News tagged with histone protein

Biologists' discovery may force revision of biology textbooks

Basic biology textbooks may need a bit of revising now that biologists at UC San Diego have discovered a never-before-noticed component of our basic genetic material.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Aug 18, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (23) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Ticking of cellular clock promotes seismic changes in the chromatin landscape associated with aging

Like cats, human cells have a finite number of lives-once they divide a certain number of times (thankfully, more than nine) they change shape, slow their pace, and eventually stop dividing, a phenomenon called ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 03, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (19) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New role for master regulator in cell metabolism, response to stress

AMP-activated protein kinase, or AMPK, is a master regulator protein of metabolism that is conserved from yeast to humans. When a cell is low on fuel, AMPK shuts down processes that use energy and turns on ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Jul 15, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

On the trail of the epigenetic code

The genetic inherited material DNA was long viewed as the sole bearer of hereditary information. The function of its packaging proteins, the histones, was believed to be exclusively structural. Additional ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 11, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Packaging process for genes discovered

Scientists at Penn State University have achieved a major milestone in the attempt to assemble, in a test tube, entire chromosomes from their component parts. The achievement reveals the process a cell uses ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Unlocking the secrets of cellular energy holds promise for obesity, diabetes and cancer

(PhysOrg.com) -- A breakthrough on how cells regulate their energy is promising for clinical gains into diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cancer. Researchers at McGill University and University of Pennsylvania have uncovered ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Jul 20, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Plant clock gene also works in human cells

A gene that controls part of the 'tick tock' in a plant's circadian clock has been identified by UC Davis researchers. And not only is the plant gene very similar to one in humans, but the human gene can work in plant cells ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 01, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A foot in the door to genetic information

In the cell nucleus, DNA wraps around what are called histone proteins, forming regularly spaced spherical bodies called nucleosomes. Thus, large portions of the genetic material are inaccessible to the gene reading machinery. ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Mar 07, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Possible drug target for obesity treatment a no-brainer: study

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have discovered a gene that when mutated causes obesity by dampening the body's ability to burn energy while leaving appetite unaffected.

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Feb 04, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Researchers explain process by which cells 'hide' potentially dangerous DNA segments

The DNA in the 23 pairs of chromosomes in each of the billions of cells of the human body is so tightly packed that it would measure six feet in length if stretched end to end. A genome of this size can squeeze into a cell's ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

NETs catch platelets and induce clots, linking inflammation with thrombosis

(PhysOrg.com) -- Neutrophils are the innate immune system's 'first responders,' fighting infection in several distinct ways. These white blood cells can engulf foreign particles via phagocytosis, or they may release antimicrobial ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Aug 25, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Chromosome centromeres are inherited epigenetically

Centromeres are specialised regions of the genome, which can be identified under the microscope as the primary constriction in X-shaped chromosomes. The cell skeleton, which distributes the chromosomes to ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Nov 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Control of gene expression: Histone occupancy in your genome

When stretched out, the genome of a single human cell can reach six feet. To package it all into a tiny nucleus, the DNA strand is tightly wrapped around a core of histone proteins in repeating units—each ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Scientists develop tool to study a deadly parasite’s histone code

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the Japanese art of paper folding, a series of folds can make the same sheet of paper into a ballerina or baby elephant. But try unfolding the baby elephant and making it into a ballerina. It’s like trying ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 14, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Scientists discover secret life of chromatin

Chromatin - the intertwined histone proteins and DNA that make up chromosomes – constantly receives messages that pour in from a cell’s intricate signaling networks: Turn that gene on. Stifle that one.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 01, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast