+ Relative level Auxin – Computer-controlled yeast French researchers have created a platform that connects yeast cells to a computer. This cell/machine interface makes it possible to control the level of gene expression in yeast in real time and at a selected rate. This technological feat opens up application prospects in the fields of synthetic biology and biotechnologies, especially for the production by cells of useful molecules. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences August 2012 online Dendrite Presynaptic neuron Neurotransmitters Synaptic vesicle Neuroreceptors Neuronal axon Postsynaptic neuron Synaptic cleft Map of auxin distribution in the root tip of Arabidopsis thaliana obtained using a sensor. Sensor tracks distribution of plant hormones Like animals, plants have hormones that regulate their development. A French team working in collaboration with universities in the UK and Belgium has developed a sensor that can be used to observe in vivo one of the most important of these hormones, auxin, in plant tissue. To achieve this, the researchers used a fluorescent protein that breaks down in the presence of the hormone. This enabled them to show that the spatio-temporal redistribution of auxin during plant development is far more complex than previously thought. Nature January 2012 online Joint state-of-the-art facility for the life sciences in the Paris region Dedicated to an integrated research platform dubbed Imagif, a new building completed in September 2012 brings together a wide range of high-tech resources for the life sciences and biochemistry and makes them available to the academic and industrial scientific community. With a total surface area of 3,709 m² and at a cost of €11.4 million, the facility is the first of the many components that will make up the Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule (I2BC), one of the flagship projects of the future Paris-Saclay University. The project will include an auditorium, exhibition hall and training rooms, as well as several areas open to the public. French scientists have discovered a new species of photosynthetic bacterium that has the surprising ability to produce minerals inside its own body. The study, published in Science, could radically change our interpretation of the ancient fossil record. ------------------------------------------------- The BRDT protein plays a key role in orchestrating the key stages in the production of sperm cells. Published in The EMBO Journal, these findings by a French research team open up new avenues for the development of a male contraceptive pill. --------------------------------------------------- 19 The mechanism of neurotransmission. Scientists have a good grasp of the mechanism that, in a highly controlled manner, releases neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft between two neurons: a vesicle containing the neurotransmitter molecules fuses with the membrane of the neuron, opening a pore to release them into the synapse. This fusion process is made possible by two proteins – one located on the vesicle, and the other on the neuron membrane. The proteins bind to each other, forming a membrane-bridging complex called SNAREpin. By using suspended nanometer-sized membranes, or “nanodiscs”, researchers from France and the US have now shown that, while a single SNAREpin is enough to open the fusion pore, at least three SNAREpins are required to keep the pore open and allow release of the neurotransmitters. These findings settle years of debate. Science March 2012 2012 A year at CNRS
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