Biotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Artificial enzymes for hydrogen conversion

A new review article summarizes the development of artificial maturation of hydrogenases and how this invention has opened up new avenues in the study of these enzymes, and describe the impact of these findings on energy research in the future.

September 12, 2017 Read more

Outside-in reprogramming: Antibody study suggests a better way to make stem cells

Scientists have found a new approach to the reprogramming of ordinary adult cells into stem cells.

September 11, 2017 Read more

Evolution in the lab

Experiments with bacteria show that genes can fuse together, leading to the production of novel proteins.

September 8, 2017 Read more

Maximum precision in protein synthesis

Scientists have investigated the mode of action of a molecular chaperone vital to protein synthesis. They were able to demonstrate that the speed of protein synthesis is associated with the function of the Ssb chaperone.

September 8, 2017 Read more

Researchers break through the wall in bacterial membrane vesicle research

Scientists investigated membrane vesicle formation in the model Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis. The team was able to visualize the release of membrane vesicles by using live cell imaging techniques and state-of-the-art electron cryotomography.

September 7, 2017 Read more

Vitamin B12 fuels microbial growth

Scarce compound is key for cellular metabolism and may help shape microbial communities that affect environmental cycles and bioenergy production.

September 5, 2017 Read more

Scientists developed 'smart fertilizer'

Researchers combined traditional fertilizer with a biodegradable polymer, which allowed to slow down the process of decomposition and release of a nutrient into the soil. As a result, the use of fertilizers has been improved and the pressures on the environment have been reduced.

September 5, 2017 Read more

How receptors for medicines work inside cells

G protein-coupled receptors are the key target of a large number of drugs. Scientists have now been able to show more precisely how these receptors act in the cell interior.

September 5, 2017 Read more

New fluorescent dyes could advance biological imaging

With a new technique to craft a spectrum of glowing dyes, chemists are no longer chasing rainbows.

September 4, 2017 Read more

Bioengineered livers mimic natural development

Scientists discover that three-dimensional liver buds grown in a dish from stem cells mimic the molecular signatures observed during the natural development of human liver.

September 1, 2017 Read more

Key factor identified in gene silencing

Ubiquitinated histone gene silencing is vital in embryo development and goes awry in some cancers.

August 31, 2017 Read more

Placenta-on-a-chip: Microsensor simulates malaria in the womb to develop treatments

By combining microbiology with engineering technologies, researchers are developing a first-of-its-kind 3D model that uses a single microfluidic sensing chip to study the complicated processes that take place in malaria-infected placenta as well as other placenta-related diseases and pathologies.

August 29, 2017 Read more

New open-source software for analyzing intact proteins

'Informed-Proteomics' eases top-down proteomics.

August 29, 2017 Read more

LEGO-like proteins revealed

LEGO-like assemblies should have formed relatively frequently during evolution, according to scientists.

August 28, 2017 Read more

Single-nucleus RNA sequencing, droplet by droplet

DroNc-Seq - a technology that merges single-nucleus RNA sequencing with microfluidics - brings new scale to gene expression studies in complex tissues.

August 28, 2017 Read more

CLAMP's dual duties may make it model for studies of protein function in context

New research on a crucial protein in fruit flies provides a clear model for a fundamental question in biology that's significant for drug development in particular: What influences the exact same protein to coordinate a vital molecular process on one chromosome but an entirely different one on another chromosome?

August 28, 2017 Read more

Researchers unlock regenerative potential of cells in the mouse retina

Researchers use a clue from zebrafish to discover the cues that reprogram Muller glia into retinal neurons.

August 28, 2017 Read more

E. coli tripeptide production model reveals surprising complexity

The incredible complexity of a single-celled organism is revealed by a computer model of protein production.

August 25, 2017 Read more