Biotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Membranes contain beautiful patterns - but their function is a mystery

Biological cells are surrounded by a membrane, and here some of the most important processes for sustaining life take place. There can also be something very beautiful happening in membranes, researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have discovered: Membranes can contain beautiful, mysterious patterns.

August 30, 2013 Read more

Novel polymer helps oral medications reach the bloodstream

Research on new polymer additives that enhance the ability of orally administered drugs will result in greater effectiveness and fewer side effects.

August 28, 2013 Read more

Researcher controls colleague's motions in first human brain-to-brain interface (w/video)

University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher.

August 27, 2013 Read more

Scientists report breakthrough in DNA editing technology

Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have found a way to apply a powerful new DNA-editing technology more broadly than ever before.

August 26, 2013 Read more

Watching the production of new proteins in live cells

Columbia researchers make significant step in understanding and imaging protein synthesis.

August 26, 2013 Read more

New tool enhances the search for genetic mutations

Researchers report on a new software tool known as DeNovoGear, which uses statistical probabilities to help identify mutations and more accurately pinpoint their source and their possible significance for health.

August 26, 2013 Read more

A skeleton for chromosomes

Scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) found that the structure of Chromosomes is supported by a kind of molecular skeleton, made of cohesin.

August 26, 2013 Read more

Unprecedented control of genome editing in flies promises insight into human development, disease

In an era of widespread genetic sequencing, the ability to edit and alter an organism's DNA is a powerful way to explore the information within and how it guides biological function.

August 23, 2013 Read more

DNA testing of bacteria could lead to reduced chemical treatment of drinking water

Research has discovered that combinations of bacteria commonly found in water pipes can form a biofilm which enables other potentially more harmful bacteria to thrive.

August 22, 2013 Read more

New steps in the quest to break the code of life

Understanding protein function on a genomic scale is now one of the central goals of biology. The project ENZYME MICROARRAYS ('An integrated technology for the deconvolution of complex biochemical systems, drug discovery and diagnostics') was aimed at developing new techniques to help better understand protein functioning.

August 20, 2013 Read more

Solving the mysteries of regeneration

Biologist Peter Reddien seeks to understand planarians' famous ability to grow new body parts.

August 20, 2013 Read more

Biophysicists zoom in on pore-forming toxin

A new study by Rice University biophysicists offers the most comprehensive picture yet of the molecular-level action of melittin, the principal toxin in bee venom. The research could aid in the development of new drugs that use a similar mechanism as melittin's to attack cancer and bacteria.

August 18, 2013 Read more

Evolution of hyperswarming bacteria could develop anti-biofilm therapies

Hyperswarming, pathogenic bacteria have repeatedly evolved in a lab, and the good news is that they should be less of a problem to us than their less mobile kin. That's because those hyperswarmers, adorned with multiple whipping flagella, are also much worse at sticking together on surfaces in hard-to-treat biofilms. They might even help us figure out a way to develop anti-biofilm therapies for use in people with cystic fibrosis or other conditions.

August 15, 2013 Read more

Microelectronics: Automating cancer detection

A sensor developed at A*STAR can detect bladder cancer cells and track tumor progression.

August 14, 2013 Read more

Pathology: All sorted on a single microchip

A microchip that can identify human pathogens in a single test could revolutionize the diagnosis of infections.

August 14, 2013 Read more

Computer model predicts red blood cell flow

Researchers have now created the first simplified computer model of the process that forms the Fahraeus-Lindqvist layer in our blood -- a model that could help to improve the design of artificial platelets and medical treatments for trauma injuries and for blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and malaria.

August 13, 2013 Read more

New gene repair technique promises advances in regenerative medicine

Using human pluripotent stem cells and DNA-cutting protein from meningitis bacteria, researchers from the Morgridge Institute for Research and Northwestern University have created an efficient way to target and repair defective genes.

August 13, 2013 Read more

New materials for bio-based hydrogen synthesis: synthetic biology enables spontaneous protein activation

Scientists have discovered an efficient process for hydrogen biocatalysis. They developed semi-synthetic hydrogenases, hydrogen-generating enzymes, by adding the protein's biological precursor to a chemically synthesized inactive iron complex. From these two components, the biological catalyst formed spontaneously in a test tube.

August 12, 2013 Read more