This month in Bio-Med Roundup:

• Boilard et al. reported that microparticles released by platelets contribute to inflammation underlying rheumatoid arthritis.
• Maze et al. found that cocaine suppression of histone methylation in the nucleus accumbens mediates the drug's ability to enhance reward.
• Tanaka et al. described the structure of a protein-based organelle in E. coli.
• Graham et al. presented a genetic map of the plant Artemisia annua, and identified targets for enhancing yield of the antimalarial drug artemisinin.

Jump to:

• Medicine
• Neuroscience/Psychology
• Cell/Developmental Biology
• Biochemistry
• Genetics
• Molecular Biology
• Plant Science
• Physiology

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MEDICINE

The Tasmanian Devil Transcriptome Reveals Schwann Cell Origins of a Clonally Transmissible Cancer (1 January 2010)
E. P. Murchison et al.
Sequencing the Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease provides a potential diagnostic marker.

Therapeutic Silencing of MicroRNA-122 in Primates with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection (8 January 2010)
R. E. Lanford et al.
Targeting a microRNA required for hepatitis C virus infection reduces disease symptoms in chimpanzees.

Overexpression of Alpha2A-Adrenergic Receptors Contributes to Type 2 Diabetes (8 January 2010)
A. H. Rosengren et al.
Sequence variations in an adrenergic receptor gene cause reduced insulin secretion and contribute to type 2 diabetes.

Tuberculous Granuloma Induction via Interaction of a Bacterial Secreted Protein with Host Epithelium (22 January 2010)
H. E. Volkman et al.
Epithelial cells play a role in tubercular granuloma formation and mycobacterial virulence.
See related Perspective

Evolution of MRSA During Hospital Transmission and Intercontinental Spread (22 January 2010)
S. R. Harris et al.
By tracing the microevolution of a pathogen, high-throughput genomics reveals person-to-person transmission events.

Platelets Amplify Inflammation in Arthritis via Collagen-Dependent Microparticle Production (29 January 2010)
E. Boilard et al.
Microparticles released by platelets contribute to inflammation underlying rheumatoid arthritis.
See related Perspective

p53 Controls Radiation-Induced Gastrointestinal Syndrome in Mice Independent of Apoptosis (29 January 2010)
D. G. Kirsch et al.
Ionizing radiation destroys gastrointestinal epithelial cells by a mechanism that appears to be independent of apoptosis.


NEUROSCIENCE/PSYCHOLOGY

Dendritic Mechanisms Underlying Rapid Synaptic Activation of Fast-Spiking Hippocampal Interneurons (1 January 2010)
H. Hu et al.
Potassium channel enrichment in the dendrites of hippocampal basket cells defines a mechanism of neural network function.

Reproducibility Distinguishes Conscious from Nonconscious Neural Representations (1 January 2010)
A. Schurger et al.
Analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data reveals that neural activation patterns are more reproducible for seen versus unseen objects.
See related Perspective

Punishers Benefit From Third-Party Punishment in Fish (8 January 2010)
N. J. Raihani et al.
In cleaner fish, punishment of foraging partners who cheat a client benefits punishers by increasing future cooperation.

Essential Role of the Histone Methyltransferase G9a in Cocaine-Induced Plasticity (8 January 2010)
I. Maze et al.
Cocaine suppression of histone methylation in the nucleus accumbens mediates the drug's ability to enhance reward.

Zebrafish Behavioral Profiling Links Drugs to Biological Targets and Rest/Wake Regulation (15 January 2010)
J. Rihel et al.
The effects of most neuroactive drugs are conserved and can be detected by behavioral screening.

Impact of Spikelets on Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Cell Activity During Spatial Exploration (22 January 2010)
J. Epsztein et al.
Bursts of small voltage spikes coordinate neuron firing in the brain during spatial exploration.

Local and Long-Range Reciprocal Regulation of cAMP and cGMP in Axon/Dendrite Formation (29 January 2010)
M. Shelly et al.
Cyclic adenosine monophosphate and cyclic guanosine monophosphate regulate axon formation and exert opposite actions on dendrite formation.

Objective Confirmation of Subjective Measures of Human Well-Being: Evidence from the U.S.A. (29 January 2010)
A. J. Oswald and S. Wu
Subjective life-satisfaction scores agree with objective measures of well-being across 50 American states.
See related Perspective

Decorrelated Neuronal Firing in Cortical Microcircuits (29 January 2010)
A. S. Ecker et al.
Despite dense connectivity and shared input, the firing rates of nearby neurons are largely uncorrelated.

The Asynchronous State in Cortical Circuits (29 January 2010)
A. Renart et al.
A general theoretical description of correlations in highly connected recurrent neuronal circuits.


CELL/DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

O-Mannosyl Phosphorylation of Alpha-Dystroglycan Is Required for Laminin Binding (1 January 2010)
T. Yoshida-Moriguchi et al.
A posttranslational sugar modification required to prevent certain dystrophies is identified and characterized.

A Transient Niche Regulates the Specification of Drosophila Intestinal Stem Cells (8 January 2010)
D. Mathur et al.
Intestinal stem cell progenitors use Notch signaling to specify a niche cell that remains undifferentiated until metamorphosis.

G Protein Subunit Gα₁₃ Binds to Integrinα_IIbβ₃ and Mediates Integrin "Outside-In" Signaling (15 January 2010)
H. Gong et al.
Cell adhesion mediated by integrins is coupled to intracellular signaling by direct binding to G proteins.

Requirement of Prorenin Receptor and Vacuolar H+-ATPase-Mediated Acidification for Wnt Signaling (22 January 2010)
C.-M. Cruciat et al.
A dual-function protein acts as an adaptor in a major developmental signaling pathway.

Identification of RACK1 and Protein Kinase Cα as Integral Components of the Mammalian Circadian Clock (22 January 2010)
M. S. Robles et al.
Rhythmic activation of signaling occurs by core components of the biological clock mechanism.


BIOCHEMISTRY

Structure and Mechanisms of a Protein-Based Organelle in Escherichia coli (1 January 2010)
S. Tanaka et al.
Structures of the shell proteins from a bacterial organelle help to explain how it functions in metabolizing ethanolamine.
See related Perspective

Topology Links RNA Secondary Structure with Global Conformation, Dynamics, and Adaptation (8 January 2010)
M. H. Bailor et al.
Topological constraints imposed by the secondary structure determine the global conformation ensemble sampled by RNA.

Structure of an RNA Polymerase II-TFIIB Complex and the Transcription Initiation Mechanism (8 January 2010)
X. Liu et al.
X-ray structures provide more details on the initiation of transcription.

Tetrathiomolybdate Inhibits Copper Trafficking Proteins Through Metal Cluster Formation (15 January 2010)
H. M. Alvarez et al.
Complex formation between a copper chaperone and a metallo-drug prevents copper transfer to target enzymes.


GENETICS

Human Genome Sequencing Using Unchained Base Reads on Self-Assembling DNA Nanoarrays (1 January 2010)
R. Drmanac et al.
A low-cost sequencing technique advances us closer to the goal of the $1000 human genome.

Adaptive Evolution of Pelvic Reduction in Sticklebacks by Recurrent Deletion of a Pitx1 Enhancer (15 January 2010)
Y. F. Chan et al.
Loss of a tissue-specific enhancer explains multiple parallel losses of the pelvic girdle in stickleback populations.

Functional and Evolutionary Insights from the Genomes of Three Parasitoid Nasonia Species (15 January 2010)
The Nasonia Genome Working Group
The genomes of three parasitoid wasp species offer insights into speciation, insect evolution, and parasitoid biology.

The Genetic Landscape of a Cell (22 January 2010)
M. Costanzo et al.
A genome-wide interaction map of yeast identifies genetic interactions, networks, and function.


MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Phosphorylation of H2A by Bub1 Prevents Chromosomal Instability Through Localizing Shugoshin (8 January 2010)
S. A. Kawashima et al.
Phosphorylation of the chromatin protein histone H2A plays a critical role in chromosome segregation during cell division.
See related Perspective

Hungry Codons Promote Frameshifting in Human Mitochondrial Ribosomes (15 January 2010)
R. Temperley et al.
During translation of mitochondrial genes, shifting the ribosome reading frame avoids unconventional arginine codons.

Global Analysis of Short RNAs Reveals Widespread Promoter-Proximal Stalling and Arrest of Pol II in Drosophila (15 January 2010)
S. Nechaev et al.
The initially transcribed sequence plays a key role in inducing polymerase stalling.

Direct Restart of a Replication Fork Stalled by a Head-On RNA Polymerase (29 January 2010)
R. T. Pomerantz and M. O'Donnell
Head-on collisions between DNA and RNA polymerases are resolved in vitro.


PLANT SCIENCE

The Rate and Molecular Spectrum of Spontaneous Mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana (1 January 2010)
S. Ossowski et al.
Rapid sequencing technologies allow a more accurate calculation of the mutation rate for plants.

Targeted 3' Processing of Antisense Transcripts Triggers Arabidopsis FLC Chromatin Silencing (1 January 2010)
F. Liu et al.
A backward transcript of the FLOWERING LOCUS C gene of Arabidopsis is involved in regulation of the sense-strand transcription.

The Genetic Map of Artemisia annua L. Identifies Loci Affecting Yield of the Antimalarial Drug Artemisinin (15 January 2010)
I. A. Graham et al.
A linkage map for an important medicinal crop plant points to breeding targets for enhancing drug production.
See related Perspective

Role of ABA and ABI3 in Desiccation Tolerance (29 January 2010)
A. Khandelwal et al.
The hormone pathway that stabilizes seeds may have served more primitive seedless plants in supporting desiccation tolerance.


PHYSIOLOGY

Unidirectional Airflow in the Lungs of Alligators (15 January 2010)
C. G. Farmer and K. Sanders
Crocodilian and bird lungs share patterns of air flow, indicating a common evolutionary origin.

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