MICROBIOLOGY:
Bacteria and Bacterial Viruses Share Needlelike Structure for Infection
HMS researchers have found that certain pathogenic bacteria create
a syringelike molecular machine that resembles a structure found in bacterial
viruses. Based on two papers, one published online Feb. 27 in Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences and the other in the March Cell
Host and Microbe, the scientists, including (from left) John Mekalanos,
Amy Ma and Marek Basler, hypothesize that the machines have a common ancestor
and have evolved divergent genetics and purposes: bacterial viruses use the nanoscale
apparatus to inject DNA into bacterial cells while bacteria use it to insert
a poison tip into human cells. The insights from this work may lead to novel
drugs and vaccines against bacterial infections.
GRANTS:
HMS Looks to Stimulus Funding to Save Jobs, Advance Science
After nearly six years of increasingly lean federal funding, the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 pumps an
extra $21.5 billion into federal research and development funding,
including $10 billion in extramural funding for the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest source of HMS support. As the
first major new stimulus grant deadline looms, HMS researchers are
applying in hopes of saving or creating skilled jobs in the lab and spurring
new discoveries to help even more people. Deborah Good and other leaders
in HMS administration are coordinating resources for the faculty effort.
ONCOLOGY:
Stem Cells Turned to Weapons Against Cancer
Stem cells might be as good for targeted destruction as they are for
regeneration. Searching for new treatments against intractable brain
tumors, Khalid Shah and his team introduced human stem cells loaded
with an anticancer gene into mice. The armed stem cells effectively
sought and destroyed glioblastomas, the most lethal type of brain tumor.
Mice undergoing the experimental treatment had smaller tumors and survived
30 percent longer than controls. The findings appear in the March 5 Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.
Copyright 2009 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College