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A major new textbook, Tutorial on Neural
Systems Modeling, by Professor Tom Anastasio
on computational neuroscience has just been
published by Sinauer Associates. The book of
542 pages explains how to create computer
models of systems of interacting neuron-like elements
(or units). The theme that unifies all of
the models is that the response properties of the
units, which are compared with those of real
neurons, emerge as a consequence of the computation
being performed. The link between
observable properties and useful computations
provides insight into the ways in which real
neural systems may actually work.
Professor of Biochemistry Stephen Sligar
and colleagues have successfully recreated
integrin activation in vitro, resolving longstanding
uncertainties about the cellular
mechanisms behind the process. Their
findings, “Recreation of the terminal events
in physiological integrin activation,” are
published and spot-lighted in the January
4th issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.
jcb.rupress.org/cgi/content/full/188/1/3
In a new study published in Cell, and
rated “exceptional” by the Faculty of 1000
Biology, Professor of Biochemistry Jim
Morrissey and colleagues have determined
that polyphosphate, an inorganic polymer
of phosphate secreted by human platelets,
is an important link in thrombotic diseases
and inflammation.
www.cell.com/fulltext/S0092-8674(09)01374-9
In a new study, Assistant Professor of Molecular
and Integrative Physiology Kevin
Xiang and colleagues report that betablockers
can have a helpful, or harmful,
effect on the heart, depending on their
molecular activity. The study, which appears
in the journal Circulation Research,
found that beta-blockers that target both
the alpha- and beta-receptors on the heart
muscle offer the most benefit to cardiac
patients, while those that target only the
beta-receptors can actually undermine the
structure and function of the heart.
circres.ahajournals.org
Associate Professor of Molecular and Integrative
Physiology Jongsook Kim Kemper
is the lead author on a paper published
in Cell Metabolism: “FXR Acetylation Is
Normally Dynamically Regulated by p300
and SIRT1 but Constitutively Elevated in
Metabolic Disease States.”
In new papers appearing in October in
Science and the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Associate Professor
of Biochemistry and Biophysics and
Computational Biology Raven H. Huang
and his colleagues describe the first RNA
repair system to be discovered in bacteria.
This is only the second RNA repair system
discovered to date.
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
and Biophysics and Computational Biology
Maria Spies (see page 12) and Professor
of Biophysics and Computational Biology
Taekjip Ha are contributing authors of an
article published in Molecular Cell: “Single-
Molecule Analysis Reveals Differential
Effect of ssDNA-Binding Proteins on DNA
Translocation by XPD Helicase.” The issue
includes a preview article that summarizes
the findings using an elegant metaphor.
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
David Clayton and colleagues have
discovered that the gene expression of a
zebra finch is altered when the bird hears
a new song by a bird of the same species.
The findings were published in PNAS and
reported in Science Daily and the Wall Street
Journal.
Sulfolobus islandicus, a microbe that can live
in boiling acid, is offering up its secrets to
researchers hardy enough to capture it from
the volcanic hot springs where it thrives. In
a new study, which has received international
attention, a team of researchers led
by Assistant Professor of Microbiology Rachel
Whitaker report that populations of S.
islandicus are more diverse than previously
thought, and that their diversity is driven
largely by geographic isolation. The study
appeared in PNAS.
Due for publication by Stipes Publishing Co. is
a book entitled A History of Nerve, Muscle and
Synapse Physiology that was started by the late
Professor C. Ladd Prosser and completed with Professors
Brian Curtis and Essie Meisami as coauthors
and editors. In 600 pages and 24 chapters,
the book traces the history of the development of
the physiology and neurobiology of nerve, muscle
and synapses from the seventeenth century to the
late twentieth century. The focus is on the historical
development of facts, techniques and ideas
regarding nerve, muscle and synapses. Brief biographies
of the major personalities are provided by
Professor Meisami.
SCHOOL OF MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY . 15