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Researchers looking inside vessels to understand blood's ebb and flow

Researchers have known for some time that the blood vessels that transport blood to and from tissues and organs in the body are more than just bodily pipelines. Arterioles and capillaries, the small vessels, actually play a key role in regulating the flow of the blood they're carrying. Biomedical engineers at Drexel University, who study cardiovascular function, are creating a mathematical model that explains just how they do it.

Sep 4th, 2013

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Wiring microbes to conduct and produce electricity faster

A team of researchers have found evidence that altering the chemistry of an electrode surface can help microbial communities to connect to the electrode to produce more electricity more rapidly compared to unmodified electrodes. Practical applications of these systems include current generation, wastewater treatment, and biochemical and biofuel production.

Sep 4th, 2013

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Next generation cures born from the sea

The SeaBioTech project, started in 2012, is intended to close some of these knowledge gaps by looking in the seas and oceans around the globe for life forms with novel properties. The aim is to find raw material for the world's biotechnology industry, with a particular emphasis on antibiotics and other medical compounds.

Sep 2nd, 2013

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Scientists sequence genome of high-value grape, seek secrets of wine's aroma

Demystifying the chemical processes that create a wine's aroma, and the invaluable potential application of that understanding in winemaking, is the new objective of scientists in Uruguay who, with European partners, also recently sequenced the genome of the high-value Tannat grape, from which 'the most healthy of red wines' are fermented.

Sep 2nd, 2013

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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.

Aug 30th, 2013

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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.

Aug 26th, 2013

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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.

Aug 20th, 2013

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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.

Aug 18th, 2013

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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.

Aug 15th, 2013

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