Chondrules with peculiar REE patterns: implications for solar nebular condensation at high C/O

Rare earth element (REE) data from two ordinary chondrite chondrules show distinct negative chondrite-normalized concentration anomalies of samarium, europium, and ytterbium. The peculiar patterns may be the result of REE gas/solid fractionation at an oxygen fugacity lower than has been assumed for the canonical solar nebula. We suggest that the two ordinary chondrite chondrules acquired the fractionated REE patterns by incorporation of highly reduced, ultrarefractory condensates in their precursors. This interpretation implies that high-temperature condensation processes occurred in nebular environments with a strong deficit in oxygen, such as regions with an enhanced carbon/oxygen ratio.     

Traces of human migrations in Helicobacter pylori populations

Helicobacter pylori, a chronic gastric pathogen of human beings, can be divided into seven populations and subpopulations with distinct geographical distributions. These modern populations derive their gene pools from ancestral populations that arose in Africa, Central Asia, and East Asia. Subsequent spread can be attributed to human migratory fluxes such as the prehistoric colonization of Polynesia and the Americas, the neolithic introduction of farming to Europe, the Bantu expansion within Africa, and the slave trade.     

Tumor immunity produced by the intradermal inoculation of living tumor cells and living Mycobacterium bovis (strain BCG)

The intradermal inoculation of mixtures containing living tumor cells and living Mycobacterium bovis (strain BCG) into unimmunized syngeneic guinea pigs results in an inflammatory reaction to the BCG, and there is no progressive tumor growth. In the absence of BCG the tumor grows progressively, metastasizes, and kills the animal. By conventional methods, it has not been possible to immunize syngeneic guinea pigs to the tumor used. Guinea pigs that receive mixtures of BCG and tumor cells, however, develop specific systemic tumor immunity as measured by delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity and by suppression of tumor growth.     

The site of attachment in human rhinovirus 14 for antiviral agents that inhibit uncoating

WIN 51711 and WIN 52084 are structurally related, antiviral compounds that inhibit the replication of rhino (common cold) viruses and related picornaviruses. They prevent the pH-mediated uncoating of the viral RNA. The compounds consist of a 3-methylisoxazole group that inserts itself into the hydrophobic interior of the VP1 beta-barrel, a connecting seven-membered aliphatic chain, and a 4-oxazolinylphenoxy group (OP) that covers the entrance to an ion channel in the floor of the "canyon." Viral disassembly may be inhibited by preventing the collapse of the VP1 hydrophobic pocket or by blocking the flow of ions into the virus interior.     

Involvement of mammalian Mus81 in genome integrity and tumor suppression

Mus81-Eme1 endonuclease has been implicated in the rescue of stalled replication forks and the resolution of meiotic recombination intermediates in yeast. We used gene targeting to study the physiological requirements of Mus81 in mammals. Mus81-/- mice are viable and fertile, which indicates that mammalian Mus81 is not essential for recombination processes associated with meiosis. Mus81-deficient mice and cells were hypersensitive to the DNA cross-linking agent mitomycin C but not to gamma-irradiation. Remarkably, both homozygous Mus81-/- and heterozygous Mus81+/- mice exhibited a similar susceptibility to spontaneous chromosomal damage and a profound and equivalent predisposition to lymphomas and other cancers. These studies demonstrate a critical role for the proper biallelic expression of the mammalian Mus81 in the maintenance of genomic integrity and tumor suppression.     

Viscosity of fluids in subduction zones

The viscosities of aqueous fluids with 10 to 80 weight percent dissolved silicates have been measured at 600 degrees to 950 degrees C and 1.0 to 2.0 gigapascals by in situ observation of falling spheres in the diamond anvil cell. The viscosities at 800 degrees C range from 10(-4) to 10(0.5) pascal seconds. The combination of low viscosities with a favorable wetting angle makes silicate-rich fluid an efficient agent for material transport at low-volume fractions. Our results therefore suggest that there may be a direct relationship between the position of the volcanic front and the onset of complete miscibility between water and silicate melt in the subducting slab.     

Mutations in dynein link motor neuron degeneration to defects in retrograde transport

Degenerative disorders of motor neurons include a range of progressive fatal diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal-bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Although the causative genetic alterations are known for some cases, the molecular basis of many SMA and SBMA-like syndromes and most ALS cases is unknown. Here we show that missense point mutations in the cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain result in progressive motor neuron degeneration in heterozygous mice, and in homozygotes this is accompanied by the formation of Lewy-like inclusion bodies, thus resembling key features of human pathology. These mutations exclusively perturb neuron-specific functions of dynein.     

Immunologic manipulation of metastases due to herpesvirus transformed cells

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), type 2 (HSV-2), and simian virus 40 (SV40) fail to induce immunity in weanling Syrian hamsters to transplant of hamster cells transformed by HSV-2. However, the development of metastatic tumors is markedly enhanced by prior immunization with HSV-1. Immunization with SV40, ultraviolet-irradiated tumor cells, or ultraviolet-irradiated normal hamster embryo cells inhibits the development of metastases. The HSV-hamster system appears a good one for the study of development, prevention, and control of metastases by mammalian cells transformed by a common human virus.