Dilatonic, Current-Carrying Cosmic String

We study the implications of a scalar-tensorial gravity for the metric of an isolated self-gravitating superconducting cosmic string. These modifications are induced by an arbitrary coupling of a massless scalar field to the usual tensorial field in the gravitational Lagrangian. We derive the metric in the weak-field approximation and we analyse the behaviour of light in this spacetime. We end with some discussions.Comment: 12 pp, Latex, no figures, based on a talk given by M. E. X. Guimaraes at the COSMO 99, 27/9 to 02/10/99, ICTP, Trieste, I

Decifrando o genoma.

Os genes, unidades biologicas que determinam as caracteristicas de um organismo, estao contidos em moleculas de DNA presentes no nucleo das celulas. Portanto, o estudo do DNA e de fundamental importancia para o entendimento de como as caracteristicas de um organismo sao formadas. Com o grande avanco alcancado pelas tecnicas de Biologia molecular nas ultimas decadas, hoje, somos capazes de isolar e sequenciar moleculas de DNA de maneira rotineira. A partir da otimizacao das tecnicas de sequenciamento, surgiram programas com o objetivo de sequenciar genomas inteiros. atualmente, estao depositados em bancos de dados mais de 3 milhoes de sequencias de DNA e, grande parte delas ainda nao tem sua funcao conhecida. O processo de caracterizacao da funcao genica envolve um volume muito maior de pesquisas e conhecimentos do que as etapas de isolamento e sequenciamento. A funcao de um gene pode ser desvendada por meio de tecnicas de genetica direta ou reversa. Descrevem-se algumas das metodologias usadas para a caracterizacao da funcao genica, bem como o potencial dos programas de sequenciamento de genomas

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease-associated mutants of GDAP1 dissociate its roles in peroxisomal and mitochondrial fission

Journal ArticleCopyright © 2013 European Molecular Biology OrganizationMitochondria and peroxisomes can be fragmented by the process of fission. The fission machineries of both organelles share a set of proteins. GDAP1 is a tail-anchored protein of mitochondria and induces mitochondrial fragmentation. Mutations in GDAP1 lead to Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), an inherited peripheral neuropathy, and affect mitochondrial dynamics. Here, we show that GDAP1 is also targeted to peroxisomes mediated by the import receptor Pex19. Knockdown of GDAP1 leads to peroxisomal elongation that can be rescued by re-expressing GDAP1 and by missense mutated forms found in CMT patients. GDAP1-induced peroxisomal fission is dependent on the integrity of its hydrophobic domain 1, and on Drp1 and Mff, as is mitochondrial fission. Thus, GDAP1 regulates mitochondrial and peroxisomal fission by a similar mechanism. However, our results reveal also a more critical role of the amino-terminal GDAP1 domains, carrying most CMT-causing mutations, in the regulation of mitochondrial compared to peroxisomal fission. © 2013 European Molecular Biology Organization.Swiss National Science FoundationNational Center for Competence in Research (NCCR)BBSRCPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)Fundo Europeu De Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER