The NCBI dbGaP database of genotypes and phenotypes

The National Center for Biotechnology Information has created the dbGaP public repository for individual-level phenotype, exposure, genotype and sequence data and the associations between them. dbGaP assigns stable, unique identifiers to studies and subsets of information from those studies, including documents, individual phenotypic variables, tables of trait data, sets of genotype data, computed phenotype-genotype associations, and groups of study subjects who have given similar consents for use of their data.     

Earliest Homo.

The origin of our own genus, Homo, has been tentatively correlated with worldwide climatic cooling documented at about 2.4 Myr (million years). It has also been conjectured that members of Homo made the first stone tools, currently dated at 2.6-2.4 Myr. But fossil specimens clearly attributable to Homo before about 1.9 Myr have been lacking. In 1967 a fossil hominoid temporal bone (KNM-BC1) from the Chemeron Formation of Kenya was described as family Hominidae gen. et sp. indet. Although a surface find, its provenance within site JM85 (BPRP site K002) was established and a stratigraphic section provided indicating the specimen's position. This evidence has been affirmed but the exact age of the fossil was never determined, and the absence of suitable comparative hominid material has precluded a more definitive taxonomic assignment. Here we present 40Ar/39Ar age determinations on material from the hominid site indicating an age of 2.4 Myr. In addition, comparative studies allow us to assign KNM-BC1 to the genus Homo, making it the earliest securely known fossil of our own genus found so far.     

Lactoferrin

Lactoferrin (LF) is a member of the transferrin family that is expressed and secreted by glandular epithelial cells and is found in the secondary granules of neutrophils. Originally viewed as an iron-binding protein in milk, with bacteriostatic properties, it is becoming increasingly evident that LF is a multifunctional protein to which several physiological roles have been attributed. These include regulation of iron homeostasis, host defense against a broad range of microbial infections, anti-inflammatory activity, regulation of cellular growth and differentiation and protection against cancer development and metastasis. While iron binding is likely central to some of the biological roles of LF, other activities, including specific interactions with mammalian receptors and microbial components, also contribute to the pleoitropic functional nature of this protein. In this article, recent advances in the understanding of these functions at the cellular and molecular level are discussed.     

Structure and function of the type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor

The type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R), a transmembrane tyrosine kinase, is widely expressed across many cell types in foetal and postnatal tissues. Activation of the receptor following binding of the secreted growth factor ligands IGF-1 and IGF-2 elicits a repertoire of cellular responses including proliferation, and the protection of cells from programmed cell death or apoptosis. As a result, signalling through the IGF-1R is the principal pathway responsible for somatic growth in foetal mammals, whereas somatic growth in postnatal animals is achieved through the synergistic interaction of growth hormone and the IGFs. Forced overexpression of the IGF-1R results in the malignant transformation of cultured cells: conversely, downregulation of IGF-1R levels can reverse the transformed phenotype of tumour cells, and may render them sensitive to apoptosis in vivo. Elevated levels of IGF-IR are observed in a variety of human tumour types, whereas epidemiological studies implicate the IGF-1 axis as a predisposing factor in the pathogenesis of human breast and prostate cancer. The IGF-1R has thus emerged as a therapeutic target for the development of antitumour agents. Recent progress towards the elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of the extracellular domain of the IGF-1R represents an opportunity for the rational assembly of small molecule antagonists of receptor function for clinical use.     

The occurrence of 4-ethyl- and 2,5-dimethylazulene in cracking column products

Zusammenfassung Es wird das Vorkommen des 4-äthyl- und des 2,5-Dimethylazulens in hochsiedenden Nebenprodukten des thermischen Crack-Verfahrens festgestellt. Die Azulene wurden durch ihre Spektren im Sichtbaren, sowie durch ihre Trinitrobenzolkomplexe charakterisiert.