Cheap and easy technique to snip DNA could revolutionize gene therapy
Bacterial enzyme binds with RNA to home in on genes and cut double-stranded DNA.
Jan 8th, 2013
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China to boost biotechnology industry
The Chinese government will give a boost to the biotechnology industry in order to tackle problems related to population growth, food safety, energy conservation and environmental protection, the State Council said Sunday.
Jan 8th, 2013
Read moreMateriomics: An -omics approach to biomaterials research
A new review outlines how materiomics sets the stage for a transformative change in the approach to biomaterials research to enable the design of tailored and functional materials for a variety of properties in fields as diverse as tissue engineering, disease diagnosis and de novo materials design, by combining powerful computational modelling and screening with advanced experimental techniques.
Jan 8th, 2013
Read moreEngineered bacteria make fuel from sunlight
Chemists at the University of California, Davis, have engineered blue-green algae to grow chemical precursors for fuels and plastics -- the first step in replacing fossil fuels as raw materials for the chemical industry.
Jan 8th, 2013
Read moreInnovative technique can sequence entire genome from single cell
The notion that police can identify a suspect based on the tiniest drop of blood or trace of tissue has long been a staple of TV dramas, but scientists at Harvard have taken the idea a step further. Using just a single human cell, they can reproduce an individual's entire genome.
Jan 7th, 2013
Read moreProtein production: going viral (w/video)
Architecture of essential human transcription factor revealed.
Jan 7th, 2013
Read moreWhen will genomic research translate into clinical care - and at what cost?
New study applies quantitative modeling to genomics.
Jan 5th, 2013
Read moreDelayed flowering results in up to 50 percent increase in biofuel crop yield
Researchers working on the biofuel crop Miscanthus sacchariflorus, commonly known as Asian Elephant Grass, have shown that delaying flowering in the plant can result in a 50% growth increase.
Jan 4th, 2013
Read moreIn epigenomics, location is everything
In a novel use of gene knockout technology, researchers tested the same gene inserted into 90 different locations in a yeast chromosome - and discovered that while the inserted gene never altered its surrounding chromatin landscape, differences in that immediate landscape measurably affected gene activity.
Jan 3rd, 2013
Read moreEditing the genome with high precision
New method allows scientists to insert multiple genes in specific locations, delete defective genes.
Jan 3rd, 2013
Read moreSorting stem cells
Researchers have demonstrated a way to easily distinguish undifferentiated embryonic stem cells from later-stage stem cells whose fate is sealed.
Jan 3rd, 2013
Read moreResearchers develop tool to evaluate genome sequencing method
Advances in bio-technologies and computer software have helped make genome sequencing much more common than in the past. But still in question are both the accuracy of different sequencing methods and the best ways to evaluate these efforts. Now, computer scientists have devised a tool to better measure the validity of genome sequencing.
Jan 2nd, 2013
Read moreBacterial suicide: assembly of a lethal molecular machine
How can bacteria protect themselves from lethal infection by viral parasites? One extreme way is for individual cells to commit suicide when infected, thereby preventing or limiting viral replication and protecting the rest of the bacterial population from subsequent infections.
Jan 2nd, 2013
Read moreNew report on military human enhancements tackles ethical dilemmas
Questions loom for bioethics, laws of war, military operations, and broader society.
Jan 2nd, 2013
Read moreAccelerating cellular assembly lines
Insights into cellular productivity could boost generation of proteins with valuable research and medical applications.
Jan 2nd, 2013
Read moreStrange behavior: new study exposes living cells to synthetic protein
Researchers have fabricated an artificial protein in the laboratory and examined the surprising ways living cells respond to it.
Dec 27th, 2012
Read moreResearch proves bacteria to blame for obesity
Scientists have believed that microscopic organisms in the gut, microbiota, might play a crucial role in gaining weight but were never able to prove it. Groundbreaking research by a Chinese scientist has revealed a precise link.
Dec 27th, 2012
Read moreResearchers coax stem cells to diversify
Growing new blood vessels in the lab is a tough challenge, but a Johns Hopkins engineering team has solved a major stumbling block: how to prod stem cells to become two different types of tissue that are needed to build tiny networks of veins and arteries.
Dec 27th, 2012
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