The toxin that causes botulism is the most potent that we know of. Eating an amount of toxin just 1000th the weight of a grain of salt can be fatal, which is why so much effort has been put into keeping Clostridium botulinum, which produces the toxin, out of our food.
The Institute of Food Research on the Norwich Research Park has been part of that effort through studying the bacteria and the way they survive, multiply and cause such harm. In new research, IFR scientists have been mining the genome of C. botulinumto uncover new information about the toxin genes.
There are seven distinct, but similar, types of botulinum neurotoxin, produced by different strains of C. botulinumbacteria. Different sub-types of the neurotoxin appear to be associated with different strains of the bacteria. Genetic analysis of these genes will give us information about how they evolved.
Dr Andy Carter, working in Professor Mike Peck's research group, used data generated from sequencing efforts at The Genome Analysis Centre, on the Norwich Research Park. Andy compared the genome sequence of five different C. botulinumstrains, all from the same group and all producing the same sub-type of neurotoxin.
An initial finding was that the five strains were remarkably similar in the area of the genome containing the neurotoxin gene. This suggests that the bacteria picked up the gene cluster in a single event, sometime in the past. Bacteria commonly acquire genes, or gene clusters, from other bacteria through this horizontal gene transfer. It is a way that bacteria have evolved to share 'weapons', such as antibiotic activity or the ability to produce toxins. To find out more about how C. botulinumacquired its own deadly weapon, Andy delved deeper into the genome sequence.
Like fossils of long lost organisms, Andy found, in the same region of the genome, evidence of two other genes for producing two of the other types of neurotoxin. Although these gene fragments are completely non-functional, finding them in the same place in the genome as the functional neurotoxin gene cluster is significant as it suggests that this region of the genome could be a 'hotspot' for gene transfer.
Looking to either side of the neurotoxin gene cluster uncovered more evidence supporting the hotspot idea. When the gene cluster inserted into the C. botulinum genome, it cut in two another gene. This gene is essential for the bacteria to replicate its DNA, so why does destroying it not prove fatal? C. botulinumwas unaffected by this because contained in the segment of imported DNA was another version of the chopped-up gene.
Perhaps this is pointing us to the way C. botulinumfirst picks up its lethal weapon. This should help us prepare against the emergence of new strains, and may even one day help us disarm this deadly foe.
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The research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution Advance.
Thanks to Norwich BioScience Institutes for this article.
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May 15, 2013 ? Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute have identified four genes in baboons that influence levels of "bad" cholesterol. This discovery could lead to the development of new drugs to reduce the risk of heart disease.
"Our findings are important because they provide new targets for the development of novel drugs to reduce heart disease risk in humans," said Laura Cox, Ph.D., a Texas Biomed geneticist. "Since these genes have previously been associated with cancer, our findings suggest that genetic causes of heart disease may overlap with causes of some types of cancer."
The new study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is published online and will appear in the July print issue of the Journal of Lipid Research.
Texas Biomed scientists screened their baboon colony of 1,500 animals to find three half-siblings with low levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad,"' cholesterol, and three half-siblings with high levels of LDL. In the study, these animals were fed a high-cholesterol, high-fat diet for seven weeks. Scientists then used gene array technology and high throughput sequencers to home in on the genes expressed in the two groups and differentiate those in the low LDL groups from those in the high LDL group. They discovered that four genes (named TENC1, ERBB3, ACVR1B, and DGKA) influence LDL levels.
Interestingly, these four genes are part of a signaling pathway important for cell survival and disruption of this pathway promotes some types of cancer.
It is well-known that a high level of LDL is a major risk factor for heart disease. Despite concerted efforts for the past 25 years to manage cholesterol levels through changes in lifestyle and treatment with medications, heart disease remains the leading cause of death and mortality in the United States and around the world. It will account for one out of four U.S. deaths in 2013, according to the American Heart Association.
Heart disease is a complex disorder thought to be a result of interactions between genetic and environmental factors, which occur primarily through diet. To understand why humans have different levels of LDL and thus variation in risk for heart disease, the genetic factors causing these differences need to be understood.
However, these studies are difficult to do in humans because it's practically impossible to control what people eat. Instead, Texas Biomed scientists are using baboons, which are similar to humans in their physiology and genetics, to identify genes that influence heart disease risk.
The new research also suggests that knowing many of the genes responsible for heart disease may be necessary to devise effective treatments. For example, several genes may need to be targeted at once to control risk.
The next step in this research is to find the mechanism by which these genes influence LDL cholesterol. "That starts to give us the specific targets for new therapies." Cox said. If all goes well, this information may be available within two years.
Other Texas Biomed scientists on the study included Genesio Karere, Ph.D.; Jeremy Glenn, B.S.; Shifra Birnbaum, B.S.; David Rainwater, Ph.D.; Michael Mahaney, Ph.D.; and John L. VandeBerg, Ph.D.
This research was supported by NIH grants P01 HL028972-27, P01 HL028972 Supplement, and P51 OD011133. It was conducted in part in facilities constructed with support grants C06 RR013556 and C06 RR015456.
And now, one of the most anticipated I/O announcements. As rumored, Google has been working toward the launch of its own music-streaming service, and the official unveiling came today. Dubbed Google Play Music All Access, the product has a strong focus on personalized recommendations via the so-called Explore feature. Like Spotify and other services, All Access will let you start a radio station while listening to a particular track, and in-depth tweaking controls allow you to nix songs that don't suit your fancy. Another feature demoed onstage is Listen Now, which highlights new releases and content Google thinks you'll enjoy.
As anticipated, All Access will require a monthly fee. A subscription costs $9.99 in the US, and all users will get a 30-day free trial. The service is launching stateside today, and if you sign up before June 30th, you'll get $2 off the monthly fee. We'll be taking All Access for a test drive as soon as possible -- check back for our initial impressions.
Zendaya and Ingo Rademacher on "Dancing With the Stars."
If a big upset is coming up on Tuesday night's "Dancing With the Stars" results show, it'll likely be bottom scoring duo Ingo Rademacher and Kym Johnson overtaking Disney star Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy.
A mere four points separate the "General Hospital" hunk from the teen. And let?s not forget how loyal soap opera fans can be. Back in season five, fans voted "All My Children" star Cameron Mathison over Disney star Sabrina Bryan even though going into the elimination show, she had a higher score than him.
?You never know what can happen,? Rademacher said after the show.
The possibility of an upset might not even be an issue had Zendaya and Chmerkovskiy earned a higher score for their race car-themed quickstep Monday night, which landed them a surprisingly low total of 25 points.
Still, on the post-show red carpet, Zendaya told TODAY.com that she doesn?t worry too much about the judges? scores.
?Of course, I want perfect scores every time,? Zendaya said. ?But that?s not going to happen. The judges are allowed to give me lower scores. It?s cool. I?m proud of the performance. Val was happy with it too.?
She scored a perfect 30 later in the evening, when she and Chmerkovskiy did an impressive hip-hop routine.
?I?d messed up (that dance) every single time until the live performance,? Chmerkovskiy revealed. ?It?s such a paradox. You stress, and you think the world is over, but then it comes together and it?s such an ecstatic feeling.?
The pro dancer added that he gained a new respect for his celebrity partner by performing a dance that she was more familiar with than he was.
?I?m a professional dancer," he said. "I grew up in Brooklyn, and I listen to hip hop. The genre is very familiar to me. I have the coordination to do anything I want, but I found this extremely difficult.?
Only time will tell if it's Zendaya or Ingo (or for a real upset, maybe even both) who nabs a coveted spot in the finals. Find out when Tuesday's results show airs at 9 p.m. on ABC.
The Federal Reserve and the US Treasury are investigating whether Bloomberg reporters used the company's terminals to glean inappropriate information about officials' data use. Just viewing the information can be a felony, under federal law.
By Laurent Belsie,?Staff writer / May 14, 2013
A Bloomberg terminal displays news while traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, May 13, 2013. Bloomberg LP customers, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the US Treasury, are examining whether there could have been leaks of confidential information from reporters using the terminals to snoop on key officials.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Enlarge
It worked like a 21st century Trojan horse for journalists.
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Using search codes, Bloomberg reporters could tell if clients had logged into their Bloomberg market terminals and what types of functions they had used. With more than 315,000 terminals strategically placed in trading rooms around the world ? and at the Federal Reserve, the US Treasury, and at the White House ? Bloomberg offered its journalists a wide, if limited, look at what traders and policymakers were interested in.
Further denting Bloomberg's reputation, the Financial Times reported Tuesday that more than 10,000 private messages between traders at the world?s largest banks and their clients were viewable on the Internet for several years.
Bloomberg apologized for the online snooping, which had been going on since the news organization's early days. ?The error is inexcusable," Matthew Winkler,?editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, wrote in a Monday editorial announcing that the publication had stopped the practice last month. And the company explained that the private messages, released by the client banks for Bloomberg's internal research, had been accidentally uploaded on the Internet by an employee.
The migration of early modern musicians as Europe's identity-forming factorPublic release date: 14-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Gesa zur Nieden znieden@uni-mainz.de 49-613-139-20098 Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
Transnational project receives EU funding worth almost EUR 1 million over the next 3 years
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart spent more than ten years traveling the European continent a prominent example of the significant mobility and itinerant life that was characteristic of the careers of hundreds of musicians in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some traveled on a temporary basis only to give guest performances in neighboring regions, others were attracted to new posts even in remote locations and thus left their homeland forever. The migration of musicians made an enormous contribution to the dynamics of the European musical and cultural landscape. It stimulated innovation and the introduction of new styles, overturned conventions with regard to musical and social behavior, and enhanced the interconnections that helped form a distinctly European cultural identity. It is these assumptions that form the starting point of a new research project that will receive nearly EUR 1 million in EU funding over the next three years to focus on the movement of musicians in the Early Modern period between Eastern, Western and Southern Europe. On behalf of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Dr. Gesa zur Nieden, Junior Professor at the Institute of Musicology, is participating in the transnational project.
The aim of the research project is to gather as much information as possible about the migration of musicians in the 17th and 18th centuries and compile a corresponding database. Information about individuals not just instrumentalists but also composers, singers, music theorists, and music publishers will also be viewed in a wider context to shed light on the cultural phenomenon of migration and mobility among musicians of the Early Modern period.
For example, during the spread of the Italian opera in the 17th century, an unprecedented number of musicians from the Italian Peninsula migrated to almost all European regions and countries. They not only introduced a new and radical style of composition and presentation at European courts, but also used their knowledge and skills to influence existing musical forms, thus establishing new values and rules that were no longer completely identical with the Italian conventions. At the same time, the vibrant Italian centers also attracted musicians from abroad, whose aristocratic patrons sent them there to learn the new style and associated performance techniques. Although these helped to further disseminate the forms of theater associated with the Italian opera when they returned to their place of origin, they also had to adapt what they had learned to the local composition and performance traditions. Against this background, one of the main objectives of the joint project is to arrive at a suitable definition of the very word 'migration', particularly as the mobility of musicians in the Early Modern period was often related to grants and scholarships for arts education, to the accompaniment of diplomats, aristocrats, and diplomatic missions as part of their entourage or even a period of exile.
In addition to academics from Mainz, research groups in Berlin, Zagreb (Croatia), Warsaw (Poland), and Ljubljana (Slovenia) will also be participating in the research project. This project is one of 15 selected from a total of 593 proposals for funding under the EU research program "HERA Humanities in the European Research Area." The work on the database will build on a previous project to document the migration of musicians (ANR-DFG-Project Musici). "We want to obtain a better understanding of the individual, local, regional, and 'national' aspects of the migration of European musicians in the Early Modern period. This can be only achieved by means of a comparative analysis that is as comprehensive as possible," said Gesa zur Nieden, the supervisor of the German segment of the project.
http://www.bbaw.de/en/research/personendaten-repositorium (Bibliographic Data Repository of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities)
http://heranet.info/welcome-hera-humanities-the-european-research-area (HERA Humanities in the European Research Area)
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The migration of early modern musicians as Europe's identity-forming factorPublic release date: 14-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Gesa zur Nieden znieden@uni-mainz.de 49-613-139-20098 Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
Transnational project receives EU funding worth almost EUR 1 million over the next 3 years
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart spent more than ten years traveling the European continent a prominent example of the significant mobility and itinerant life that was characteristic of the careers of hundreds of musicians in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some traveled on a temporary basis only to give guest performances in neighboring regions, others were attracted to new posts even in remote locations and thus left their homeland forever. The migration of musicians made an enormous contribution to the dynamics of the European musical and cultural landscape. It stimulated innovation and the introduction of new styles, overturned conventions with regard to musical and social behavior, and enhanced the interconnections that helped form a distinctly European cultural identity. It is these assumptions that form the starting point of a new research project that will receive nearly EUR 1 million in EU funding over the next three years to focus on the movement of musicians in the Early Modern period between Eastern, Western and Southern Europe. On behalf of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Dr. Gesa zur Nieden, Junior Professor at the Institute of Musicology, is participating in the transnational project.
The aim of the research project is to gather as much information as possible about the migration of musicians in the 17th and 18th centuries and compile a corresponding database. Information about individuals not just instrumentalists but also composers, singers, music theorists, and music publishers will also be viewed in a wider context to shed light on the cultural phenomenon of migration and mobility among musicians of the Early Modern period.
For example, during the spread of the Italian opera in the 17th century, an unprecedented number of musicians from the Italian Peninsula migrated to almost all European regions and countries. They not only introduced a new and radical style of composition and presentation at European courts, but also used their knowledge and skills to influence existing musical forms, thus establishing new values and rules that were no longer completely identical with the Italian conventions. At the same time, the vibrant Italian centers also attracted musicians from abroad, whose aristocratic patrons sent them there to learn the new style and associated performance techniques. Although these helped to further disseminate the forms of theater associated with the Italian opera when they returned to their place of origin, they also had to adapt what they had learned to the local composition and performance traditions. Against this background, one of the main objectives of the joint project is to arrive at a suitable definition of the very word 'migration', particularly as the mobility of musicians in the Early Modern period was often related to grants and scholarships for arts education, to the accompaniment of diplomats, aristocrats, and diplomatic missions as part of their entourage or even a period of exile.
In addition to academics from Mainz, research groups in Berlin, Zagreb (Croatia), Warsaw (Poland), and Ljubljana (Slovenia) will also be participating in the research project. This project is one of 15 selected from a total of 593 proposals for funding under the EU research program "HERA Humanities in the European Research Area." The work on the database will build on a previous project to document the migration of musicians (ANR-DFG-Project Musici). "We want to obtain a better understanding of the individual, local, regional, and 'national' aspects of the migration of European musicians in the Early Modern period. This can be only achieved by means of a comparative analysis that is as comprehensive as possible," said Gesa zur Nieden, the supervisor of the German segment of the project.
http://www.bbaw.de/en/research/personendaten-repositorium (Bibliographic Data Repository of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities)
http://heranet.info/welcome-hera-humanities-the-european-research-area (HERA Humanities in the European Research Area)
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Video released early Monday by New Orleans police shows a possible suspect in the Mother's Day gunfire that wounded 19 people during a neighborhood parade.
The grainy surveillance video shows a crowd suddenly scattering in all directions, with some falling to the ground. They appear to be running from a man who turns and runs out of the picture. The person is wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants. The image isn't clear, but police say they hope someone will recognize him and notify investigators.
Police posted a series of still images from the video on YouTube.
Police believe more than one gun was fired in the burst of Sunday afternoon violence ? the latest to flare up around a celebration this year ? and they have vowed to swiftly track down those responsible. Detectives were conducting interviews, collecting any surveillance video they could find and gathering evidence from the scene. Cellphone video taken in the aftermath of the shooting shows victims lying on the ground, blood on the pavement and others bending over to comfort them.
Police also say the reward for information leading to arrests and indictments in the case is $10,000.
At least three of the victims were seriously wounded. Of the rest, many were grazed and authorities said that, overall, most wounds were not life threatening. No deaths were reported.
The victims included 10 men, seven women, a boy and a girl. The children, both 10 years old, were grazed and in good condition.
It's not the first time gunfire has shattered a festive mood in the city this year. Five people were wounded in January after a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, and four were wounded in a shooting in the French Quarter in the days leading up to Mardi Gras. Two teens were arrested in connection with the MLK shootings; three men were arrested and charged in the Mardi Gras shootings.
"The specialness of the day doesn't appear to interrupt the relentless drumbeat of violence," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a news conference outside a hospital where victims were being treated Sunday night.
Mary Beth Romig, a spokeswoman for the FBI in New Orleans, characterized the shooting as street violence.
As many as 400 people came out for the second-line procession ? a boisterous New Orleans tradition ? though only half that many were in the immediate vicinity of the shooting, Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said. Officers were interspersed with the marchers, which is routine for such events.
Second-line parades are loose processions in which people dance down the street, often following behind a brass band. They can be planned events or impromptu offshoots of other celebrations. They trace their origins to the city's famous jazz funerals.
Police saw three suspects running from the scene. No arrests had been made as of late Sunday.
Outside the hospital Sunday night, Leonard Temple became teary as he talked about a friend who was in surgery after being shot three times during the parade. Temple was told the man was hit while trying to push his own daughter out of the way.
"People were just hanging out. We were just chilling. And this happened. Bad things always happen to good people," said Temple, who was at the parade but didn't see the shootings.
A social club called The Original Big 7 organized Sunday's event. The group was founded in 1996 at the Saint Bernard housing projects, according to its MySpace page.
The neighborhood where the shooting happened is a mix of low-income and middle-class row houses, some boarded up. As of last year, the 7th Ward's population was about 60 percent of its pre-Hurricane Katrina level.
The crime scene was about 1.5 miles from the heart of the French Quarter and near the Treme neighborhood, which has been the centerpiece for the HBO TV series "Treme."
Sunday's violence comes at a time when the city is struggling to pay for tens of millions of dollars required under federal consent decrees to reform the police department and the city jail. The mayor initially backed the police reform agreement and had sought a comprehensive civil rights investigation of the department when he took office in 2010. However, he is trying to put the brakes on the reform plans. In January, he said the city can't afford to spend millions required under the police reform agreement and the jail agreement reached separately between the Justice Department and Sheriff Marlin Gusman, who runs the city-funded jail.
The agreement to reform the police department came after a scathing Justice Department report in 2011 said the city's officers have often used deadly force without justification, made unconstitutional arrests and engaged in racial profiling. A series of criminal investigations focused on a string of police shootings in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Shootings at parades and neighborhood celebrations have become more common in recent years as the city has struggled with street crime, sometimes gang-related.
But police vowed to solve Sunday's shooting. Serpas said it wasn't clear if particular people in the second line were targeted, or if the shots were fired at random.
"We'll get them. We have good resources in this neighborhood," Serpas said.
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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman and Kevin McGill in New Orleans and AP Radio reporter Jackie Quinn in Washington.
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Public release date: 14-May-2013
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