Month: September 2015

Bacterial ‘Fight Clubs’ and the Search for New Medicines

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Competition encourages bacteria to produce secondary metabolites with therapeutic potential that they would otherwise hold in reserve. Credit: Michael Smeltzer, Vanderbilt University.

Bacteria hold a vast reservoir of compounds with therapeutic potential. They use these compounds, known as secondary metabolites, to protect themselves against their enemies. We use them in many antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and other treatments.

Scientists interested in developing new medicines have no shortage of places to look for secondary metabolites. There are an estimated 120,000 to 150,000 bacterial species on Earth. Each species is capable of producing hundreds of secondary metabolites, but often only under specific ecological conditions. The challenge for researchers is figuring out how to coax the bacteria to produce these compounds.

Now, Brian Bachmann and John McLean of Vanderbilt University and their teams have shown that by creating “fight clubs” where bacteria compete with one another, they can trigger the bacteria to make a wide diversity of molecules, including secondary metabolites. Continue reading “Bacterial ‘Fight Clubs’ and the Search for New Medicines”

“Award Season” for Science

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Science award
The biggest prizes each science “award season”: powerful glimpses into fundamental life processes that can yield deeper understanding of health and disease. Credit: Stock image.

Roll out the red carpet and shine up your shoes—it’s “award season” for science. The biggest prizes: powerful glimpses into fundamental life processes that can yield deeper understanding of health and disease.

For instance, the 2015 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award that’s being presented today highlights the seminal work of two scientists on the DNA-damage response, a mechanism that protects the genomes of all living organisms. Chemicals, radiation and duplication errors during cell division are constantly harming our genetic material. Healthy cells respond with a complex network of proteins that work together to mend the damage and halt cell division until repairs are complete. If injury is beyond repair, the proteins trigger cell death. Errors in the DNA-damage response can lead to cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and immune deficiencies.

The scientists recognized today took important steps toward elucidating the mechanics of the DNA-damage response. Evelyn Witkin of Rutgers University established its existence and its basic features in bacteria. Continue reading ““Award Season” for Science”

How Cells Manage Chance

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We asked the heads of our scientific divisions to tell us about some of the big questions in fundamental biomedical science that researchers are investigating with NIGMS support. This article is the second in an occasional series that explores these questions and explains how pursuing the answers could advance understanding of important biological processes.

Sample slide, variability of mRNA in yeast cells
The number of copies of mRNA molecules (bright green) observed here in yeast cells (dark blue) fluctuates randomly. Credit: David Ball, Virginia Tech.

For some health conditions, the cause is clear: A single altered gene is responsible. But for many others, the path to disease is more complex. Scientists are working to understand how factors like genetics, lifestyle and environmental exposures all contribute to disease. Another important, but less well-known, area of investigation is the role of chance at the molecular level.

One team working in this field is led by John Tyson at Virginia Tech. The group focuses on how chance events affect the cell division cycle, in which a cell duplicates its contents and splits into two. This cycle is the basis for normal growth, reproduction and the replenishment of skin, blood and other cells throughout the body. Errors in the cycle are associated with a number of conditions, including birth defects and cancer. Continue reading “How Cells Manage Chance”