Deaf intermarriage has limited effect on the prevalence of recessive deafness and no effect on underlying allelic frequency.

The idea that deaf intermarriage increases the prevalence of deafness was forcefully pushed in the late 19th century by Alexander Graham Bell, in proceedings published by the National Academy of Science. Bell's hypothesis was not supported by a 19th century study by Edward Allen Fay, which was funded by Bell's own organization, the Volta Bureau. The Fay study showed through an analysis of 4,471 deaf marriages that the chances of having deaf children did not increase significantly when both parents were deaf.

Welcoming Deaf Students into STEM: Recommendations for University Science Education.

Scientists are shaped by their unique life experiences and bring these perspectives to their research. Diversity in life and cultural experiences among scientists, therefore, broadens research directions and, ultimately, scientific discoveries. Deaf individuals, for example, have successfully contributed their unique perspectives to scientific inquiry.

"Everyone Was Nice…But I Was Still Left Out": An Interview Study About Deaf Interns' Research Experiences in STEM.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate research experiences improve success, persistence, and promote a feeling of belonging to a community. Like their hearing peers, deaf STEM majors often participate in undergraduate research experiences. However, deaf students typically interact with hearing faculty lacking experience with deaf students and awareness of Deaf culture, which unintentionally impacts their research experiences.

The Deaf Mentoring Survey: A Community Cultural Wealth Framework for Measuring Mentoring Effectiveness with Underrepresented Students.

Disabled individuals, women, and individuals from cultural/ethnic minorities continue to be underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Research has shown that mentoring improves retention for underrepresented individuals. However, existing mentoring surveys were developed to assess the majority population, not underrepresented individuals.

Structural Basis for the Failure of the C1 Domain of Ras Guanine Nucleotide Releasing Protein 2 (RasGRP2) to Bind Phorbol Ester with High Affinity.

The C1 domain represents the recognition module for diacylglycerol and phorbol esters in protein kinase C, Ras guanine nucleotide releasing protein (RasGRP), and related proteins. RasGRP2 is exceptional in that its C1 domain has very weak binding affinity (Kd = 2890 ± 240 nm for [(3)H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate. We have identified four amino acid residues responsible for this lack of sensitivity.

Biological profile of the less lipophilic and synthetically more accessible bryostatin 7 closely resembles that of bryostatin 1.

The bryostatins are a group of 20 macrolides isolated by Pettit and co-workers from the marine organism Bugula neritina. Bryostatin 1, the flagship member of the family, has been the subject of intense chemical and biological investigations due to its remarkably diverse biological activities, including promising indications as therapy for cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and HIV. Other bryostatins, however, have attracted far less attention, most probably due to their relatively low natural abundance and associated scarcity of supply.

Kinetics of penetration influence the apparent potency of vanilloids on TRPV1.

Evidence that the ligand binding site of TRPV1 lies on the inner face of the plasma membrane and that much of the TRPV1 itself is localized to internal membranes suggests that the rate of ligand entry into the cell may be an important determinant of the kinetics of ligand action. In this study, we synthesized a BODIPY TR-labeled fluorescent capsaicin analog (CHK-884) so that we could directly measure ligand entry. We report that CHK-884 penetrated only slowly into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing rat TRPV1, with a t1/2 of 30 +/- 4 min, and localized in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi.

A novel diacylglycerol-lactone shows marked selectivity in vitro among C1 domains of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms alpha and delta as well as selectivity for RasGRP compared with PKCalpha.

Although multiple natural products are potent ligands for the diacylglycerol binding C1 domain of protein kinase C (PKC), RasGRP, and related targets, the high conservation of C1 domains has impeded the development of selective ligands. We characterized here a diacylglycerol-lactone, 130C037, emerging from a combinatorial chemical synthetic strategy, which showed substantial selectivity. 130C037 gave shallow binding curves for PKC isoforms alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon, with apparent Ki values ranging from 340 nm for PKCalpha to 29 nm for PKCepsilon.

Role of phorbol ester localization in determining protein kinase C or RasGRP3 translocation: real-time analysis using fluorescent ligands and proteins.

The diacylglycerol signaling pathway, involving protein kinase C (PKC) and RasGRP, is a promising therapeutic target for both cancer and other indications. The phorbol esters, ultrapotent diacylglycerol analogues, bind to and activate PKC and RasGRP. Here, using fluorescent phorbol esters and complementary fluorescent PKC and RasGRP constructs, we determined the localization of the phorbol ester as a function of time after addition and how the resultant PKC or RasGRP3 translocation related to ligand localization.

Analysis by fluorescence resonance energy transfer of the interaction between ligands and protein kinase Cdelta in the intact cell.

The role of the protein kinase C (PKC) family of serine/threonine kinases in cellular differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, and other responses makes them attractive therapeutic targets. The activation of PKCs by ligands in vivo varies depending upon cell type; therefore, methods are needed to screen the potency of PKCs in this context. Here we describe a genetically encoded chimera of native PKCdelta fused to yellow- and cyan-shifted green fluorescent protein, which can be expressed in mammalian cells.

The lgtABCDE gene cluster, involved in lipooligosaccharide biosynthesis in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, contains multiple promoter sequences.

Biosynthesis of the variable core domain of lipooligosaccharide (LOS) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is mediated by glycosyl transferases encoded by lgtABCDE. Changes within homopolymeric runs within lgtA, lgtC, and lgtD affect the expression state of these genes, with the nature of the LOS expressed determined by the functionality of these genes. However, the mechanism for modulating the amount of multiple LOS chemotypes expressed in a single cell is not understood.