A protein called NMNAT protects against nerve cell degeneration in fruit flies and mice, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report in the Public Library of Science Biology that appears online today. The finding begs the question if a drug might be developed that could stimulate extra protein production and thus neuronal protection – both in injured cells and in those degenerating because of disease, said Dr. Hugo Bellen, the paper's senior author, director of the BCM Program in Developmental Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. While more work needs to be done to determine whether that would be desirable, Bellen said the finding is an important one because it identifies NMNAT as essential in the life of the body's neurons. Much of the work described in the paper was done by its first author, Dr. R. Grace Zhai, a postdoctoral fellow in Bellen's laboratory. The story began two decades ago when researchers in the U.K. …

P(acman) – a new method of introducing DNA into the genome of fruit flies or Drosophila – promises to transform the ability of scientists to study the structure and function of virtually all the fly's genes, and the method may be applicable to other frequently studied organisms such as mice, said its Baylor College of Medicine developers in an article in the current issue of the journal Science. "P(acman) overcomes a key limitation of currently available methods because it allows you to study large chunks of DNA in vivo," said Dr. Hugo Bellen, professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine and director of the program in developmental biology. He is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. The new technique allows researchers to study large genes and even gene complexes in the fruit fly, which was not possible before. P/phiC31 artificial chromosome for manipulation, or P(acman), combines three recently …

The fountain of youth may not be a fountain after all. Simply reducing caloric intake may help you lead a longer and healthier life. Dr. William Wong, professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine's USDA Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, was awarded a $2.2 million grant from the National Institute of Aging to help determine if a reduction of calories can increase longevity and decrease the risk of chronic disease. Previous animal studies suggest this is the case. Wong's lab will serve as the central doubly labeled water lab to support the NIA's Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy, or CALERIE, study. Doubly labeled water is a non-invasive way to estimate energy expenditure under free-living conditions, said Wong also co-director of the Obesity Center at Texas Children's Hospital. Participants drink the labeled water and return to their daily routine. Researchers label the water with two …

Skeletal progenitor cells differentiate into cartilage cells when one master gene actually suppresses the action of another, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Skeletons are made of bone and cartilage cells that are differentiated from the same multipotent stem cell, said Dr. Brendan Lee, associate professor of molecular and human genetics at BCM, director of the Skeletal Dysplasia Clinic at Texas Children's Hospital and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. This same stem cell gives rise to bone, cartilage, fat and fibroblasts. "The big question is what are the master genes that make a stem cell go one way versus another," said Lee. Both SOX9 and RUNX2 are master transcription factors involved in the process of differentiating bone and cartilage. The master protein SOX9 directs skeletal progenitor cells to become cartilage and …

One of the largest number of cases of a rare form of cancer is being collected by doctors at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. This database will help doctors find effective treatments and diagnostic tools for this fatal form of cancer. Dr. Matthew Anderson, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at BCM, spent 5 years compiling information from more than 400 patients diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma, which is characterized as a "cancerous fibroid." There are other databases of this type but the number of patients is much smaller. One reason is because of the rarity of the disease: about seven out of one million women are diagnosed each year. "It's hard to make a treatment decision based on just a handful of past patients," Anderson said. "You don't know if a treatment that helped one person was an isolated incident or if it will have the same effect on others." This need led Anderson to begin …