Biotechnology News – Latest Headlines

Mysterious enzyme structure in photosynthesis solved

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion have solved a long-standing puzzle in photosynthesis research. With the aid of quantum chemistry they were able to provide unexpected insight into the properties of the oxygen evolving complex (OEC).

December 12, 2012 Read more

Expert group assigned to examine patent law in biotechnology

The European Commission will be building a new team with 15 experts, to examine the development and implications of patent law in the field of biotechnology and genetic engineering.

December 12, 2012 Read more

New twist on using biomass for perfume, cosmetic, personal care products

In a new approach for tapping biomass as a sustainable raw material, scientists are reporting use of a Nobel-Prize-winning technology to transform plant "essential oils" into high-value ingredients for sunscreens, perfumes and other personal care products.

December 12, 2012 Read more

Mussel goo inspires blood vessel glue

A University of British Columbia researcher has helped create a gel - based on the mussel's knack for clinging to rocks, piers and boat hulls - that can be painted onto the walls of blood vessels and stay put, forming a protective barrier with potentially life-saving implications.

December 11, 2012 Read more

New method to directly sequence small genomes without library preparation

For the first time, researchers sequenced DNA molecules without the need for the standard pre-sequencing workflow known as library preparation.

December 11, 2012 Read more

Tracking gene flow in marine plant evolution

Physicists and biologists apply Big Data statistical tools to study marine plant evolution.

December 10, 2012 Read more

Biohackers on the rise

In Shoreditch, residence to London artists, coffee shops and retro clothes, a group of amateur scientists and UCL students have met to engineer biology. They're building a bacteria incubator out of a fridge box, cardboard and open source electronics. Their mission? To test the potential and limitation of biohacking - citizen science in synthetic biology.

December 8, 2012 Read more

Antibiotic-eating bug unearthed in soil

A newly discovered bacterium degrades an antibiotic both to protect itself and get nutrition.

December 7, 2012 Read more

Why copper busts bacteria

Researchers in the United Kingdom have discovered that copper has the ability to prevent the horizontal transmission of genes, which has fuelled the spread of global antibiotic-resistant infections.

December 6, 2012 Read more

New report finds increase in media coverage of synthetic biology

Press coverage of synthetic biology in the United States and Europe increased significantly between 2008 and 2011, according to a report released today by the Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

December 5, 2012 Read more

X-ray laser helps slay parasite that causes sleeping sickness

An international team of scientists, using the world's most powerful X-ray laser, has revealed the three dimensional structure of a key enzyme that enables the single-celled parasite that causes African trypanosomiasis (or sleeping sickness) in humans.

December 5, 2012 Read more

Microchoreography: Researchers use synthetic molecule to guide cellular 'dance'

Johns Hopkins researchers have used a small synthetic molecule to stimulate cells to move and change shape, bypassing the cells' usual way of sensing and responding to their environment. The experiment pioneers a new tool for studying cell movement, a phenomenon involved in everything from development to immunity to the spread of cancer.

December 5, 2012 Read more

Hybrid scaffold more than skin deep

Researchers in Japan have created a hybrid scaffold which promotes tissue regeneration, strong and biodegradable.

December 5, 2012 Read more

Discovery of 100 million-year-old regions of DNA shows short cut to crop science advances

Scientists have discovered 100 million-year-old regions in the DNA of several plant species which could hold secrets about how specific genes are turned 'on' or 'off'.

December 5, 2012 Read more

Stanford launches new center to advance 'information age of genomics'

With a new research center, Stanford scientists from across campus will join a new "information age of genomics." The goal is nothing short of improving human well-being.

December 4, 2012 Read more

Unexpected toughness may mark out cancer cells in the blood

New finding might help improve "liquid biopsy" approach for detecting cancer cells in blood.

December 4, 2012 Read more

Systems biology meets epigenetics: A computational model explains epigenome dynamics during differentiation

Scientists from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research and the Biozentrum of the University of Basel have published an important proof-of-principle study showing that a computational model can elucidate the interplay of transcription regulators and epigenome dynamics during differentiation. This is critical for a better understanding of the nature of different cell types and disease stages.

December 4, 2012 Read more

Plant organ development breakthrough

New research from two teams led by Carnegie's Zhiyong Wang and Kathryn Barton focuses on the role of the crucial plant hormone brassinosteroid in the creation of plant-shoot architecture.

December 4, 2012 Read more