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Another mystery of the human body has been solved by scientists who have identified how a molecular motor essential for human development works. They have also pinpointed why mutations in genes linked to this motor can lead to a range of human diseases.
Sep 9th, 2014
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Researchers open a new page in the immune system's playbook, discovering more chatter goes on among the body's infection fighters than was suspected.
Sep 8th, 2014
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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.
Sep 8th, 2014
Read moreResearchers are making microalgae fit for industry. The microorganisms could produce a variety of products from carbon dioxide and light.
Sep 8th, 2014
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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.
Sep 7th, 2014
Read moreA 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.
Sep 5th, 2014
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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.
Sep 4th, 2014
Read moreNew 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.
Sep 4th, 2014
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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.
Sep 3rd, 2014
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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.
Sep 3rd, 2014
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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.
Sep 3rd, 2014
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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.
Sep 3rd, 2014
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A fortuitous collaboration at Rice University has led to the total synthesis of a recently discovered natural antibiotic.
Sep 2nd, 2014
Read moreIn 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.
Sep 2nd, 2014
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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.
Sep 2nd, 2014
Read moreAbout 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.
Sep 1st, 2014
Read moreScientists 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.
Aug 31st, 2014
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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.
Aug 31st, 2014
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