Pemoline and magnesium hydroxide: lack of effect on RNA and protein synthesis

Brain RNA polymerase isolated from rats treated with pemoline and magnesium hydroxide (Cylert) was not more active than enzyme from control animals. The drug did not increase enzymic activity in vitro. Pemoline did not significantly affect either RNA or protein synthesis in suspensions of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells.     

Requirement of Cks2 for the first metaphase/anaphase transition of mammalian meiosis

We generated mice lacking Cks2, one of two mammalian homologs of the yeast Cdk1-binding proteins, Suc1 and Cks1, and found them to be viable but sterile in both sexes. Sterility is due to failure of both male and female germ cells to progress past the first meiotic metaphase. The chromosomal events up through the end of prophase I are normal in both CKS2-/- males and females, suggesting that the phenotype is due directly to failure to enter anaphase and not a consequence of a checkpoint-mediated metaphase I arrest.     

Interanimal "memory" transfer: results from brain and liver homogenates

Sixty mice received either shock or no shock in a shuttle box, or nonspecific stress in another apparatus. Brain and liver homogenates from these animals were then injected into 120 naive recipients, who were all tested in the shuttle box. Subjects receiving brain or liver from shocked or stressed donors had significantly higher latencies than control counterparts. These results are interpreted in terms of stress, rather than a memory transfer hypothesis.     

Permselective Membranes: Spectroscopic and Conductivity Effects

The absorption spectrum of permselective ion-exchange membranes containing positively charged groups shows specific effects which depend on the nature of the negative gegenion used. Such colored permselective membranes with positive or negative functional groups show increased condutivity after illumination with light flashes. The increased conductivity returns slowly to the original value.     

The genome of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana: ecology, evolution, and metabolism

Diatoms are unicellular algae with plastids acquired by secondary endosymbiosis. They are responsible for approximately 20% of global carbon fixation. We report the 34 million-base pair draft nuclear genome of the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana and its 129 thousand-base pair plastid and 44 thousand-base pair mitochondrial genomes. Sequence and optical restriction mapping revealed 24 diploid nuclear chromosomes. We identified novel genes for silicic acid transport and formation of silica-based cell walls, high-affinity iron uptake, biosynthetic enzymes for several types of polyunsaturated fatty acids, use of a range of nitrogenous compounds, and a complete urea cycle, all attributes that allow diatoms to prosper in aquatic environments.