Biotechnology News – Latest Headlines

'Pick 'n' mix' chemistry to grow cultures of bioactive molecules

Chave developed a new method to build large libraries of bioactive molecules - which can be used directly for biological assays - by simply mixing a small number of building blocks in water.

September 8, 2014 Read more

Microalgae - the factories of the future

Researchers are making microalgae fit for industry. The microorganisms could produce a variety of products from carbon dioxide and light.

September 8, 2014 Read more

Synthetic, platelet-like particles augment natural blood clotting for treating trauma

A new class of synthetic platelet-like particles could augment natural blood clotting for the emergency treatment of traumatic injuries - and potentially offer doctors a new option for curbing surgical bleeding and addressing certain blood clotting disorders without the need for transfusions of natural platelets.

September 7, 2014 Read more

Knowing how bacteria take out trash could lead to new antibiotics

A team of scientists has reconstructed how bacteria tightly control their growth and division, the cell cycle, by destroying specific proteins through regulated protein degradation. All organisms use controlled protein degradation to alter cell behavior in response to changing environment. A process as reliable and stable as cell division also has to be flexible, to allow the organism to grow and respond. But little has been known about the molecular mechanics of how this works.

September 5, 2014 Read more

Artificial cells take their first steps

Using only a few ingredients, researchers have successfully implemented a minimalistic model of the cell that can change its shape and move on its own.

September 4, 2014 Read more

Salamander skin peptide promotes quick and effective wound healing in mice

New research suggests that a short peptide called tylotoin exerts the promotion of wound healing with epidermal growth factor (EGF) in a murine model of a full thickness dermal wound.

September 4, 2014 Read more

A 'clear' choice for clearing 3-D cell cultures

Scientists have hailed recent demonstrations of chemical technologies for making animal tissues see-through, but a new study is the first to evaluate three such technologies side-by-side for use with engineered 3-D tissue cultures.

September 3, 2014 Read more

Scientists discover how to 'switch off' autoimmune diseases

Scientists have made an important breakthrough in the fight against debilitating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis by revealing how to stop cells attacking healthy body tissue.

September 3, 2014 Read more

Tracking down organic fraudsters

Organic food is booming - but was the much more expensive tomato really grown organically? This can be found out by means of an analytic technique that scientists are working on.

September 3, 2014 Read more

A new synthetic amino acid for an emerging class of drugs

Scientists have developed a new amino acid that can be used to modify the 3D structure of therapeutic peptides. Insertion of the amino acid into bioactive peptides enhanced their binding affinity up to 40-fold. Peptides with the new amino acid could potentially become a new class of therapeutics.

September 3, 2014 Read more

Synthesis produces new antibiotic

A fortuitous collaboration at Rice University has led to the total synthesis of a recently discovered natural antibiotic.

September 2, 2014 Read more

Scientists make diseased cells synthesize their own drug

In a new study that could ultimately lead to many new medicines, scientists have adapted a chemical approach to turn diseased cells into unique manufacturing sites for molecules that can treat a form of muscular dystrophy.

September 2, 2014 Read more

Throwing a loop to silence gene expression

Cells attach so-called 'epigenetic' signals to their genome to select which part of their genetic information is used. Scientists have now systematically investigated the interplay between components of an epigenetic network and developed a mathematical model that describes how it operates. The results can be used to predict how cellular gene expression programs respond to drug treatment or other perturbations of the cellular environment.

September 2, 2014 Read more

Scientists call for investigation of mysterious cloud-like collections in cells

About 50 years ago, electron microscopy revealed the presence of tiny blob-like structures that form inside cells, move around and disappear. But scientists still don't know what they do - even though these shifting cloud-like collections of proteins are believed to be crucial to the cell, and therefore could offer a new approach to disease treatment. Now, researchers are issuing a call to investigators to focus their attention on the role of these formations.

September 1, 2014 Read more

A new synthetic amino acid for an emerging class of drugs

Scientists have developed a new amino acid that can be used to modify the 3-D structure of therapeutic peptides. Insertion of the amino acid into bioactive peptides enhanced their binding affinity up to 40-fold. Peptides with the new amino acid could potentially become a new class of therapeutics.

August 31, 2014 Read more

Researchers discover new type of cell movement (w/video)

In a new study, scientists used an innovative technique to study how cells move in a three-dimensional matrix, similar to the structure of certain tissues, such as the skin. They discovered an entirely new type of cell movement whereby the nucleus helps propel cells through the matrix like a piston in an engine, generating pressure that thrusts the cell's plasma membrane forward.

August 31, 2014 Read more

Small molecule acts as on-off switch for nature's antibiotic factory

Bochemists have identified the developmental on-off switch for Streptomyces, a group of soil microbes that produce more than two-thirds of the world's naturally derived antibiotic medicines. Their hope now would be to see whether it is possible to manipulate this switch to make nature's antibiotic factory more efficient.

August 28, 2014 Read more

Water 'thermostat' could help engineer drought-resistant crops

Researchers have identified a gene that could help engineer drought-resistant crops. The gene, called OSCA1, encodes a protein in the cell membrane of plants that senses changes in water availability and adjusts the plant's water conservation machinery accordingly.

August 27, 2014 Read more