Stories of modern science ... from UPI

By Ellen Beck <a href=www.upi.com>United Press International From the Science & Technology Desk Published 5/1/2003 7:45 AM

RESEARCHERS DECODE ANTHRAX GENE

A team led by the Institute of Genomic Research in Rockville, Md., has finished the genetic blueprint of Bacillus anthracis -- anthrax. B. anthracis, researchers say, differs very little from the common soil bacterium that is its near relative but the variations are enough to give it disease-causing properties. In comparing an isolate of the Ames strain of anthrax with two closely related bacteria, the researchers found in the 5,000 or more genes analyzed there were only about 150 significant differences. The researchers found a number of genes encoding proteins that B. anthracis might need to enter its host's cells, which could provide targets for drugs. Unlike its near relatives, B. anthracis possesses genes that give it the ability to thrive on protein-rich matter, such as the decaying animal bodies it frequently grows on, the scientists discovered.

-0-

GEOLOGIST SAYS DIAMONDS HAVE OCEANIC ORIGIN

Materials that form diamonds mined in Guaniamo, Venezuela, originated on the ocean floor, says University of Toronto geologist, Professor Daniel Schulze. The diamond formation process begins, Schulze says when the mantle -- the interior layer between Earth's core and its crust -- forces lava up onto the ocean's floor. The lava then solidifies into a volcanic rock called basalt. When the basalt interacts with sea water, its oxygen composition changes. "The volcanic rocks are altered to form new minerals. Geological processes then thrust this altered basalt under the earth's continental plates where heat and pressure turn the basalt into eclogite -- beautiful red and green rocks that may contain diamonds, if carbon is present.

-0-

FOR ANTS, SMELL IS BOSS

It's smell -- not brainpower -- that cause ants to carry out their organized existence -- along with a solid work ethic, say Stanford University biologists. They found when patroller ants returns to the nest, their distinctive body odor cues other workers to go out and forage for food. Associate Professor Deborah M. Gordon says since no one is in charge in the ant colony, the question is, "How does a worker know what to do?" In ant colonies, the queen only lays eggs and has nothing to do with running the place. An ant's antennae are fine-tuned to differentiate subtle smells produced by hydrocarbons -- a naturally occurring family of chemicals that includes such well-known compounds as methane and propane. Subtle changes in the concentration of hydrocarbons produce profound behavioral changes in ants, the researchers said. All ants in a colony share the colony's odor -- that's how they tell one colony from another -- but in harvester ants the team found a further subdivision. Different tasks -- such as foraging and patrolling -- smell different.

-0-

NEW PIECE OF CELL GROWTH PUZZLE FOUND

Scientists at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research say in biology, cell size matters and they've linked cell growth to the ability to sense nutrients in the environment. This growth-triggering system, known as the mTOR pathway, is a complex of proteins that respond to nutrient cues. The researchers found a protein that helps regulate the mTOR pathway. GßL acts as a bridge stabilizing the interactions between two other proteins central to mTOR function. When GßL is absent or disabled, cells become insensitive to nutrient levels and grow abnormally, a possible cause of disease, the researchers said.

(EDITORS: For more information about ANTHRAX, contact Anne Oplinger, (301) 402-1663 or e-mail aoplinger@niaid.nih.gov. For DIAMONDS, Lanna Crucefix at (416) 978-0260, for ANTS, Dawn Levy, (650)725-1944 or dawnlevy@stanford.edu, and for CELL GROWTH, Kelli Whitlock, (617) 258-5183 or newsroom@wi.mit.edu.)