Welcome to the first issue of Science Bio•Med Roundup, AAAS's update of bio-medical research published in Science and compiled specifically for the Life Science and Medical community, covering topics in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, developmental biology, medicine, neuroscience, and plant biology.If you would like to receive Bio-Med Roundup every month, please go to: http://www2.sciencecareers.org/promos/biosubmit.asp and fill out the form. Please send any questions or comments to memuser@aaas.org.
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This month in Bio•Med Roundup:

  • Balaban et al. and Miller et al. provided insights into how some bacteria are able to survive antibiotic treatment.
  • Song et al. and Hammond et al. detailed the structure and activity of "Slicer," a key enzyme involved in RNA interference (RNAi).
  • Lee et al. and Humbles et al. showed that immune cells called eosinophils play an integral role in allergic asthma.
  • Walensky et al. and Li et al. described the synthesis of small molecules that trigger cell death, and might therefore be useful in treating cancer.

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    This issue of Science Bio•Med Roundup is sponsored by: Greiner Bio-One: DNA-Chip CarnoCheck®
    Greiner Bio-One GmbH, a leading international technology partner for the diagnostic and pharmaceutical industry, is bringing its latest development on the market. CarnoCheck® is a highly specialised biochip, with which for the first time traces of up to eight animal species can be detected. Given the increasing risks for both consumers and producers arising from incompletely declared product residues, Greiner Bio-One anticipates widespread market resonance for CarnoCheck®, especially in the food processing industries. www.gbo.com/bioscience.
    MICROBIOLOGY

    Reverse Methanogenesis: Testing the Hypothesis with Environmental Genomics ( 3 September 2004 )
    S. J. Hallam, N. Putnam, C. M. Preston, J. C. Detter, D. Rokhsar, P. M. Richardson, E. F. DeLong
    Methane-producing bacteria in ocean sediments coexist with Archaea that can anaerobically oxidize methane by running the methane-generating reaction in reverse.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5689/1457

    Bacterial Persistence as a Phenotypic Switch ( 10 September 2004 )
    N. Q. Balaban, J. Merrin, R. Chait, L. Kowalik, S. Leibler
    In a bacterial population, a few members that shift to a slow growth rate can survive antibiotic treatment.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5690/1622
    See related Perspective at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5690/1578

    SOS Response Induction by b -Lactams and Bacterial Defense Against Antibiotic Lethality ( 10 September 2004 )
    C. Miller, L. E. Thomsen, C. Gaggero, R. Mosseri, H. Ingmer, S. N. Cohen
    Common antibiotics that inhibit bacterial cell wall synthesis induce a cellular response to DNA damage, halting DNA replication and allowing the bacteria to survive short-term antibiotic treatment.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5690/1629
    See related Perspective at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5690/1578

    Iron-Source Preference of Staphylococcus aureus Infections ( 10 September 2004 )
    E. P. Skaar, M. Humayun, T. Bae, K. L. DeBord. O. Schneewind
    Isotope tracers and genetic data reveal that most of the iron used by pathogenic bacteria comes from heme in the blood of their hosts.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5690/1626
    See related Perspective at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5690/1577

    The Genomic Sequence of the Accidental Pathogen Legionella pneumophila ( 24 September 2004 )
    M. Chien, I. Morozova, S. Shi, H. Sheng, J. Chen, S. M. Gomez, G. Asamani, K. Hill, J. Nuara, M. Feder, J. Rineer, J. J. Greenberg, V. Steshenko, S. H. Park, B. Zhao, E. Teplitskaya, J. R. Edwards, S. Pampou, A. Georghiou, I.-C. Chou, W. Iannuccilli, M. E. Ulz, D. H. Kim, A. Geringer-Sameth, C. Goldsberry, P. Morozov, S. G. Fischer, G. Segal, X. Qu, A. Rzhetsky, P. Zhang, E. Cayanis, P. J. De Jong, J. Ju, S. Kalachikov, H. A. Shuman, J. J. Russo
    The genome of the bacteria responsible for Legionnaires' disease contains more than 350 binding proteins and transporters, which may account for its abilities to resist eradication and to infect a wide variety of hosts.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5692/1966 

    MOLECULAR BIOLOGY/BIOCHEMISTRY

    Crystal Structure of Argonaute and Its Implications for RISC Slicer Activity ( 3 September 2004 )
    J.-J. Song, S. K. Smith, G. J. Hannon, L. Joshua-Tor
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5689/1434

    Argonaute2 Is the Catalytic Engine of Mammalian RNAi ( 3 September 2004 )
    J. Liu, M. A. Carmell, F. V. Rivas, C. G. Marsden, J. M. Thomson, J.-J. Song, S. M. Hammond, L. Joshua-Tor, G. J. Hannon
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5689/1437
    The protein responsible for targeting and destroying RNA in RNAi has been identified, and its structure determined.
    See related Perspective at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5689/1409

    Mechanism of Ammonia Transport by Amt/MEP/Rh: Structure of AmtB at 1.35 Å ( 10 September 2004 )
    S. Khademi, J. O'Connell III, J. Remis, Y. Robles-Colmenares, L. J. W. Miercke, R. M. Stroud
    A high-resolution structure of a specific transporter shows that gaseous ammonia, not charged protonated ammonium, moves across cellular membranes.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5690/1587
    See related Perspective at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5690/1573

    Methanobactin, a Copper-Acquisition Compound from Methane-Oxidizing Bacteria ( 10 September 2004 )
    H. J. Kim, D. W. Graham, A. A. DiSpirito, M. A. Alterman, N. Galeva, C. K. Larive, D. Asunskis, P. M. A. Sherwood
    The structure of a small, yellow, fluorescent peptide from methanotrophic bacteria suggests that it may bind copper extracellularly and mediate its uptake.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5690/1612

    Crystal Structure of a Shark Single-Domain Antibody V Region in Complex with Lysozyme ( 17 September 2004 )
    R. L. Stanfield, H. Dooley, M. F. Flajnik, I. A. Wilson
    Single-chain antibodies from the nurse shark contain two antigen-recognizing regions, whereas mammals have three; yet the shark antibodies bind just as tightly.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5691/1770

    CELL BIOLOGY

     Activation of Endogenous Cdc42 Visualized in Living Cells ( 10 September 2004 )
    P. Nalbant, L. Hodgson, V. Kraynov, A. Toutchkine, K. M. Hahn
    A new reagent reveals when and where a specific small regulatory molecule is activated, relating it to the protrusion and retraction of living cells.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5690/1615

    Mitochondrial Fusion Intermediates Revealed in Vitro ( 17 September 2004 )
    S. Meeusen, J. M. McCaffery, J. Nunnari
    Mitochondria, the double membrane—bound organelles that generate energy for the cell, fuse with one another using quite different mechanisms for joining the inner and outer membranes.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5691/1747
    See related Perspective at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5691/1723

    Two Distinct Actin Networks Drive the Protrusion of Migrating Cells ( 17 September 2004 )
    A. Ponti, M. Machacek, S. L. Gupton, C. M. Waterman-Storer, G. Danuser
    The leading edge of moving cells contains a population of actin molecules involved with membrane protrusion and retraction and another that powers the cell's movement.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5691/1782

    Soma—Germ Line Competition for Lipid Phosphate Uptake Regulates Germ Cell Migration and Survival ( 24 September 2004 )
    A. D. Renault, Y. J. Sigal, A. J. Morris, R. Lehmann
    The hydrolysis and uptake of a lipid signaling molecule by somatic cells repels germ cells, but hydrolysis and uptake by germ cells themselves is required for their survival and migration.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5692/1963

    DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

    Bmp4 and Morphological Variation of Beaks in Darwin's Finches ( 3 September 2004 )
    A. Abzhanov, M. Protas, B. R. Grant, P. R. Grant, C. J. Tabin
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5689/1462

    Molecular Shaping of the Beak
    P. Wu, T.-X. Jiang, S. Suksaweang, R. B. Widelitz, C.-M. Chuong
    The distribution of a key growth factor very early in development shapes the duck's bill and the chicken's beak, as well as the more subtle structural differences among the beaks of Galapagos finches.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5689/1465

    Advanced Cardiac Morphogenesis Does Not Require Heart Tube Fusion ( 10 September 2004 )
    S. Li, D. Zhou, M. M. Lu, E. E. Morrisey
    Mice that lack a transcription factor involved in fusing the two halves of the embryonic heart unexpectedly develop two apparently normal hearts.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/305/5690/1619

    Environmentally Induced Foregut Remodeling by PHA-4/FoxA and DAF-12/NHR ( 17 September 2004 )
    W. Ao, J. Gaudet, W. J. Kent, S. Muttumu, S. E. Mango
    Clusters of genes activated in different cell types of the developing worm form a regulatory network that directs foregut development in response to external stimuli.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5691/1743

    MEDICINE

    Activation of Apoptosis in Vivo by a Hydrocarbon-Stapled BH3 Helix ( 3 September 2004 )
    L. D. Walensky, A. L. Kung, I. Escher, T. J. Malia, S. Barbuto, R. D. Wright, G. Wagner, G. L. Verdine, S. J. Korsmeyer
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5689/1466

    A Small Molecule Smac Mimic Potentiates TRAIL- and TNFa-Mediated Cell Death ( 3 September 2004 )
    L. Li, R. M. Thomas, H. Suzuki, J. K. De Brabander, X. Wang, P. G. Harran
    Two potential new drugs—one a chemically stabilized portion of a cellular protein and the other a small molecular substitute for a key protein-protein interaction—trigger cell death and may be useful in treating cancer.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5689/1471
    See related Perspective at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5689/1411

    Defining a Link with Asthma in Mice Congenitally Deficient in Eosinophils ( 17 September 2004 )
    J. J. Lee, D. Dimina, M. P. Macia, S. I. Ochkur, M. P. McGarry, K. R. O'Neill, C. Protheroe, R. Pero, T. Nguyen, S. A. Cormier, E. Lenkiewicz , D. Colbert, L. Rinaldi, S. J. Ackerman, C. G. Irvin, N. A. Lee
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5691/1773

    A Critical Role for Eosinophils in Allergic Airways Remodeling ( 17 September 2004 )
    A. A. Humbles, C. M. Lloyed, S. J. McMillan, D. S. Friend, G. Xanthou, E. E. McKenna, S. Ghiran, N. P. Gerard, C. Yu, S. H. Orkin, C. Gerard
    An immune cell that appears in the mouse lung during asthma-like attacks seems to cause rapid lung dysfunction and later to produce changes in lung structure.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5691/1776
    See related Perspective at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5691/1726

    Distance Communication Transfer of HIV Prevention Interventions to Service Providers ( 24 September 2004 )
    J. A. Kelly, A. M. Somlai, E. G. Benotsch, T. L. McAuliffe, Y. A. Amirkhanian, K. D. Brown, L.Y. Stevenson, M. I. Fernandez, C. Sitzler, C. Gore-Felton, S. D. Pinkerton, L. S. Weinhardt, K. M. Opgenorth
    Use of a CD teaching tool helps health care providers in developing countries adopt new AIDS prevention programs more effectively than do previous methods.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5692/1953

    NEUROSCIENCE

    Asymmetric Cochlear Processing Mimics Hemispheric Specialization (10 September 2004)
    Y. S. Sininger and B. Cone-Wesson
    In human infants, the right ear responds preferentially to speechlike sounds, whereas the left responds better to tones, correlating with functional brain asymmetries in adults.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5690/1581

    Children Creating Core Properties of Language: Evidence from an Emerging Sign Language in Nicaragua (17 September 2004)
    A. Senghas, S. Kita, A. Özyürek
    A sign language developed by deaf children consists of discrete units similar to those of spoken language, perhaps reflecting the fundamental organization of the brain's language centers.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5691/1779
    See related Perspective at: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/305/5691/1720

    Recycling Endosomes Supply AMPA Receptors for LTP (24 September 2004)
    M. Park, E. C. Penick, J. G. Edwards, J. A. Kauer, M. D. Ehlers
    The receptors added to strengthen synapses on neurons during learning come from a pool carried in recycled membranes.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5692/1972

    PLANT BIOLOGY

    Zooming In on a Quantitative Trait for Tomato Yield Using Interspecific Introgressions (17 September 2004)
    E. Fridman, F. Carrari, Y.-S. Liu, A. R. Fernie, D. Zamir
    The sweetness of ketchup tomatoes is partly determined by a single point mutation in the enzyme that generates glucose and fructose.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5691/1786

    PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 1 Is a Critical bHLH Regulator of Chlorophyll Biosynthesis (24 September 2004)
    E. Huq, B. Al-Sady, M. Hudson, C. Kim, K. Apel, P. H. Quail
    When plant seedlings break ground and are first exposed to light, a specific transcription factor is activated that initiates chlorophyll synthesis.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5692/1937

    Nitric Oxide Represses the Arabidopsis Floral Transition (24 September 2004)
    Y. He, R.-H. Tang, Y. Hao, R. D. Stevens, C. W. Cook, S. M. Ahn, L. Jing, Z. Yang, L. Chen, F. Guo, F. Fiorani, R. B. Jackson, N. M. Crawford, Z.-M. Pei
    Production of the gas nitric oxide in plant cells is suppressed by internal cues and day length, releasing its inhibition of flowering.
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/305/5692/1968

    Greiner Bio-One: New LBR plates for protein crystallisation
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