Subscribe to our Biotechnology News feed
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.
Aug 31st, 2014
Read more
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
Read more
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.
Aug 28th, 2014
Read moreResearchers 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.
Aug 27th, 2014
Read more
Like a protective tent over a colony of harmful bacteria, biofilms make the treatment of skin infections especially difficult.
Aug 27th, 2014
Read moreScientists have shown how to better identify and measure vital molecules that control cell behaviour - paving the way for improved tools for diagnosis, prediction and monitoring of cancer.
Aug 26th, 2014
Read more
Precise, gentle and efficient cell separation from a device the size of a cell phone may be possible thanks to tilt-angle standing surface acoustic waves, according to a team of engineers.
Aug 25th, 2014
Read moreScientists have grown a fully functional organ from transplanted laboratory-created cells in a living animal for the first time.
Aug 25th, 2014
Read more
A decade-long effort in genetic engineering is close to re-programming yeast cells to make palliative medicines in stainless steel vats.
Aug 24th, 2014
Read more
Health scientists receive $25.9M to bring life-saving technology from the future to the present.
Aug 22nd, 2014
Read more
High-resolution electron microscopy shows in detail how plant cell compartments change with cell growth.
Aug 22nd, 2014
Read more
An upcoming genetics investigation into the symbiotic association between soil fungi and feedstock plants for bioenergy production could lead to more efficient uptake of nutrients, which would help limit the need for expensive and polluting fertilizers.
Aug 21st, 2014
Read more
By understanding the secret of how lizards regenerate their tails, researchers may be able to develop ways to stimulate the regeneration of limbs in humans. Now, a team of researchers is one step closer to solving that mystery.
Aug 20th, 2014
Read more
Cell-like compartments produce proteins and communicate with one another, similar to natural biological systems.
Aug 18th, 2014
Read more
A small molecule inhibits jasmonic acid and helps to explain its effects.
Aug 17th, 2014
Read more
Using a microengineered device that acts as an obstacle course for cells, researchers have shed new light on a cellular metamorphosis thought to play a role in tumor cell invasion throughout the body.
Aug 17th, 2014
Read more
Scientists now have a clear picture of the bacterial immune system and say its unique shape is likely why bacteria can so quickly recognize and destroy their assailants.
Aug 16th, 2014
Read more
In a new study, a thermosensitive collagen hydrogel remained as a liquid when kept at temperatures below 10C and gelled when the temperature was increased to 37C in an incubator for 30 minutes, which was used as an extracellular matrix and combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells to construct tissue-engineered peripheral nerve composites in vitro.
Aug 15th, 2014
Read more