Biotechnology News – Latest Headlines

The science of fluoride flipping

A new imaging technique helps researchers study tiny, time-sensitive biological processes - the crucial underpinnings of human health and disease.

August 23, 2017 Read more

DNA sensor system developed for specific and sensitive measurement of cancer-relevant enzyme activity

The development of DNA sensor systems is of great importance for advances in medical science. Now another piece of the puzzle for the development of personalized medicine has been found with the results of a highly sensitive monitoring of cancer-related topoisomerase II enzymes.

August 23, 2017 Read more

Spinning plant waste into carbon fiber for cars, planes

Researchers report transforming lignin into carbon fiber to produce a lower-cost material strong enough to build car or aircraft parts.

August 23, 2017 Read more

Treating arthritis with algae

When chemically modified, this 'alginate' reduces oxidative stress, has an anti-inflammatory effect in cell culture tests and suppresses the immune reaction against cartilage cells, thereby combating the causes of arthritis.

August 23, 2017 Read more

Quantum ruler for biomolecules

Physicists measure molecular electronic properties of vitamins.

August 22, 2017 Read more

A tougher dental restoration composite

Scientists developed a new dental restoration composite that proves more durable than the conventional material.

August 22, 2017 Read more

Biophysics explains how immune cells kill bacteria

A new data analysis technique, moving subtrajectory analysis, defines the dynamics and kinetics of key molecules in the immune response to an infection. These biophysical descriptions are expected to clarify the TCR microcluster, an essential assembly for a T cell to initiate its attack on a pathogen.

August 21, 2017 Read more

A map of the cell's power station

Researchers are mapping the distribution of all proteins in mitochondria for the first time.

August 18, 2017 Read more

Collagen in cartilage tissues behaves like liquid crystals in a smart phone screen

The collagen changes its crystallinity in response to physical forces, so the ordered arrangement in collagen molecules of the cartilage in our knees may be flipping from one structural state to another with every step we take.

August 17, 2017 Read more

A heart made of spider silk

Scientists have investigated whether an artificial silk protein developed in the laboratory could be suitable for engineering cardiac tissue.

August 17, 2017 Read more

Cell economics 101

The lining of our intestines uses an approach known to business to quickly process food.

August 15, 2017 Read more

Mercury is altering gene expression

By employing molecular biology tools, a team of researchers measured the way mercury affects the gene expression of algae, even when its concentration in water is very low, comparable to European environmental protection standards.

August 15, 2017 Read more

Scientists identify a new way to activate stem cells to make hair grow

New research results may lead to new drugs that could promote hair growth for people with baldness or alopecia, which is hair loss associated with such factors as hormonal imbalance, stress, aging or chemotherapy treatment.

August 14, 2017 Read more

Injectable tissue patch could help repair damaged organs (w/video)

New biomaterial could be delivered through minimally invasive surgery.

August 14, 2017 Read more

Cancer detection with sugar molecules

Scientists have synthesized a complex sugar molecule which specifically binds to the tumor protein Galectin-1. This could help to recognize tumors at an early stage and to combat them in a targeted manner.

August 14, 2017 Read more

Sweet! Sugar-coated probe yields better acid test

Chemists have developed new tools that could make it much easier to detect low pH in living cells.

August 12, 2017 Read more

Chemists use electrochemistry to amp up drug manufacturing

Give your medicine a jolt. By using electrochemistry, future pharmaceuticals soon may be easily scaled up to be manufactured in a more sustainable way.

August 11, 2017 Read more

Small molecule inhibitor prevents or impedes tooth cavities in a preclinical model

The inhibitor blocks a key virulence enzyme in the oral bacterium Streptococcus mutans, making it unable to stick to a tooth surface.

August 11, 2017 Read more