Latest Yeast Stories
Until now, the mode of action of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate (N-BP) cancer drugs, used to relieve bone pain and to prevent skeletal complications in bone metastasis, has been almost entirely unknown. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology have used 'barcoded' yeast mutants to identify new biological processes involved in the cellular response to N-BPs, opening up opportunities for the development of new anticancer drugs.Daniela Delneri, from the...
Turning grape juice into wine is a stressful business for yeasts. Dr Agustin Aranda from the University of Valencia, Spain has identified the genes in yeast that enable it to respond to stress and is investigating ways to improve yeast performance by modifying its stress response mechanism.Speaking at the Society for General Microbiology meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, today (9 September), Dr Aranda described the stresses that wine yeasts undergo in the fermentation process....
On Friday, controversial biologist Dr Craig Venter said that the creation of artificial life was mere months from taking place.Venter reported that his team of researchers at the J Craig Venter Institute in Maryland had transferred the DNA of one type of bacteria into a yeast cell before modifying it and transferring in into another cell, according to the Daily Mail.Researchers said the new method allowed them to clone the entire bacterial genome from Mycoplasma mycoides by adding yeast...
Using electrolyzed water rather than harsh chemicals could be a more effective and environmentally friendly method in the pretreatment of ethanol waste products to produce an acetone-butanol-ethanol fuel mix, according to research conducted at the University of Illinois.When ethanol is produced, distiller's dried grain with solubles (DDGS) is a waste product. The DDGS is primarily used as animal feed, but researchers are searching for ways to extract the sugar and ferment it to produce an...
The flow of water into and out from the cell may play a crucial role in several types of cancer. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg have now found the gate that regulates the flow of water into yeast cells. The discovery, which will be published in the journal PLoS Biology, raises hopes of developing a drug that inhibits the spread and growth of tumors.All living organisms must be able to regulate the flow of water into and out from cells, in order to maintain cell form and size. This...
Water is a crucial ingredient for life, but its level inside cells must be carefully regulated to maintain proper cell shape and size. In this week's issue of the open access journal PLoS Biology, scientists from the University of Gothenburg describe the highest resolution three-dimensional structure yet of a membrane protein, in this case of a protein channel known as an aquaporin that regulates water flow into and out of yeast cells. Virtually all living organisms use aquaporins to regulate...
A group of researchers led by Carnegie Mellon University Biological Sciences Professor Aaron Mitchell has identified a novel regulatory gene network that plays an important role in the spread of common, and sometimes deadly, fungal infections. The findings, which establish the role of Zap1 protein in the activation of genes that regulate the synthesis of biofilm matrix, will be published in the June 16, 2009, issue of PLoS Biology.Candida albicans is a fungus, more specifically a yeast, which...
An emerging form of the pathogenic yeast Candida is able to complete a full sexual cycle in a test tube, even though it's missing the genes for reproduction. And it may also do so while infecting us, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers."Sex contributes to the Candida yeast species' evolutionary success," said Joseph Heitman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis in the Duke Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and co-author...
University of Southern California scientists say they have discovered glucose to glycerol conversion in long-lived yeast provides anti-aging effects. Researchers said they discovered yeast cells maintained on a glycerol diet live twice as long as normal -- as long as yeast cells on a severe caloric-restriction diet -- and are more resistant to cell damage. The scientists said their study is the first to propose that dietary substitution can replace dietary restriction in a living species. If...
Whitehead Institute researchers have quintupled the number of identifiable prion proteins in yeast and have further clarified the role prions play in the inheritance of both beneficial and detrimental traits."The big debate in the field is are the prions functional "“ are they evolved to be prions, or are they always a disease, as in "mad cow'" disease in mammals," says Randal Halfmann, a graduate student in Whitehead Member Susan Lindquist's lab, and co-author of the paper featured in the...
