Cell & Molecular Biology

Double take For the first time, cloned human embryos survived long enough to yield stem cells, potential seeds for tissues tailored to a patient’s genetic identity (165: 99*). Researchers later replicated the experiment in monkeys, providing a model for studying cloning in people (166: 371).

Fat chance A study revealed that adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat cells, prompts the brain to boost the body’s metabolic rate (165: 245*).

Sunny solution A lotion containing certain snippets of DNA reduced skin cancer in mice exposed to ultraviolet light (165: 147*).

Fatal flu Scientists announced that variations in a single gene might have dramatically increased the virulence of the 1918 Spanish flu (166: 269).

Cancer flip-flop A class of genes known as conditional suppressors was found to switch between halting and promoting cancer (166: 149).

Two mommies By fusing two egg cells, researchers created a mouse with no father (165: 333).

Aping DNA An examination yielded surprisingly large differences between the genetic material of humans and their closest evolutionary relatives, chimps, with the two differing in about 68,000 stretches of DNA just on chromosome 22 (165: 382).

Size matters Worms with longer telomeres, caplike DNA structures on the tips of chromosomes, lived longer than their counterparts (165: 349).

Buzz off A sweat-sensing protein on the surface of olfactory cells enables female mosquitoes to target human skin, a study revealed (165: 62).

Unhealthy change Bacteria that form films proved to diversify into several different types, making infections caused by these organisms harder to treat (166: 324).

Waste not A class of proteins seemed to trigger muscle atrophy, a finding that could lead to new treatments for muscle wasting (165: 292).

First merger New research suggested that two ancient, rudimentary organisms merged to create the first complex cell (166: 222).

Scrambled dogma A study in mice provided evidence that the ovaries of even mature rodents retain a population of cells that can spawn new eggs (165: 163).

RAT MAP

Researchers sequenced the full genome of the rat, a development that will be a boon for lab research and will improve understanding of the species’ evolution (165: 211).

Copyright Science Service, Incorporated Dec 18-Dec 25, 2004