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Functional human liver cells grown in the lab

Scientists describe a new technique for growing human hepatocytes in the laboratory. This groundbreaking development could help advance a variety of liver-related research and applications, from studying drug toxicity to creating bio-artificial liver support for patients awaiting transplantations.

Nov 26th, 2015

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Plant defense as a biotech tool

Against voracious beetles or caterpillars plants protect themselves with cyanide. Certain enzymes release the toxic substance when the plant is chewed. These HNL-called enzymes are also important for industry. Researchers found a new biocatalyst in a fern which outshines all other HNL-type enzymes on the market.

Nov 24th, 2015

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Bioart: An introduction

Bioart ranges from bacterial manipulation to glowing rabbits, cellular sculptures. In the pursuit of creating art, practitioners have generated tools and techniques that have aided researchers, while sometimes crossing into controversy, such as by releasing invasive species into the environment, blurring the lines between art and biology, and challenging scientific thinking.

Nov 23rd, 2015

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Novel compounds synthesis strategy with the chimera enzyme

Researchers have discovered and described the function of a unique enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of terpene (terpenoid) natural products, and successfully altered its function by altering its structure so that the enzyme produces another molecule.

Nov 9th, 2015

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Facilitating processing of biomass

Usually, harvesting energy and raw materials from plants requires many process steps and aggressive chemicals. To make these processes more efficient and resource saving, researchers are looking for suitable enzymes. Using neutrons, researchers have now investigated the reaction mechanism of an important class of enzymes: the glycosidases.

Nov 2nd, 2015

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