快適火狐三

難なくギネスにも載りそうな程、もの凄い勢いでダウンロードされたFirefox 3だが、実際、かなり快適。見た目もMac OS Xに合うようになったし、何より早いし新機能が便利。しばらくしたらデフォルトになるかも…。敢えて難をいうならGoogle Browser Syncが未対応なことくらい…。

Science News | June 19(3), 2008

チンパンジーの雌、交尾の際は静か＝英研究者ら | 世界のこぼれ話 | Reuters

Female Chimpanzees Use Copulation Calls Flexibly to Prevent Social Competition.
Simon W. Townsend, Tobias Deschner, Klaus Zuberbühler.
PLoS ONE 3, e2431 (2008) | doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002431

The adaptive function of copulation calls in female primates has been debated for years. One influential idea is that copulation calls are a sexually selected trait, which enables females to advertise their receptive state to males. Male-male competition ensues and females benefit by getting better mating partners and higher quality offspring. We analysed the copulation calling behaviour of wild female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Budongo Forest, Uganda, but found no support for the male-male competition hypothesis. Hormone analysis showed that the calling behaviour of copulating females was unrelated to their fertile period and likelihood of conception. Instead, females called significantly more while with high-ranking males, but suppressed their calls if high-ranking females were nearby. Copulation calling may therefore be one potential strategy employed by female chimpanzees to advertise receptivity to high-ranked males, confuse paternity and secure future support from these socially important individuals. Competition between females can be dangerously high in wild chimpanzees, and our results indicate that females use their copulation calls strategically to minimise the risks associated with such competition.

　# 性行動は子孫繁栄のための生存戦略に直結するのか…

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asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：脊椎動物の祖先はナメクジウオ　「ホヤ」との論争に決着 - サイエンス

ヒトなど脊椎動物、祖先はナメクジウオの仲間…ゲノム解読で : 科学 : YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）

脊椎動物：祖先はナメクジウオ　ヒトと遺伝子６割共通 - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)

GenomeWeb News: New Genome Sequence Provides Clues About Vertebrate Evolution

Evolutionary biology: The amphioxus unleashed.
Henry Gee.
Nature 453, 999-1000 (2008) | doi:10.1038/453999a

The genome sequence of a species of amphioxus, an iconic organism in the history of evolutionary biology, opens up a fresh vista on the comparative investigation of chordates and vertebrates.

The amphioxus genome and the evolution of the chordate karyotype.
Nicholas H. Putnam, Thomas Butts, David E. K. Ferrier, Rebecca F. Furlong, Uffe Hellsten, Takeshi Kawashima, Marc Robinson-Rechavi, Eiichi Shoguchi, Astrid Terry, Jr-Kai Yu, E`lia Benito-Gutiérrez, Inna Dubchak, Jordi Garcia-Fernàndez, Jeremy J. Gibson-Brown, Igor V. Grigoriev, Amy C. Horton, Pieter J. de Jong, Jerzy Jurka, Vladimir V. Kapitonov, Yuji Kohara, Yoko Kuroki, Erika Lindquist, Susan Lucas, Kazutoyo Osoegawa, Len A. Pennacchio, Asaf A. Salamov, Yutaka Satou, Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Jeremy Schmutz, Tadasu Shin-I, Atsushi Toyoda, Marianne Bronner-Fraser, Asao Fujiyama, Linda Z. Holland, Peter W. H. Holland, Nori Satoh, Daniel S. Rokhsar.
Nature 453, 1064-1071 (2008) | doi:10.1038/nature06967

Lancelets ('amphioxus') are the modern survivors of an ancient chordate lineage, with a fossil record dating back to the Cambrian period. Here we describe the structure and gene content of the highly polymorphic ∼520-megabase genome of the Florida lancelet Branchiostoma floridae, and analyse it in the context of chordate evolution. Whole-genome comparisons illuminate the murky relationships among the three chordate groups (tunicates, lancelets and vertebrates), and allow not only reconstruction of the gene complement of the last common chordate ancestor but also partial reconstruction of its genomic organization, as well as a description of two genome-wide duplications and subsequent reorganizations in the vertebrate lineage. These genome-scale events shaped the vertebrate genome and provided additional genetic variation for exploitation during vertebrate evolution.

　# NHKスペシャルでアノマロカリスから逃げるピカイアを思い出してしまった…

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asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：慢性骨髄性白血病、根治へ治療法を開発　ハーバード大 - サイエンス

がん：制御遺伝子発見　日米伊チーム - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)

PML targeting eradicates quiescent leukaemia-initiating cells.
Keisuke Ito, Rosa Bernardi, Alessandro Morotti, Sahoko Matsuoka, Giuseppe Saglio, Yasuo Ikeda, Jacalyn Rosenblatt, David E. Avigan, Julie Teruya-Feldstein, Pier Paolo Pandolfi.
Nature 453, 1072-1078 (2008) | doi:10.1038/nature07016

The existence of a small population of 'cancer-initiating cells' responsible for tumour maintenance has been firmly demonstrated in leukaemia. This concept is currently being tested in solid tumours. Leukaemia-initiating cells, particularly those that are in a quiescent state, are thought to be resistant to chemotherapy and targeted therapies, resulting in disease relapse. Chronic myeloid leukaemia is a paradigmatic haematopoietic stem cell disease in which the leukaemia-initiating-cell pool is not eradicated by current therapy, leading to disease relapse on drug discontinuation. Here we define the critical role of the promyelocytic leukaemia protein (PML) tumour suppressor in haematopoietic stem cell maintenance, and present a new therapeutic approach for targeting quiescent leukaemia-initiating cells and possibly cancer-initiating cells by pharmacological inhibition of PML.

　# 抗ガン剤と亜ヒ酸の組み合わせが有効だなんて、分子生物学的に調べなきゃ出てこない発想だよな

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政府懇談会が提言、低炭素社会へ国民的取り組み求める : 環境 : YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）
　# なんか「低炭素社会」という言葉に違和感を覚えるのは気のせいかい？

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環境問題解決に大型研究施設の共有へ…Ｇ８科学技術相会合 : 環境 : YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）
　# ここでいう環境問題解決に使うという大型研究施設って具体的に何なんですか？

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岩手・宮城地震、震央から１１ｋｍの地点で２・１ｍ隆起 : 科学 : YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）

「駒の湯温泉」襲った土砂崩落、東京ドーム１・２杯分に : 科学 : YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）
　# 地震関連です

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光で細胞表面の受容体の動きを観察　京大が新手法 - MSN産経ニュース

お好みの蛍光色素で薬物受容体を瞬時に標識：創薬研究への応用 – 京都大学

Coiled-Coil Tag－Probe System for Quick Labeling of Membrane Receptors in Living Cells.
Yoshiaki Yano, Akiko Yano, Shinya Oishi, Yukihiko Sugimoto, Gozoh Tsujimoto, Nobutaka Fujii, Katsumi Matsuzaki.
ACS Chem. Biol., ASAP Article | doi:10.1021/cb8000556

The specific labeling of proteins in living cells using a genetically encodable tag and a small synthetic probe targeting the tag has been craved as an alternative to widely used larger fluorescent proteins. We describe a rapid method with a small tag (21 amino acids) for the fluorescence labeling of cell-surface receptors using a high affinity coiled-coil formation without metals or enzymes. The peptide probes K3 (KIAALKE)₃ and K4 (KIAALKE)₄ labeled with a fluorophore specifically stained the surface-exposed tag sequence E3 (EIAALEK)₃ attached to the N-terminus of the mouse-derived prosta-glandin EP3β receptor in living cells (K_d = 64 and 6 nM for K3 and K4, respectively). The labeling was quick (<1 min), nontoxic, and available even in culture medium without affecting receptor function. As an application of this tractable method, the agonist-induced internalization of the human-derived β-adrenergic receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor was successfully visualized.

　# 受容体じゃないところを標識したい場合はどうするんですかねぇ？

Science News | June 19(2), 2008

Daily Scan: Starbucks Is Gonna Love This

Observatory - Just Smelling the Coffee Can Wake Up Genes - NYTimes.com

Effects of Coffee Bean Aroma on the Rat Brain Stressed by Sleep Deprivation: A Selected Transcript- and 2D Gel-Based Proteome Analysis.
Han-Seok Seo, Misato Hirano, Junko Shibato, Randeep Rakwal, In Kyeong Hwang, Yoshinori Masuo.
J. Agric. Food Chem. 56, 4665–4673 (2008) | doi:10.1021/jf8001137

The aim of this study was 2-fold: (i) to demonstrate influences of roasted coffee bean aroma on rat brain functions by using the transcriptomics and proteomics approaches and (ii) to evaluate the impact of roasted coffee bean aroma on stress induced by sleep deprivation. The aroma of the roasted coffee beans was administered to four groups of adult male Wistar rats: 1, control group; 2, 24 h sleep deprivation-induced stress group (the stress group); 3, coffee aroma-exposed group without stress (the coffee group); and 4, the stress with coffee aroma group (the stress with coffee group). Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of some known genes responsive to aroma or stress was performed using total RNA from these four groups. A total of 17 selected genes of the coffee were differently expressed over the control. Additionally, the expression levels of 13 genes were different between the stress group and the stress with coffee group: Up-regulation was found for 11 genes, and down-regulation was seen for two genes in the stress with coffee group. We also looked to changes in protein profiles in these four samples using two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis; 25 differently expressed gel spots were detected on 2D gels stained by silver nitrate. Out of these, a total of nine proteins were identified by mass spectrometry. Identified proteins belonged to five functional categories: antioxidant; protein fate; cell rescue, defense, and virulence; cellular communication/signal transduction mechanism; and energy metabolism. Among the differentially expressed genes and proteins between the stress and the stress with coffee group, NGFR, trkC, GIR, thiol-specific antioxidant protein, and heat shock 70 kDa protein 5 are known to have antioxidant or antistress functions. In conclusion, the roasted coffee bean aroma changes the mRNA and protein expression levels of the rat brain, providing for the first time clues to the potential antioxidant or stress relaxation activities of the coffee bean aroma.

　# コーヒーは飲まなくても香りをかぐだけで効果があるんだそうな…けど、香ったら飲みたくなるよね

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GenomeWeb News: Diet, Exercise Affect Prostate Gene Expression

Changes in prostate gene expression in men undergoing an intensive nutrition and lifestyle intervention.
Dean Ornish, Mark Jesus M. Magbanua, Gerdi Weidner, Vivian Weinberg, Colleen Kemp, Christopher Green, Michael D. Mattie, Ruth Marlin, Jeff Simko, Katsuto Shinohara, Christopher M. Haqq, Peter R. Carroll.
PNAS 105, 8369-8374 (2008) | doi:10.1073/pnas.0803080105

Epidemiological and prospective studies indicate that comprehensive lifestyle changes may modify the progression of prostate cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms by which improvements in diet and lifestyle might affect the prostate microenvironment are poorly understood. We conducted a pilot study to examine changes in prostate gene expression in a unique population of men with low-risk prostate cancer who declined immediate surgery, hormonal therapy, or radiation and participated in an intensive nutrition and lifestyle intervention while undergoing careful surveillance for tumor progression. Consistent with previous studies, significant improvements in weight, abdominal obesity, blood pressure, and lipid profile were observed (all P <0.05), and surveillance of low-risk patients was safe. Gene expression profiles were obtained from 30 participants, pairing RNA samples from control prostate needle biopsy taken before intervention to RNA from the same patient's 3-month postintervention biopsy. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to validate array observations for selected transcripts. Two-class paired analysis of global gene expression using significance analysis of microarrays detected 48 up-regulated and 453 down-regulated transcripts after the intervention. Pathway analysis identified significant modulation of biological processes that have critical roles in tumorigenesis, including protein metabolism and modification, intracellular protein traffic, and protein phosphorylation (all P < 0.05). Intensive nutrition and lifestyle changes may modulate gene expression in the prostate. Understanding the prostate molecular response to comprehensive lifestyle changes may strengthen efforts to develop effective prevention and treatment. Larger clinical trials are warranted to confirm the results of this pilot study.

　# 前立腺における遺伝子発現にもダイエットや運動が影響するらしい…
　# 前立腺に不安のある方、生活を見直しては如何でしょう？

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ProteoMonitor: ABI Plans to Shutter Edman Sequencing Business, But Some Customers Complain
　# 購読していないので情報が断片しかありませんが…
　# Invitrogenとの合併のニュースのあとに早速物騒なニュースが出てきています
　# ABIがエドマン分解式N末シーケンサーから撤退するなんて想像だに出来ない…

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科学技術貢献の「藤原賞」に京大・柏原氏と早大・竜田氏 : 科学 : YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）
　# おめでとうございます

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タミフル服用、心臓への影響認められず…厚労省作業部会 : 科学 : YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）

タミフル：服用「異常行動出ず」…臨床試験の結果報告 - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)

タミフル臨床試験、異常行動と因果関係出ず　厚労省ＷＧ見解 - MSN産経ニュース
　# 産経は論外としても、読売と毎日でほぼ同じ内容の記事なれど、見出しによってこれだけ印象が異なるとは…

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緑内障　人間ドック、見落とす危険 (1/2ページ) - MSN産経ニュース
　# 明らかに遺伝的バックグラウンドがあるんだから、そろそろ定期検査を受けた方がいいのかもしれないな＞自分

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Daily Scan: Case in Point

Discovering Biology in a Digital World : Some people never learn: the genetics of learning from our mistakes

Genetically Determined Differences in Learning from Errors.
Tilmann A. Klein, Jane Neumann, Martin Reuter, Jürgen Hennig, D. Yves von Cramon, Markus Ullsperger.
Science 318, 1642-1645 (2008) | DOI: 10.1126/science.1145044

The role of dopamine in monitoring negative action outcomes and feedback-based learning was tested in a neuroimaging study in humans grouped according to the dopamine D2 receptor gene polymorphism DRD2-TAQ-IA. In a probabilistic learning task, A1-allele carriers with reduced dopamine D2 receptor densities learned to avoid actions with negative consequences less efficiently. Their posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC), involved in feedback monitoring, responded less to negative feedback than others' did. Dynamically changing interactions between pMFC and hippocampus found to underlie feedback-based learning were reduced in A1-allele carriers. This demonstrates that learning from errors requires dopaminergic signaling. Dopamine D2 receptor reduction seems to decrease sensitivity to negative action consequences, which may explain an increased risk of developing addictive behaviors in A1-allele carriers.

　# 失敗から学ぶか学ばないかも遺伝的背景によるとは…

Science News | June 19(1), 2008

asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：「次世代バイオ燃料」研究強化で合意　Ｇ８科学技術相会合 - サイエンス
　# 「木くずやわら、廃棄物などを原料にした『次世代バイオ燃料』」…一昔前には予算を取ることさえ難しいような研究テーマだったのに…

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サンゴ群落守れ、和歌山・串本沖にオニヒトデ退治「ポスト」 : 環境 : YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）
　# 捕獲したオニヒトデの有効活用法を考えねば…

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東京新聞:水の中に氷粒　理研が構造解明:科学(TOKYO Web)

水に潜む氷の影－水の連続的な状態変化を唱えた常識を覆す | 独立行政法人 理化学研究所プレスリリース

High resolution X-ray emission spectroscopy of liquid water: The observation of two structural motifs.
T. Tokushima, Y. Harada, O. Takahashi, Y. Senba, H. Ohashi, L.G.M. Pettersson, A. Nilsson, S. Shin.
Chemical Physics Letters, Article in Press | doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2008.04.077

The structure of liquid water is presently under intense debate. We summarize the historical development of the present description of water and the controversy surrounding the X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) study of Wernet et al. [Ph. Wernet et al., Science 304 (2004) 995]. In order to provide further insight into the connection between X-ray spectroscopy and the structure of the hydrogen bonding network, we report new data comprising high resolution oxygen K-edge X-ray emission spectra (XES) of liquid water. We observe two distinct narrow lone-pair derived peaks, assigned, respectively, to tetrahedral and strongly distorted hydrogen-bonded species; the assignment is based on comparison with ice and gas phase spectra, temperature dependent measurements, excitation energy dependence and theoretical simulations. We estimate a 2:1 ratio between distorted and tetrahedral species at room temperature and discuss what this implies in connection to the previous XAS study and in terms of liquid water structure.

　# 水は最も身近でありながら最も複雑な物質の一つでもあります

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梅雨前線、異常あり？　高気圧弱く「東西逆転」 - MSN産経ニュース
　# 多かれ少なかれ、毎年のように「今年の梅雨は…」てなことを言っているような気がする

教授が研究費で作ったテキストを有料配布　奈良教育大が処分 - MSN産経ニュース
　# 公費で作った本は売ったらあかんわな…何のために公費を使ったか分からへん

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1600枚の鏡で、高さ55mの塔に太陽光を集中：太陽熱発電所を写真で紹介 | WIRED VISION

BrightSource Energy
　# ソーラー・システムを地上で作っちゃったんだね…あ、ガンダムの話です…すんません

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史上最大の有袋類「ディプロトドン」、豪研究者が生態を調査　写真3枚　国際ニュース : AFPBB News

Uncovering the truth behind the largest marsupial to walk the earth - UQ News Online - The University of Queensland

Taxonomy and palaeobiology of the largest-ever marsupial, Diprotodon Owen, 1838 (Diprotodontidae, Marsupialia).
GILBERT J. PRICE.
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 153, 369-397 (2008) | doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00387.x

To determine accurately the rates of late Pleistocene megafaunal loss, it is fundamentally important to have accurate taxonomic information for every species. In Australia, accurate taxonomic information is lacking for several Pleistocene groups, including the largest marsupial ever to live, Diprotodon Owen, 1838. Diprotodon taxonomy has been complicated by early nomenclatural problems and by the occurrence of two distinct size classes of individuals that do not reflect an ontogenetic series. Traditionally, the two size classes have been regarded as separate species. However, a taxonomic investigation of large samples (> 1000 teeth) of Diprotodon material from several different fossil localities in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria suggests that there is little evidence for the discrimination of more than one morphospecies. Thus, Diprotodon is here considered a monotypic genus and the single morphospecies, D. optatum Owen, 1838 is considered to have been highly sexually dimorphic. By drawing analogy with extant sexually dimorphic megaherbivores and marsupials, the large form was probably male, and the small form was probably female. Diprotodon optatum probably moved in small, gender-segregated herds, and exhibited a polygynous breeding strategy. As a single morphospecies, D. optatum had a near-continental geographical distribution, similar to that of extant megaherbivores, possibly indicating its niche as a habitat generalist.

　# で、でかいな…じゃぁ、袋はどんなでかいねん？
　# 一応、有袋類だから、こんなに大きくなる動物でも赤ん坊は相当小さかったんだろうな

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男女の双子を6週間遅れで出産、インド　国際ニュース : AFPBB News
　# へぇ、そういう生み方って可能なんだ

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asahi.com

JAXA

asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：空の妖精に会いに行こう　謎の現象「きぼう」が迫る - サイエンス

ISAS | 雷放電観測の展開　対流圏から超高層大気，そして惑星へ / 宇宙科学の最前線
　# asahi.comの記事の図は明らかにJAXAのページの図の改変だと思うんだが、その図に堂々と「The Asahi Shinbun」と書き込む神経が分からん

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鳥取大調査：黄砂でぜんそく悪化も　環境汚染物質含み - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)
　# 「日本呼吸器学会で１７日に発表」だそうです
　# ほれ、いわんこっちゃない…だから黄砂が怖くてマスクしてたんだっちゅうの

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三菱電機オスラム：家庭向け白熱電球の製造中止へ - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)
　# 白熱電球が全くなくなっちゃうと、それはそれで子供たちに教えるときに困るんだが…

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新種鉱物：彗星のちりに含有　ＮＡＳＡ、大気中で採取 - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)

彗星のちりから新種の鉱物　世界初、太古の物質か - MSN産経ニュース (6/6より再掲)

彗星のちりから新種の鉱物 | 共同通信(6/6より再掲)

NASA - NASA Finds New Type of Comet Dust Mineral
　# そりゃ、6/12のプレスリリースの記事だもの、6/6にはソースも何もないわな

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国際宇宙ステーション：欧州実験棟「コロンバス」の装置故障で植物実験失敗 - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)
　# 6/12の再掲…あらま、自前のじゃなくてESAの装置が故障してたのね…

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The Scientist : NewsBlog : Reprogramming ups mortality? [16th June 2008]
　# International Society for Stem Cell Researchの学会発表だそうな
　# c-MysなしのiPS細胞のキメラマウスでも発癌や細胞死が起こってしまうんだそうな

台風6号フンシェン

WNIによりますと、6月19日(木)午前9時頃、フィリピンの東海上で台風6号フンシェン(中国語で「風神」)が発生したそうです。

今後は北上する見込みで、沖縄から本州の太平洋側では波が高くなることが予想されます。また、台風が梅雨前線を刺激して大雨を降らせることも考えられますので、今後の気象情報にご注意ください。