dsx genomic structure and RNAi phenotypes.

1st-of-its-kind study helps answer major question about development and evolution in males versus females. New details about the behavior of the gene called “doublesex,” or dsx have been found. ” How do animals with similar genomes – such as males and females of the same species – produce different versions of the same trait? And why do some traits, like ornamental features that attract mates, vary so widely, while others, like legs, don’t?” said Cris Ledón-Rettig, a postdoctoral researcher in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology, who led the study.

The study is significant because it’s the first to look at the effect of dsx across the whole genome...

Bromodomain-protein inhibition significantly extends survival of DIPG xenograft model.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have found a molecule that stops the growth of an aggressive pediatric brain tumor. Every year, about 300 children < 10 years old in the U.S. develop a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). “This tumor kills every single kid who gets DIPG within 1 year. No one survives,” said Andrea Piunti, a postdoctoral fellow in Shilatifard’s lab in biochemistry and molecular genetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Radiation therapy only prolongs patients’ survival by a few months, he noted.

Shilatifard’s lab previously identified the pathway via which a mutation causes cancer in studies with fruit flies, which was published in Science a few years ago...

Nanoclusters of magnesium oxide sandwiched between layers of graphene make a compound with unique electronic and optical properties, according to researchers at Rice University who made computer simulations of the material. Credit: Lei Tao/Rice University

Rice University researchers simulate 2D hybrids for optoelectronics. Rice University researchers have modeled a nanoscale sandwich, the first in what they hope will become a molecular deli for materials scientists. They put 2 slices of atom-thick graphene around nanoclusters of magnesium oxide that give the super-strong, conductive material expanded optoelectronic properties.

Rice materials scientist Rouzbeh Shahsavari and his colleagues built computer simulations of the compound and found it would offer features suitable for sensitive mo...