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An illness that has been decimating US honeybees for more than three years probably isn't caused by a single virus, but by multiple viruses that wear down the bees' ability to produce proteins that can guard them against infection, according to a new study.

Telomeres, the repetitive sequences of DNA at the ends of linear chromosomes, have an important function: They protect vulnerable chromosome ends from molecular attack. Researchers at Rockefeller University now show that telomeres have their own weakness. They resemble unstable parts of the genome called fragile sites where DNA replication can stall and go awry. But what keeps our fragile telomeres from falling apart is a protein that ensures the smooth progression of DNA replication to the end of a chromosome.

ScienceDaily (May 9, 2011) - Mayo Clinic researchers have designed a new tool for identifying protein function from genetic code. A team led by Stephen Ekker, Ph.D., succeeded in switching individual genes off and on in zebrafish, then observing embryonic and juvenile development. The study appears in the journal Nature Methods.

GENES that increase the risk of Alzheimer's and a blood protein that speeds up cognitive decline are radically changing our view of the devastating illness. Reported this week, both findings suggest new causes for Alzheimer's, boosting prospects for its treatment and prevention.

Fats in foods like potato chips and french fries make them nearly irresistible because they trigger natural marijuana-like chemicals in the body called endocannabinoids, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have found. The researchers discovered that when rats tasted something fatty, cells in their upper gut started producing endocannabinoids, while sugars and proteins did not have this effect. How fats create, like, a buzz It starts on the tongue, where fats in food generate a signal that travels first to your brain, and then through a nerve bundle called the vagus to your intestines. There, the signal stimulates the production of endocannabinoids, which initiates a surge in cell signaling that prompts you to totally pig out - probably by initiating the release of digestive chemicals linked to hunger and satiety that compel us to eat more. And that leads to obesity, diabetes and cancer, the researchers said. But they suggest it might be possible to curb this process by obstructing endocannabinoid activity: for example, by using drugs that "clog" cannabinoid receptors. The trick: bypassing the brain to avoid creating anxiety and depression (which happens when endocannabinoid signaling is blocked in the brain). I'm guessing McDonald's won't be adding that drug to their fries. Ref.: Daniele Piomelli, et al., An endocannabinoid signal in the gut controls dietary fat intake, PNAS, 2011; in press

An immune-suppressing drug called rapamycin could possibly treat Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), a rare genetic disease that causes premature aging, and advance biological understanding of the normal aging process, according to researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health, the University of Maryland and Massachusetts General Hospital. Progeria is a genetic disorder characterized by dramatic premature aging. "Progerin that causes progeria also accumulates, although in very small amounts, in normal aging," said Dimitri Krainc, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. "However, if rapamycin proves to have beneficial effects in lifespan in humans it is safe to assume that it will not be just because it may clear progerin from cells, but also because it clears other toxic products that accumulate during aging." Ref.: Francis S. Collins, et al., Rapamycin Reverses Cellular Phenotypes and Enhances Mutant Protein Clearance in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome Cells, Science, 2011; [DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3002346]

"„Fatburner"-Schlüssel Konkret haben die Forscher ein humanes Zellmodell für ihre Experimente herangezogen und sich im menschlichen Erbgut auf die Untersuchung von MikroRNAs fokussiert - kleinen RNA-Schnipseln, die bis vor kurzem noch als „genetischer Schrott" bezeichnet wurden. Dabei entdeckte das Team MikroRNAs mit besonderer Rolle in der Fettzellentwicklung: die „MikroRNA-26-Familie". Marcel Scheideler: „Diese spezielle MikroRNA-Familie regt die Bildung des Proteins UCP1 an, das eine Art Kurzschluss in den Mitochondrien erzeugt und somit als Schalter für die Energieverbrennung in den Fettzellen fungiert. Dadurch wird eine gesteigerte Energieverbrennung erst möglich." Die MikroRNA-26-Familie ist also in der Lage, die Fettzelle von der Energiespeicherung auf die Energieverbrennung umzupolen. Für eine therapeutische Anwendung wurde diese Entdeckung zum Patent angemeldet"

Waste paper-enhancing enzyme: Waste paper-enhancing enzyme is a biological protein that is genetically modified and deeply fermented.

A study was conducted to examine fodder yield and silage quality of maize (Zea mays L.) and climbing bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) intercropping with different planting structure. Maize was cultivated alone and intercropped with climbing bean as follows;1 row maize to 1 row climbing bean (1M1K), 1 row maize to 2 rows climbing bean (1M2K) and 2 rows maize to 1 row climbing bean (2M1K). The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with four treatments and three replications. The crops were harvested when the maize reached at milk stage and climbing bean at R7 stage. The results indicated significant increase in fresh biomass and dry matter production of maize fodder alone as compared to maize intercropped with climbing bean fodder. However, no difference (p>0.05) was observed in ether extract (EE), and ash (%) of nutrient composition of fodder among the four treatments After 45 days of ensiling period, silage samples were analysed for pH, organic acids (lactic, acetic, and butyric), ammonia-N(NH3-N), dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), water soluble carbohydrate (WSC), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na) and potassium (K). All intercropped silages had higher CP values (1M1K, 12.0%; 1M2K, 12.3%; 2M1K, 11.1%) than the monocrop maize (SM, 8.9%) silage. Higher organic acids and ammonia-N (p<0.05) were produced in the 1M2K silages as compared to others silages. The study showed that among all intercropped silages the 1M2K (1 row maize to 2 rows climbing bean) was preferable according to nutrient composition than other intercropped silages. This research work has been done by Maw Ni Soe Htet1, Rab Nawaz Soomro 2,Hai Jiang bo under College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University, Yangling Shaanxi, P.R China and College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A & F University, Yangling Shaanxi, P.R. China.