Near-infrared spectroscopy is a novel and promising technology for cost effective and noninvasive brain imaging in research and clinical practice. Utilizing the fact that near-infrared light is mostly absorbed by tissue hemoglobin, one can measure the intensity of light scattered and reflected by tissue (e.g., brain) to track local changes in hemoglobin concentrations within cortical layers (ne...

Using a clever combination of genetic and biochemical tools researchers have shown that a transcription factor called USF1 has a central role in determining how mutations of the Clock gene manifest themselves in the behaviour of different mouse strains.

Cutaneous malignant melanoma is rapidly increasing in the developed world and continues to be a challenge in the clinic. Although extensive epidemiologic evidence points to solar UV as the major risk factor for melanoma, there is a significant gap in our knowledge about how this most ubiquitous environmental carcinogen interacts with the largest organ of the mammalian body (skin) at the microen...

J ust as many people apply sunscreen before they go to the beach, bacteria, fungi and algae that spend much of their time in the sun also need to protect themselves from solar radiation. These organisms make small molecules that act as sunscreens by absorbing harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Small-molecule sunscreens—which include compounds called the mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and ...

“The UFOs that never were” We climbed over the fence and started heading towards the red and blue lights and they just disappeared. Once we reached the farmer’s house we could see a beacon going around so we went towards it. We followed it for about 2 miles before we could see it was coming from a lighthouse. John Burroughs January 1981 statement When we got within a 50 meter distance. The obje...

Regulation of apoptosis by Bcl-2 family proteins is a paradigm for complex protein-protein and protein-membrane systems. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of these interactions in vitro in live cells and in animal studies has been significantly enhanced by using fluorescence techniques.

The scaffold of nanoparticles (broadly defined as having a size range of 1-100 nm) presents a convenient platform to incorporate multiple functionalities into one single particle for cancer imaging and therapeutics. Whether hollow inside or not, a single nanoparticle can encapsulate a large payload of imaging probes, anticancer drug molecules, or both. On the surface, tumor-specific targeting m...

An opsin receptor has a central role in the production and release of eggs by female jellyfish.

Opsin proteins are essential molecules in mediating the ability of animals to detect and use light for diverse biological functions. Therefore, understanding the evolutionary history of opsins is key to understanding the evolution of light detection and photoreception in animals. As genomic data have appeared and rapidly expanded in quantity, it has become possible to analyse opsins that functi...

Voltage-dependent channels respond to changes in the transmembrane electric field by rearranging their voltage sensors, triggering increases in selective permeability. The channels reside in three types of conformationally distinct populations: closed states, open states, and a variety of inactivated states. These populations are closely interrelated and, while significant advances have been ma...