245.html Medicine & Health Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:30:02 EST news187509245 Researchers have discovered a key reason why a form of leukemia progresses from its more-treatable chronic phase to a life-threatening phase called blast crisis. http://phys.org/news186946174.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:50:01 EST news186946174 Between 5 and 10 percent of babies with Down syndrome develop a transient form of leukemia that usually resolves on its own. However, for reasons that haven't been clear, 20 to 30 percent of these babies progress to a more serious leukemia known as Down syndrome acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (DS-AMKL), which affects the blood progenitor cells that form red blood cells and platelets. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have found a gene regulator they believe to be a key player in DS-AMKL, advancing understanding of how the disease develops and how to treat it. http://phys.org/news186659918.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:59:01 EST news186659918 Biologists at the University of Pennsylvania studying oocytes in mice, the immature egg cells necessary for sexual reproduction, have demonstrated an unusual behavior in microRNA, or miRNA, activity that may be the first event in reprogramming the differentiated oocyte into pluripotent blastomeres of the embryo. MicroRNAs are a member of the family of small RNAs, the so-called dark matter of the biological world. http://phys.org/news184422567.html Biology Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:31:21 EST news184422567 (PhysOrg.com) -- A small RNA molecule, known as a microRNA, may help physicians identify liver cancer patients who, in spite of their poor prognosis, could respond well to treatment with a biological agent called interferon. The finding, by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their partners at Fudan University, Shanghai, and the University of Hong Kong in China and at Ohio State University, Columbus, appeared in the Oct. 8, 2009, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. http://phys.org/news174216862.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:34:54 EST news174216862