Genome annotation of Caenorhabditis briggsae by TEC-RED identifies new exons, paralogs, and conserved and novel operons.

The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae is routinely used in comparative and evolutionary studies involving its well-known cousin Caenorhabditis elegans. The C. briggsae genome sequence has accelerated research by facilitating the generation of new resources, tools, and functional studies of genes.

Axin-Mediated Regulation of Lifespan and Muscle Health in Requires AMPK-FOXO Signaling.

Aging is a significant risk factor for several diseases. Studies have uncovered multiple signaling pathways that modulate aging, including insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 signaling (IIS). In , the key regulator of IIS is DAF-16/FOXO.

Genome editing in the nematode using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

The CRISPR/Cas system has recently emerged as a powerful tool to engineer the genome of an organism. The system is adopted from bacteria where it confers immunity against invading foreign DNA. This work reports the first successful use of the CRISPR/Cas system in (a cousin of the well-known nematode ), to generate mutations via non-homologous end joining.

Sex-specific mechanism of social hierarchy in mice.

The establishment of social hierarchies is a naturally occurring, evolutionarily conserved phenomenon with a well-established impact on fitness and health. Investigations of complex social group dynamics may offer novel opportunities for translational studies of autism spectrum disorder. Here we describe a robust behavioral paradigm using an automated version of the tube test.

The role of attachment styles in regulating the effects of dopamine on the behavior of salespersons.

TWO CLASSIC STRATEGIC ORIENTATIONS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO PERVADE THE BEHAVIOR OF MODERN SALESPERSONS: a sales orientation (SO) where salespersons use deception or guile to get customers to buy even if they do not need a product, and a customer orientation (CO) where salespersons first attempt to discover the customer's needs and adjust their product and selling approach to meet those needs. Study 1 replicates recent research and finds that the Taq A1 variant of the DRD2 gene is not related to either sales or CO, whereas the 7-repeat variant of the DRD4 gene is related to CO but not SO. Study 2 investigates gene × phenotype explanations of orientation of salespersons, drawing upon recent research in molecular genetics and biological/psychological attachment theory.

Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene explain why sales professionals love to help customers.

Polymorphisms of the OXTR gene affect people's social interaction styles in various social encounters: carriers of the OXTR GG, compared to the OXTR AA/AG in general, are more motivated to interact socially and detect social salience. We focus on sales professionals operating in knowledge intensive organizations. Study 1, with a sample of 141 sales people, shows that carriers of the OXTR GG allele, compared to the OXTR AA/AG allele, are more motivated to help customers than to manipulatively impose goods/services on them.

fMRI activities in the emotional cerebellum: a preference for negative stimuli and goal-directed behavior.

Several studies indicate that the cerebellum might play a role in experiencing and/or controlling emphatic emotions, but it remains to be determined whether there is a distinction between positive and negative emotions, and, if so, which specific parts of the cerebellum are involved in these types of emotions. Here, we visualized activations of the cerebellum and extracerebellar regions using high-field fMRI, while we asked participants to observe and imitate images with pictures of human faces expressing different emotional states or with moving geometric shapes as control. The state of the emotions could be positive (happiness and surprise), negative (anger and disgust), or neutral.

Iron-Sulfur Clusters with SiMe(2)-Bridged Cyclopentadienyl Ligands: [Me(2)Si(eta(5)-C(5)H(4))(2)](2)Fe(5)S(12), [Me(2)Si(eta(5)-C(5)H(4))(2)](2)Fe(4)S(6), and [Me(2)Si(eta(5)-C(5)H(4))(2)](2)Fe(4)S(6)(CO).

The synthesis and characterization of iron-sulfur clusters stabilized by dimethylsilyl-bridged cyclopentadienyl groups are reported. The thermal reaction of Me(2)Si(eta(5)-C(5)H(4))(2)Fe(2)(CO)(4) (1) with S(8) yields the tetranuclear cubane-type cluster compound [Me(2)Si(eta(5)-C(5)H(4))(2)](2)Fe(4)S(6) (4) and the pentanuclear cluster compound [Me(2)Si(eta(5)-C(5)H(4))(2)](2)Fe(5)S(12) (3) in high yields. The photochemical reaction of 1 with S(8) yields the tetranuclear cluster compound [Me(2)Si(eta(5)-C(5)H(4))(2)](2)Fe(4)S(6)(CO) (5), which contains one residual terminal carbonyl.