Trigger for Brain Plasticity Identified
Researchers have long sought a factor that can trigger the brain's ability to learn—and perhaps recapture the "sponge-like" quality of childhood. Now, professor Takao Hensch and colleagues have identified a protein called Otx 2 that helps a key type of cell in the brain to mature, initiating a critical period when the brain can readily make new connections.
Lab Grants Unprecedented Access to RNAi Screen Results
The recent explosion of genetic screens fostered by a process called RNA interference (RNAi) imbues scientists with new responsibilities when it comes to sharing information. After screening for genes that influence cell migration, professor Joan Brugge and colleagues developed a user-friendly, interactive database, granting unprecedented access to the resulting information. The new database brings scientists closer to understanding a biological process that's key to both normal development and disease.
Additional topics at Genetics.
Another Piece of the Weight-Control Puzzle Identified
As scientists continue to investigate the brain’s intricate circuitry, they are forming a clearer picture of the myriad events that lead to weight gain and loss. A recent study by professor Bradford Lowell and colleagues has identified an important piece of this complex puzzle. Additional topics at Obesity.
Researchers halt spread of HIV with RNAi
Using a novel method to deliver small molecules called siRNAs into T cells, Premlata Shankar, Priti Kumar, and colleagues dramatically suppressed HIV in the first-ever animal model that mirrors progression of the disease in humans. Additional topics at HIV/AIDS.
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Copyright 2008 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
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