Gizmorama!

Good Morning,

Not a day goes by where I am not astonished by the advance-
ments in technology and medicine. It’s hard to believe that
we are capable of creating these marvels, which brings us
to today’s topics.

Learn about brain cells that distinguish human brain from
other animals, genes responsible for synthesizing
thiostrepton and the creation of a carbohydrate
synthesizer.

Truly amazing discoveries.

Until Tomorrow,
Erin

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———- Astrocytes distinguish man from mouse ———–

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. researchers say they’ve discovered
brain cells called astrocytes are what distinguish the
human brain from that of other animals. “Studies in rodents
show that non-neuronal cells are part of information
processing,” said Dr. Maiken Nedergaard of the University
of Rochester Medical Center, who led the research team.
“And our study suggests that astrocytes are part of the
higher cognitive functioning that defines who we are as
humans.” The scientists noted there are 10 times as many
astrocytes in the brain than the neurons that send
electrical signals. Medical student Nancy Ann Oberheim,
first author of the study, said human astrocytes signals
are faster, bigger and more complex than those found in
mice and rats. The researchers discovered new types of
astrocytes, and also determined astrocytes use calcium,
rather than electrical signals, to communicate with
neurons. The research team reported astrocytes send much
slower signals that do neurons, but are just as important
in the basic working of the brain. The study that included
scientists from New York Medical College and the University
of Washington appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.

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——— Antibiotic thiostrepton genes identified ———

ATLANTA - U.S. scientists say they’ve identified the
genetic machinery responsible for synthesizing
thiostrepton, a powerful antibiotic produced by certain
bacteria. Georgia Institute of Technology Assistant
Professor Wendy Kelly, postdoctoral fellow Chaoxuan Li
and graduate student Lisa Pan said the antibiotic, although
effective against the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci, thiostrepton
has only limited applications in humans because it is not
water soluble. The scientists said their identification of
the gene cluster responsible for producing thiostrepton
could make the drug more useful by improving its water
solubility. Beyond possible medical applications, the
researchers said their discovery produced a scientific
surprise: Thiostrepton is derived from a genetically
encoded peptide that undergoes no fewer than 19 modif-
ications. That makes it one of the most complex such
processes known. “We are interested in making derivatives
of this peptide drug that retain their potency and are
efficiently processed by biochemical machinery,” said
Kelly. “We want to put in substitutions to the genetic
machinery that may create a more water soluble analog and
could potentially be used for development of a new class
of antibacterial agent.” Details of the work were published
online in the March 5 issue of the Journal of the American
Chemical Society.

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——– Scientists create carbohydrate synthesizer ——–

SALT LAKE CITY - German scientists say they have created
an automated carbohydrate synthesizer that can create
carbohydrate molecules within only a few hours. Professor
Peter Seeberger of the Max-Planck Institute for Colloids
and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany, and the Free University
of Berlin described the synthesizer in Salt Lake City this
week during a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
“Our automated synthesizer is now the fastest method to
make complex carbohydrates,” said Seeberger, principal
investigator for the research. “There are currently no
competitive methods available. Today, if people working
in biology run into a problem related to carbohydrates,
they usually drop it because there are no tools available.
They can’t buy anything from a catalog. It becomes a royal
pain in the neck.” He said the carbohydrate synthesizer
might do the same thing for the emerging fields of glyco-
chemistry and glycobiology as the invention of the auto-
mated DNA and protein synthesizers for genetics and
proteomics. Seeberger’s group used the carbohydrate
synthesizer to develop a malaria vaccine. Clinical trials
for that vaccine are scheduled next year in the African
nations of Mozambique and Tanzania. Seeberger is commercial-
izing the carbohydrate synthesizer through his start-up
company, Ancora Pharmaceuticals of Medford, Mass.

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