December 5, 2010 ─ Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have made an unexpected finding about the method by which certain genes are activated. Contrary to what researchers have traditionally assumed, genes that work with other genes to build protein structures do not act in a coordinated way but instead are turned on randomly. The study was published in the December 5 online edition of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.

Science Talk: Study of How Genes Activate Yields Surprising Discovery

A Forum Where Einstein Scientists Discuss Their Latest Research

Science & Medicine

Natural Sciences

Social Sciences

Medicine

Education

Training

Language Courses

Higher Education

K-12

Educational Technology

Health

Alternative Health

Self-Help

Sexuality

Fitness & Nutrition

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - Jonathan Lai, Ph.D., and colleagues have engineered the first antibodies that can potentially neutralize the two deadliest strains of the virus that causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The findings were published online January 13 in the journal Scientific Reports. Dr. Lai, associate professor of biochemistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and John Dye, Ph.D., branch chief of viral immunology at USAMRIID, were co-leaders on the study.

Science Talk: Antibody Neutralizes Two Deadliest Ebola Virus Species

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - New research on sickle cell disease by Paul Frenette, M.D., has found that using antibiotics to deplete the body’s microbiome may prevent acute sickle cell crisis and could offer the first effective strategy for warding off  the disease’s long-term complications, such as organ failure. The findings were published online on September 16 in the journal Nature. Dr. Frenette is professor of medicine and of cell biology and chair and director of Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Science Talk: Antibiotics May Thwart Sickle Cell Crisis

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - Results of a new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults has found that misperceptions about miscarriage and its causes are widespread. Results of the survey, conducted by Dr. Zev Williams show that guilt and shame are common and fewer than half of respondents say they received adequate emotional support from the medical community. The findings were published online on May 11 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. Dr. Williams is director of the Program for Early and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (PEARL) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System and is assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology and women’s health, and of genetics, at Einstein.

Science Talk: Survey Finds Miscarriage Widely Misunderstood

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - Kartik Chandran, Ph.D., explains the novel strategies he and his colleagues are using to develop treatments for Ebola viral infections. Watch 3-D animations showing how Ebola enters a cell and delivers its payload in order to replicate and spread throughout the body. Dr. Chandran is associate professor of microbiology & immunology at Einstein. Major funding for this research is provided by the NIH, U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Chan Family Foundation, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Outsmarting Ebola Virus: Innovative Research on Treatment

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - With the help of animations, Betsy Herold, M.D. shows why some drugs that prevented HIV and herpes transmission in the lab failed to protect women in clinical trials. See how proteins in semen act as an “invisibility cloak” for HIV and herpes viruses allowing them to bypass drugs and infect cells. Using lab techniques informed by clinical results, Dr. Herold conducts translational research on the next generation of drugs to prevent HIV and HSV infection.  She is professor of pediatrics and of microbiology and immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and chief, division of pediatric infectious diseases at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.

Science Talk: Study of How Genes Activate Yields Surprising Discovery

Download our free app to listen on your phone